La Salle University Athletics

La Salle University President Daniel J. Allen, Ph.D., and Vice President of Athletics and Recreation and Director of Athletics Ashwin Puri announced the hiring of Darris Nichols as the school's 21^st head men's basketball coach on March 11, 2025.
 
Nichols most recently served as the head coach at Radford University, where he amassed two 20-win seasons in four years (68-63), including a 20-13 record during the 2024-25 season.
 
In just his second season as a head coach in 2022-23, Nichols guided the Highlanders to a 21-15 overall record, including a 12-6 mark in Big South play. Radford earned a bid to the College Basketball Invitational and won multiple postseason contests in the same season for the first time in program history. Throughout his time at Radford, Nichols' teams averaged over 15 wins per season.
 
Nichols' coaching experience includes stints as an assistant coach at Florida, Louisiana Tech, Wofford, and Northern Kentucky. A member of ESPN.com's prestigious 40 Under 40 list in the summer of 2020 as one of the most influential people in the game of college men's basketball, Nichols helped coach the Florida Gators to a 123-75 record that included four straight 20-win seasons. Nichols and the Gators also tallied four straight NCAA Tournament bids. At Florida, Nichols coached eight future NBA players in Dorian Finney-Smith, Devin Robinson, Chris Chiozza, Andrew Nembhard, Scottie Lewis, Tre' Mann, Colin Castleton, and Keyontae Johnson.
 
Nichols shined as a student-athlete in the Big East as a four-year standout at West Virginia. He helped the Mountaineers to a 26-11 record and a to the 2008 NCAA Sweet 16 as a senior. He scored 993 career points and dished out 399 assists while shooting .375 from 3-point range. He averaged 10.7 points per game as well as 3.2 assists per game as a senior on the way to WVU's Sweet 16 run. He was also a member of the 2007 NIT Championship, 2006 Sweet 16 and 2005 Elite Eight teams, and finished his collegiate career as a top five most winningest player in Mountaineer history. 
 
Nichols was also twice a recipient of the Big East Academic All-Star and Sportsmanship Award and earned the 2008 Fred Schaus Captain Award for WVU intercollegiate athletics.
 
After graduation, he played professionally overseas with Atomeromu SE Paks of the Hungarian League's A Division.


COACHING TIMELINE

• La Salle University Head Coach (2025-present)
• Radford University Head Coach (2021-25)
• University of Florida Assistant Coach (2015-21)
• Louisiana Tech Assistant Coach (2014-15)
• Wofford College Assistant Coach (2013-14)
• Northern Kentucky University Assistant Coach (2011-13)
• West Virginia University Graduate Assistant (2010-11)