UNLV men’s basketball coach Kevin Kruger is out after four seasons, the school announced Saturday.
The Runnin’ Rebels’ season ended Thursday with a quarterfinal loss to Utah State in the Mountain West Conference tournament. They finished 18-15 overall, 11-9 in conference play.
In a statement, UNLV athletic director Erick Harper thanked Kruger for his “commitment, and dedication” to the program, while lamenting the program’s failure to meet expectations in a statement announcing his dismissal.
“We have significant aspirations for our men’s basketball program, both within the Mountain West and on a national level, with the goal of competing in the NCAA Tournament. Our expectation is to contend for and win championships. After evaluating the program as a whole, I believe a change is necessary to achieve these goals,” Harper added.
UNLV has already begun its search for a new head coach, according to the team’s statement.
Kruger went 76-55 overall in his four seasons in Vegas, but the Rebels never reached the NCAA tournament and finished in the top four of the Mountain West standings just once. They went 18-14 in his first season at the helm, followed by a low point in 2022-23 when they finished just 7-11 in conference play.
His best team came last season, when UNLV won 10 of 11 games from late January to early March to play itself into the NCAA tournament bubble conversation. But the Rebels lost at Nevada to end the regular season and then to San Diego State in their first game of the conference tournament to end any at-large hopes. They did go on to win two games in the NIT before losing to Seton Hall.
Kruger was promoted in 2021 to replace T.J. Otzelberger, who had left after two seasons to take the job at Iowa State. He had worked as an assistant coach under Otzelberger after spending three seasons as an assistant under his father, Lon, at Oklahoma.
