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LOGAN — Though the final winter blizzard has swept through the Cache Valley, the weather forecast is a chance of Sprinkle.
Utah State has finalized a deal to make Danny Sprinkle its newest men's basketball coach, the school announced on Friday morning. Sprinkle comes to Cache Valley after guiding Montana State to an 81-43 record in four seasons in Bozeman, including back-to-back 25-win seasons and multiple NCAA Tournament appearances in 2022 and 2023.
"We are thrilled to announce Danny Sprinkle as Utah State's new men's basketball head coach," interim athletic director Jerry Bovee said. "Danny checked all the boxes we were looking for as he is driven, energetic and motivated. He is also an excellent coach and proven recruiter. His skill set aligns perfectly with our mission of developing outstanding student-athletes on and off the basketball court, competing for conference championships and advancing to postseason play."
A native of Helena, Montana, Sprinkle played college basketball at Montana State. He began his coaching career as an assistant at Cal State Northridge in 2000, and has had stops at Montana State, Cal State Northridge and Cal State Fullerton, before taking the Bobcat's head coaching job in 2019.
Aggies fans may remember Sprinkle's first game as Montana State's head coach, which came against Sam Merrill and the nationally-ranked Aggies in 2019. Hot-shooting guard Harald Frey led the Bobcats with 34 points and nearly pulled off the upset in November.
"I am extremely excited and humbled to be a part of Utah State basketball and the unbelievable tradition created by all the former players and coaches," Sprinkle said. "I want to thank President (Noelle) Cockett and Jerry Bovee for their belief in me. As for the Spectrum, it is one of the best home-court atmospheres in the country, and I can't wait to work with The HURD and get that place rocking."
Sprinkle immediately faces several challenges as he takes the gig. Three starting guards — Sean Bairstow, Max Shulga and Steven Ashworth — all entered the transfer portal this week. Dan Akin and Taylor Funk also graduated, which leaves none of the five top scorers left on the roster.
Additionally, Sprinkle joins the university during a time of uncertainty. Cockett steps down from her position as president at the end of June, while Bovee carries an interim tag as the athletic director.
Sprinkle replaced Ryan Odom, who accepted a coaching job at VCU last week. In two seasons in Logan, Odom led the Aggies to back-to-back postseason appearances, including an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament in March.
Utah State has been a mid-major success story, reaching 11 NCAA Tournaments in the century, and has qualified for the Big Dance four of the past five seasons.
