LAS VEGAS – As Utah State warmed up for its quarterfinal game against UNLV in the Mountain West tournament, news broke that ithe Aggies’ associate head coach Eric Haut is being hired by Tarleton State to be its next head coach.
“I’m just super excited about this opportunity,” Haut said in an interview with media after the announcement. “President [James] Hurley, our (Athletics Director) Steve Uryasz. They’re tremendous people. They have a vision for Tarleton State. It’s a program on the rise. Brand new facilities. The resources are there. Now it’s our turn to come in there and build a championship-level program. So I’m just really, really grateful for the opportunity, and I can’t wait to get to work.”
The timing of the announcement turned out to be deliberate. Tarleton State obviously wanted to announce the hire as soon as possible, but Utah State’s coaching staff, Haut included, didn’t want the announcement to be a distraction from Thursday’s game. The players were unaware of the pending move until Haut informed them after the game.
Special scene in the @USUBasketball locker room today following their MWC quarterfinals win, when Eric Haut announced he’s been named head coach at Tarleton State! ⭐️ pic.twitter.com/tvBBp0Ot4s
— Tarleton State Athletics (@TarletonSports) March 13, 2026
A video released by Tarleton State, showed the scene as Calhoun spoke to the team following the win over UNLV. He then passed it over to Haut who, upon informing his fellow Aggies, was mobbed by the players in a celebration.
“The players went nuts in there congratulating him because they know he’s earned it,” Calhoun said.
Haut will continue in his role at Utah State through the remainder of the season, at which time he will transition to his new job at Tarleton State.
“(Tarleton State) wanted me to finish this out. I wanted to finish this out. One, because Jerrod means so much to me. I want to see this through with him. But I also want to see it through with these players. And if I was the type of guy that would bail on them in the middle of the night, I don’t think Tarleton State would be a program that would want to hire a guy like me. So I’m looking forward to the next three weeks with these guys.”
Calhoun offered high praise for his soon-to-be-former assiciate head coach, saying Tarleton State “hit a home run” with the hire.
“They’re going to understand Eric is a tremendous tactician,” Calhoun said. “He’s a tremendous coach, person, family guy. He’s a winner. So we’re going to lose him, and that’s tough, but at the end of the day, the greatest thing as a head coach is when you see your staff go on to become head coaches. I’ve had Joe Mazzulla, Ethan Faulkner, Shammgod Wells, Chinedu Nwachukwu with the Grizzlies. I’ve had a lot of guys. Eric is at the top of that list.”
Haut, in return, attributed his preparation for this next step to Calhoun.
“Before I got to Utah State, I was not ready to be a head coach,” Haut said. “These two years with Jerred Calhoun and watching him and how he builds a program, and how he builds the relationships and the family atmosphere; that has gotten me to the point where I feel like I’m ready.”
Haut was asked about the possibility of Utah State and Tarleton State scheduling each other and an unofficial offer seems to have been made.
“(Calhoun) told President Hurley we’re getting a two-for-one and we’re getting a big guarantee, so make sure you guys hold them to that,” Haut said.
