Danny Sprinkle Calls Utah State ‘Perfect Fit’ For Him To Leave Montana State
Apr 7, 2023, 2:05 PM
SALT LAKE CITY – New Utah State men’s basketball head coach Danny Sprinkle joined KSL Sports Zone’s Hans & Scotty G to break down how he got the job and his plans for Aggie hoops.
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Shortly after officially being named as Ryan Odom’s successor, the former Montana State Bobcats head coach discussed his new position during an interview with Hans Olsen and Scott Garrard on Friday, April 7.
“It happened fast,” Sprinkle on the timeline of him leaving his alma mater to join USU. Sprinkle, 46, said that Utah State interim athletic director Jerry Bovee did some interviews during the NCAA’s Final Four in Houston. The Aggies also visited Sprinkle in Bozeman, Montana.
Sprinkle called Utah State “the perfect fit” for him. He also mentioned the excitement and energy around USU basketball, the Spectrum, and the administrative support for Aggie basketball as reasons to make the move to Logan.
The new head coach listed the following items as some of the first things he’s going to do:
- Sit down and talk with Utah State’s returning players
- Recruit like “mad men”
- Utilize NIL
46-year-old Danny Sprinkle becomes the 21st coach in @USUBasketball history
Led Montana State to NCAA Tourney in ’22 & ’23
81-43 overall record in 4 seasonshttps://t.co/QdAZ1qP9Iy#AggiesAllTheWay
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) April 7, 2023
Sprinkle said that his “job as a coach [is] to put our guys in the best chance, and the team, [in] the best chance to succeed.”
The new head coach is joining a program that has qualified for the NCAA Tournament in four of the last five seasons. Utah State posted a 26-9 record, including 13-5 in Mountain West Conference play for the 2022-23 season.
To hear Sprinkle’s entire conversation on Hans & Scotty G, check out the audio player above.
Got our guy!
Ready to get to work.#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/FgySNofXZg
— USU Men’s Hoops (@USUBasketball) April 7, 2023
About Danny Sprinkle
The Pullman, Washington native is the 21st head coach in USU men’s basketball history.
Prior to his coaching career, Sprinkle played at Montana State from 1995-99.
After his playing career, the Helena High School product entered the coaching profession as an assistant at Cal State Northridge. He coached for the Matadors from 2000-06. In 2006, Sprinkle returned to Bozeman and became an assistant at Montana State. He spent a couple of seasons on Brad Huse’s staff before rejoining the Matadors in 2008. In 2013, Sprinkle moved on from Cal State Northridge to become an assistant at Cal State Fullerton.
RELATED: Utah State Names Danny Sprinkle New Men’s Basketball Head Coach
He was with the Titans until 2019 when Montana State made him a head coach for the first time in his career. In four seasons with the Bobcats, Sprinkle led Montana State to an 81-43 record, including 49-23 in Big Sky Conference games. He helped the Bobcats reach the NCAA Tournament in each of the past two seasons.
Sprinkle was named the Big Sky’s Coach of the Year in 2022.
Listen to Hans & Scotty G Weekdays from Noon-3 p.m. (MDT) on KSL Sports Zone and the KSL Sports app. For recent episodes of the show check out the Hans & Scotty G podcast.
