MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia University men's basketball coach Ross Hodge has announced the hiring of Jase Herl as an assistant coach.
Herl, a native of Goodland, Kansas, spent the last two seasons as an assistant coach at North Texas. Herl has 15 years of coaching experience, including a period as the interim head coach at Colorado State.
"Jase is the complete package when it comes to coaching basketball," Hodge said. "He has a great feel for people and the game of basketball. He impacts all areas of our program, and I am thrilled to have him in Morgantown."
This past season at North Texas, the Mean Green won 27 games and advanced to the semifinals of NIT. The Mean Green ranked third in the country in scoring defense at 60.1 points per game, 1.5 points behind first-place Houston. UNT had the AAC's second-most efficient offense and second-most efficient defense. UNT's 27 wins were the second-most single season wins in school history and the 14 league victories were tied for the third-most league wins in school history. North Texas had five players earn all-conference honors
UNT won 19 games in his first season in 2023-24 and reached the second round of the NIT. The 10 league wins and .555 league winning percentage were both the best by a first-year UNT men's basketball staff. Herl recruited some of North Texas' top performers and helped mentor guard Jason Edwards and Atin Wright to first-team all-conference honors. UNT won 46 games in Herl's two seasons in Denton.
"I am extremely blessed to be at West Virginia University with coach Hodge and the rest of the staff," Herl said. "The history and support here at WVU are second to none. Getting to compete in the Big 12 with the nation's best is what you dream about when you get into this profession."
Herl joined the UNT staff after five seasons at Missouri State, where he helped guide the Bears to 17 or more wins in each of the last three seasons, including 23 wins in 2021-22. During his time with the Bears, Herl helped mentor 15 All-MVC performers. Missouri State finished as MVC runners-up in 2022 and in third place in 2019 and 2021, earning an NIT bid in 2022. Missouri State held opponents to just 63.2 points per game for his final season on staff.
From 2016-18, he was an assistant coach at Colorado State and served as the Rams' interim head coach in 2018 at 30 years old. He led CSU to a win over San Jose State in his first game as interim head coach.
In 2015-16, Herl was an assistant coach at South Plains College in Levelland, Texas, where he helped lead the Texans to 21 wins and 12 conference victories.
Prior to South Plains, Herl was the inaugural head coach at Northwest Kansas Tech College in his hometown of Goodland, Kansas. In three seasons as the Mavericks head coach, he led them to 56 total wins. His 56 wins were the most among all active NJCAA head coaches under the age of 30 at the time. The Mavericks went 32-5 at home during his three years. While at Northwest Kansas Tech, Herl coaches future Dallas Maverick guard Gian Clavell, who transferred to Colorado State and played for Hodge while he was on the Rams' staff.
Herl's coaching career began at his alma mater, Colorado Mesa, where he graduated from in 2010. Herl served as an assistant coach after graduation and helped guide Colorado Mesa to the 2011 NCAA Division II Tournament.
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