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Hodgson named head coach at Arkansas St.

In Bryan Hodgson, Arkansas State will be getting one of the country’s top recruiters who was a key player in helping Alabama secure the top overall seed in this year’s NCAA Tournament. Photo courtesy of Arkansas State

Bryan Hodgson is the new Arkansas State University men’s basketball coach.

According to a Tweet from Jeff Goodman on Wednesday morning, a source told @Stadium that Hodgson, the 2005 Jamestown High School graduate and current University of Alabama assistant, had been hired by the Red Wolves to replace Mike Balado, who had been their head coach since 2017. By early afternoon, Hodgson confirmed, via text to The Post-Journal, that was indeed the case.

Arkansas State, a member of the Sun Belt Conference, advanced to the second round of the conference tournament this year and finished with a 13-20 record.

In Hodgson, the Red Wolves will be getting one of the country’s top recruiters and a key player in helping the Crimson Tide secure the top overall seed in this year’s NCAA Tournament.

Hodgson, also a graduate of Jamestown Community College and SUNY Fredonia, has certainly paid his dues. He began his coaching career at Jamestown CC (2010-13). After two years at Midland (Texas) College, he arrived at the University of Buffalo, helping the Bulls to three Mid-American Conference titles and three NCAA Tournament appearances. When Nate Oats left UB to take the head coaching job at Alabama, Hodgson went with him and success followed.

According to the Alabama basketball website, Hodgson, most recently, was ranked by 247Sports.com No. 2 in its basketball recruiting rankings and has been instrumental in the Crimson Tide garnering back-to-back top-10 signing classes in both 2020 (No. 9 Rivals/No. 12 247Sports) and 2021 (No. 9 by 247sports/No. 10 by Rivals.com).

In fact, of the eight signed freshmen who were members of the Tide’s recruiting classes across his two seasons in Tuscaloosa, all have been four stars or better, including four five-star prospects and three McDonald’s All-Americans.

Now, Hodgson will become a head coach for the first time.

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