Coaching Carousel Conference Preview: SoCon

The SoCon is always a hotbed for up-and-coming coaches. This year is no different. We’ve got two newcomers and three potential movers on the league’s coaching carousel preview.

Newcomers

Dwight Perry (Wofford)

Dwight Perry had the interim tag removed this off-season after taking over for Jay McAuley in November of last year. Perry led the Terriers to a win over Texas A&M and a 12-12 record to finish out the season. The 35-year-old takes over after four years as the associate head coach at Wofford. Prior to his arrival in Spartanburg, Perry spent five years as an assistant at Furman. His familiarity with the conference and his ability to win games despite the circumstances made it a no-brainer to promote him. Perry gets his first full season as a head coach this year.

Brooks Savage (East Tennessee State)

Brooks Savage’s name was immediately linked to the ETSU job when it opened this spring. Savage is part of the ever-growing Steve Forbes tree and worked with Forbes at ETSU from 2015-2020. After three years at Wake Forest, it was time for someone with Forbes’ ties to take over in Johnson City. Savage has 12 years of experience as an assistant and gets his first crack at a head coaching job at a place he’s already very familiar with. Expect ETSU to return to the top of the league in the coming years.

Potential Movers

Bob Richey (Furman)

Bob Richey is 139-54 in six seasons at Furman. He’s won at least 22 games every year except the shortened COVID season. Last year, the Dins finally broke through and won the conference tournament. They also won their first round NCAA tournament game in a thriller against Virginia. Richey’s stock was already rising quickly, but it skyrocketed after that win. He signed a contract extension this off-season, but we all know it won’t be enough to keep him in Greenville forever. It’s only a matter of time before a high major in the southeast takes their chance on him.

Bucky McMillan (Samford)

Bucky McMillan is 48-35 in three seasons at Samford, with a regular season conference title already in hand. The long-time high school coach got his shot three years ago and has definitely made the most of it. Bucky Ball is the talk of the league. Up-tempo and chaotic at times, it’s fun to watch and it clearly wins games. If McMillan can get Samford to 20 wins this season, he’ll be the first coach in school history to do it three consecutive years. That’s worthy of some new job opportunities in our opinion.

Justin Gray (Western Carolina)

Justin Gray is quickly making a name for himself. The Western Carolina head coach flipped an 11-win team into an 18-win team in year two. This season, he’s primed to take it a step further with 73% of his rotational minutes coming back. The Wake Forest grad spent a lengthy 12 years playing professional ball overseas and wasted no time making his mark in the coaching ranks. Thanks to a blessing from his former boss, Mark Prosser, Gray went from assistant coach to head coach in just three seasons. Another big year at Western Carolina will open the floodgates for bigger opportunities next spring.

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