After leading Mississippi State to the NCAA Tournament in each of his first two seasons as head coach, Chris Jans has signed a four-year contract extension that will keep him in Starkville through 2027-28.
“We are excited for the future of Mississippi State basketball under the leadership of coach Jans,” athletic director Zac Selmon said in a news release. “He and his staff have done a tremendous job since arriving in Starkville, and we know the best is yet to come. Fueled by seven sellouts, Bulldog fans made Humphrey Coliseum one of the most electric atmospheres in college basketball this past season, and we can’t wait to see what next year has in store.”
Jans, 55, rose up through the coaching ranks at the junior college level, spending a total of six seasons as the head coach at four different junior colleges in Iowa, Kansas, Texas and Florida, then spent three years as an assistant coach at Illinois State before joining the staff at Wichita State and helping the Shockers reach the Final Four in 2013.
He was the head coach at Bowling Green for a year, then eventually landed at New Mexico State and won four conference championships in five years with the Aggies. Jans was hired by the Bulldogs in March 2022 and is 42-27 through two years at MSU with a 16-20 mark in Southeastern Conference play. Despite just an 8-10 SEC record in each of the last two years, the Bulldogs have reached the NCAA Tournament both times, albeit without winning a game.
Tolu Smith, D.J. Jeffries and Dashawn Davis, among others, have exhausted their eligibility, but with Josh Hubbard and Cameron Matthews back on board, MSU looks primed to continue its upward trajectory in 2024-25.
The Bulldogs have added six newcomers in the transfer portal — guards Kanye Clary (Penn State), Claudell Harris (Boston College) and Riley Kugel (Florida) as well as wing RJ Melendez from Georgia and big men Michael Nwoko from Miami and Jeremy Foumena from Rhode Island.
Jans’ new four-year contract is for the maximum length allowed for state employees in Mississippi. His teams are known for their intensity on the defensive end and have ranked in the top 25 in Ken Pomeroy’s adjusted defensive efficiency in each of the last two seasons.
“We want to continue to make our fan base proud of the maroon and white,” Jans said. “The renovated Humphrey Coliseum has already proven to be a great home court advantage because of our dedicated State students and passionate fans. We can’t wait to get back inside The Hump in November.”
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