Providence has fired men’s basketball coach Kim English after three seasons.
The Friars announced the news in a statement on Friday morning less than a day after their elimination from the Big East Tournament. Providence suffered an 85-72 quarterfinal loss to St. John’s at Madison Square Garden the previous afternoon, a defeat that brought a close to a second straight year with a sub-.500 record.
“We appreciate Kim and his staff for their efforts over the past three seasons leading our men’s basketball team,” said PC Athletic Director Steve Napolillo in the release. “We wish him and his family all the best in the future.”
English finished 48-52 overall at Providence, just the fourth coach since Lawrence Drew from 1946-49 to post a sub-.500 record with the program. Gary Walters (21-34), Gordie Chiesa (11-17) and Keno Davis (46-50) lasted a combined six seasons in charge, with Davis encountering similar struggles during his tenure from 2008-09 to 2010-11. Both reached the NIT in their debut seasons before failing to progress further.
English also finished 23-37 in Big East play, including a 14-16 home record in 30 games. The Friars went just 4-6 in each of their last two seasons at Amica Mutual Pavilion, and average attendance declined for the third straight season from a high of 11,720 during the 2022-23 campaign.
Kim English’s track record at PC
English put together a promising opening season in 2023-24, closing 21-14 overall and battling to 10-10 in the Big East despite losing Bryce Hopkins to a left knee injury. Devin Carter developed into the conference Player of the Year and a lottery pick as an early entry into the NBA Draft. Providence suffered a 79-68 defeat against Marquette in the conference tournament semifinal and was shorthanded due to injury while being eliminated by Boston College in the NIT.
Trouble started brewing early in the 2024-25 season when the Friars lost all three games at the Battle 4 Atlantis and followed with a rivalry defeat at the University of Rhode Island. Providence needed overtime to beat DePaul on the road, the last appearance for Hopkins after just three games and a minor physical setback. He opted to preserve a medical redshirt option for the 2025-26 campaign and the Friars matched a school record with 20 losses, including an opening defeat against Butler in the conference tournament.
Whatever hopes Providence carried for a bounce-back this year vanished quickly. Nonconference losses to Virginia Tech, Colorado, Wisconsin and Florida left the Friars with virtually no path toward a return to the NCAA Tournament. Providence started 2-9 in league play, and crushing mistakes in late-game situations spelled defeat against the Bulldogs, Connecticut, the Golden Eagles and Georgetown.
“I’d say we didn’t finish some games that we had plenty of opportunity to finish,” English said Thursday. “They’re etched in my brain forever. Virginia Tech, home Connecticut, home Georgetown, at Marquette — the game’s right there.”
English’s roster decisions in the transfer portal largely led to his undoing. Multiple veteran players brought in to play major roles over the last two years simply weren’t up to standard — Jaylin Sellers this season was a notable exception. The Friars found some promising young talent in Oswin Erhunmwunse, Ryan Mela, Stefan Vaaks and Jamier Jones, but there wasn’t an adequate supporting cast to provide cover for their gradual development.
“We ended up younger than we thought we’d be,” English said. “That’s youth. These guys will grow older and become really good players.”
Providence was 73-32 in its last 105 games under coach Ed Cooley that were decided by five points or less. That record crashed to 10-19 under English, including a 5-14 mark over the last two seasons. The Friars were just 19-48 under English against teams in the KenPom.com top 100 — 7-32 in games played on away and neutral floors, 3-23 in those situations over the last two seasons.
Only two teams in the league have played worse defense in a single season than Providence in 2025-26 according to KenPom — the 2023-24 versions of Georgetown and DePaul. The Hoyas allowed an adjusted 113.1 points per 100 possessions in Cooley’s debut while the Blue Demons, who had multiple players from that team named in a January federal indictment for point shaving, surrendered 112.6. The Friars entered the week allowing an adjusted 110.2 points per 100 possessions while stuck inside the bottom 25 nationally in turnover percentage and permitting their opponents to shoot 35.7% from 3-point range.
This is the first time Providence has endured consecutive sub-.500 campaigns overall since turning in three straight from 2009-10 to 2011-12. The first two spelled the end of Davis, and Cooley was in the NCAA Tournament by his third season in 2013-14, winning the program’s second conference tournament championship.
How much does Providence owe English?
News of English’s impending exit began circulating last week following a 78-56 home defeat against Marquette on Senior Night. The fans in the crowd in Providence voiced their displeasure while watching their team absorb its most lopsided conference loss of the season. The Friars followed with an 80-79 defeat at the Hoyas, giving Cooley a season sweep and a three-game winning streak against his former program.
English departs with four years remaining on his contract and Providence is believed to owe him a buyout north of $6 million. In its morning release, Providence College said it will begin a national search for its next coach immediately.
The Friars have been engaged with donors and agents behind the scenes for multiple weeks, putting funding in place and gauging interest in case the job became open at the close of the season.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Providence College fires men’s basketball coach Kim English