Ole Miss agrees to contract extension with men’s basketball head coach Kermit Davis

Ole Miss announced Tuesday it has agreed to a contract extension with head basketball coach Kermit Davis through the 2024-2025 season.

Davis is entering his fourth season at the helm of the program with one NCAA tournament appearance and a SEC Coach of the Year award as the high water marks of his tenure thus far. Last season, the Rebels were bounced as a No. 1 seed in the National Invitational Tournament in the first round.

Athletic director Keith Carter seems to be pleased with the rising level of the program, according to the press release from Ole Miss.

“Starting with his first season when he was SEC Coach of the Year, Coach Davis has increased the expectations of Ole Miss Basketball,” said Carter. “He strives for excellence is all areas throughout his program, and his players and coaching staff are great representatives of Ole Miss on and off the court. Recruiting has never been better as he has signed some of the top prospects in school history. We’re excited to see the team continue to rise under his guidance, competing for SEC championships and making runs in the NCAA Tournament.”

Davis does have more than 50 wins in his first three seasons and is one of just a handful of coaches who have done that with this program. There was also a clearly big setback in year two when the program went 15-17 with Breein Tyree shouldering most of the load for the team offensively.

I’ll be honest here — I did not see this coming, but I understand athletic directors have to give coaches extensions for recruiting and stability reasons. I don’t have high expectations for this upcoming basketball season, and preseason predictions have put the Rebels in the bottom half of SEC.

So I’m not alone in thinking maybe Ole Miss’ trajectory isn’t quite as pronounced as fans would like it to be, but there are also some pretty highly heralded recruits and transfers expected to make a difference this season.

Our season basketball preview will hit on these newcomers and more later this week. Stay updated on all things Rebel basketball with the season tipping off a week from today.