MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia University men's basketball coach Ross Hodge has announced the hiring of Johnny Estelle as an assistant coach.
Estelle, a native of Waco, Texas, has nearly 30 years of coaching experience, including 14 years as a head coach and the last two seasons as an assistant coach at North Texas.
"Johnny's impact will be fell all throughout the program," Hodge said. "He is intentional and has a unique ability to develop impactful relationships that last. He has been inducted into two separate hall of fames, which speaks directly to his ability as a basketball coach and his influence as a person."
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. Estelle 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 Estelle's two seasons as an assistant coach in Denton.
Following the 2023-24 season, Estelle was named the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches Division I Assistant Coach of the Year.
"It is an absolute honor and blessing for my family and I to be able to join coach Hodge at West Virginia University," Estelle said. "West Virginia is one of the most prestigious programs in the country and possesses a rich winning tradition and culture that definitely aligns with the values of coach Hodge. I have known him for 25 years and have been fortunate to witness his successful evolution from the student-athlete, assistant coach and a head coach. His impeccable character, work ethic, knowledge and ability to develop strong relationships with his student-athletes and staff makes him an impactful transformational leader and one of the best head coaches in the country."
Estelle joined the North Texas staff after nine seasons as Texas A&M-Kingsville's head coach, where he guided the Javelinas to 137 wins and four NCAA Division II Tournament appearances, including three since 2020 and its first NCAA Division II win in program history. Prior to his arrival in Kingsville, the Hogs had made only four national tournaments in their 89-year history and had never made consecutive tournaments.
At the time, two of the program's four best single season win totals are under Estelle. He took over the program in 2014, which hadn't had a winning season in five years at that point.
In his third season there in 2016-17, he led the Javelinas to 19 wins, which tied for its most single season wins in 21 years. That year, they defeated No. 9 Tarleton State and No. 17 UT Permian Basin in the NCAA Tournament for the program's first-ever tournament win.
Prior to Texas A&M-Kingsville, Estelle was an assistant coach at Houston in 2013-14 for former Mountaineer men's basketball staff member, James Dickey. While there, Houston defeated three Top 25 teams, including the eventual NCAA champion UConn, Memphis and SMU.
Before joining the Houston staff, Estelle spent 13 seasons at Navarro College, where he served as an assistant coach for eight years of NJCAA Hall of Fame coach Lewis Orr and spent the final six seasons as head coach. He averaged 25 wins a year, won four Region XIV championships, the 2013 Lone Star Conference East Division championship and reached the 2010 NJCAA National Tournament semifinal round. At Navarro, Estelle and his staff were successful in placing 21 of their student-athletes in NCAA Division I programs while retaining 93.7% graduation rate during his tenure.
In 14 years as a head coach, Estelle's teams made seven national tournaments (four NCAA and three NJCAA). In 2009, Navarro made its first NJCAA tournament appearance. He coached two NJCAA First Team All-Americans.
Estelle graduated from Texas A&M-Kingsville in 1998 and was the Lone Star Conference Tournament MVP and All-Conference honoree for the Javelinas in 1996. He made the Lone Star Conference All-Tournament Team in 1995 and helped the Javelinas to the conference and tournament championship in 1996. Estelle played at Northland Pioneer College in Arizona and helped his team to the NJCAA Region I conference and regional championships with a bid to the 1994 NJCAA tournament.
He was inducted into the Navarro College Hall of Fame as a head coach in 2021 and as a student-athlete and coach at Texas A&M Kingsville in 2025.
Estelle and his wife, Ana, have four children, Jevon, Jasmine, Jacquelyn and Jayden.
COACHING NOTES• USA Basketball U19 Olympics Court Coach (2009)• 137-112 as head coach at Texas A&M Kingsville• 126-48 as head coach at Navarro College• 2010 NJCAA National Tournament semifinals• 2013 Region XIV Conference Co-Champions• Region XIV Coach of the Year (2012, 2010, 2009)• Four NCAA National Regional Tournaments• Three NJCAA National Tournament appearances• Nine Region XIV Tournament appearances• Two NJCAA All-America First-Team honorees• Two Region XIV Conference Players of the Year• Three Region XIV Tournament Most Valuable Players• 12 Region XIV All-Conference members• 17 NCAA Division I student-athletes• NCAA Round of 32 Finish (2017)
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