Colorado State basketball lost in heartbreaking fashion to Maryland on Sunday. The Rams now lose head coach Niko Medved nearly 24 hours after their March Madness exit.
Medved is returning to his alma mater Minnesota, with Jeff Borzello and Pete Thamel of ESPN reporting the move Monday morning. The departure comes following Derik Queen hitting his epic buzzer beater to lift Maryland over CSU.
The Rams head coach rose as a contender for multiple high-profile openings. Xavier emerged as one possibility. Now he’s leaving after delivering 143 victories at CSU.
Medved took to his X account to reveal his decision to take over the Golden Gophers. He expressed his thanks to “Ram nation” while sharing his feelings toward CSU’s home city.
“Fort Collins is truly a special place, and being the head basketball coach at Colorado State has been one of the greatest honors of my life,” Medved shared. “The time has come, however, for me to take over at the University of Minnesota.”
Medved is landing at a place where he played and served as an assistant coach. He graduated from the Big Ten school in 1997. He served as an assistant coach under both Dan Monson and Jim Molinari, the latter taking over on an interim basis in the 2006-07 season.
Niko Medved replacement lined up already for Colorado State?
Medved leaves behind one of the more coveted Mountain West Conference openings. CSU joins UNLV in opening up its head basketball coach position.
The Rams also will soon play their final season in the MWC. Colorado State jumps to the Pac-12 by 2026-27 for all sports. The school will need to tab someone who can ease CSU’s transition to a newer conference.
It appears CSU doesn’t have to look far. Ali Farokhmanesh is anticipated to stay behind and become a top replacement option, per Matt Norlander of CBS Sports.
The 36-year-old Farokhmanesh has coached in Fort Collins since 2018. He’s one of the top recruiters and assistants across the MWC. Farokhmanesh even became his own March Madness legend in 2010. He nailed his own buzzer-beating three to lift Northern Iowa over No. 1 seed Kansas.
But if Farokhmanesh isn’t the guy, names like former Texas coach Rodney Terry (led Fresno State to 2016 MWC title) or ex-UNLV head coach Kevin Kruger could emerge as the contenders.
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