Travis Ford, the long standing head coach of Saint Louis Billikens men’s basketball, was fired after the team’s loss on Mar. 13 to Duquesne in the Atlantic 10 tournament. Now, as April approaches, most other colleges have already signed their new coaches, but St. Louis University and athletic director Chris May have not.

 Rumors are circulating about who the next coach might be, with the number one choice among Billiken fans being Josh Schertz. According to an ESPN source, Pete Thamel, “Saint Louis is in talks with Indiana State’s Josh Schertz to make him the Billikens’ next head coach. No deal is done, but the two sides are in discussions.” However, there haven’t been any other sources reporting on who else the Billikens are considering. Therefore, Schertz is the top choice for St. Louis. Schertz, who is leading the Indiana State Sycamores to the NIT Finals against Seton Hall on Thursday.

Schertz spent 13 years at Lincoln Memorial University, a Division 2 school in Tennessee, where he took the team to the Division 2 final four twice. He took over for Greg Lansing in 2021 and led the Sycamores to a 15-10 record in the 2020-2021 season. Currently, the Sycamores are 31-6.

  This would be a different type of coach for Chris May, as this is his second time hiring a new head coach since becoming athletic director in 2008. The last time was in 2016 when he fired Jim Crews, who took the Billikens to the round of 32 in his first two seasons but had early exits from the A-10 tournament in his last two seasons. Ford was then hired, after he was fired from Oklahoma State after a 9th-place finish in the Big 12.

Schertz is a rising coach who has had successful seasons, while Ford has not made it out of the round of 32 since 1993. Though Schertz wants to focus on playing in the NIT,  during his press conference, the media was asked not to inquire about his future coaching plans. It is possible that Schertz is waiting for Indiana State to finish the NIT tournament before joining the Billikens, or he may stay with Indiana State if May’s offer is not sufficient.

According sources like Pete Thamel,  there are no other coaches have been contacted by Chris May and the Billikens. Though if  Schertz does not join SLU, there are some other option that such as Grand Canyon University coach Bryce Drew, who has taken his team to March Madness three out of the past four years. Another solid pick could be Chester Frazier, currently an assistant coach for the University of Illinois, who was part of the 2005 national championship run for U of I. Only time will tell if Schertz or another coach can lead the Billikens back to the national tournament.