Why Darian DeVries Walked Away from West Virginia After One Season

After a whirlwind year with the West Virginia Mountaineers, Darian DeVries spoke candidly to CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein about his decision to depart West Virginia for Indiana.

His comments shed light on his quick exit, one that left coaches, players, and the Mountaineer faithful, deservedly, up in arms.

When the news officially broke, West Virginia players responded accordingly with mixed reactions online; some fans suspect the Indiana deal may have been in motion early, sparking controversy.

However, DeVries maintains that his departure centers on honoring a program that “supported us unbelievably well” and seizing a “dream job” opportunity to coach at Indiana.

“Wren’s a terrific AD, and I’m certainly thankful for the opportunity he gave me, and their entire administration,” DeVries said. “Ben Murray, I worked with him a lot, too. But it’s not an easy conversation. It’s certainly something we had talked about, the two days there, of what it looked like and the decision-making process.”

“I thought Wren was great about it,” DeVries continued. “He certainly was disappointed, but I thought he gave me every opportunity to look at it and consider it. Ultimately, though, we decided that I would take the Indiana job. But he was great about it, very professional about it, as you would expect.”

DeVries’ public remarks offer a humanizing glimpse into a coach torn between loyalty and ambition. He credits West Virginia for a building season and paused only briefly to process tournament disappointment before embracing a dream job at Indiana.

Still, it’s not exactly as if he handled business correctly. Anytime multiple players under that coach chime in with reactions akin to calling someone a snake, the writing is pretty clear on the wall for everyone to read.

His exit reshuffled the hoops landscape in both Morgantown and Bloomington, and West Virginia landed on North Texas’ Ross Hodge, who is set to make his Big 12 debut in 2025-26.