Evansville hires David Ragland as basketball coach

EVANSVILLE, Ind. (AP) — Evansville has hired David Ragland as its basketball coach, the school said Tuesday.

Ragland replaces Todd Lickliter, who was fired earlier this month after going 15-53 in 2 1/2 seasons.

Ragland will be introduced Wednesday. He spent last season as an assistant at Butler under LaVall Jordan. New Bulldogs coach Thad Matta had planned to keep Ragland on his staff.

Over a nearly two-decade career, Ragland has worked as an assistant at Utah State, Valparaiso, Vincennes, Northern Kentucky, Bowling Green, Indiana State and Frank Phillips College. His only previous head coaching experience came during a two-year tenure at Vincennes, a junior college in southern Indiana, where he went 44-19.

“It is a dream come true to return home," Ragland said in a statement. “Evansville is such a special place for my family and myself and the opportunity to come back to where it all started means the world. Growing up in the city, I understand what the Purple Aces program means to the community. From day one, I will work to establish a program that the entire University of Evansville campus community and the city of Evansville will be proud of.”

___

More AP college basketball: