The Kim English Era of Providence College men’s basketball is over after another disappointing season.
PC issued a four-paragraph release Friday morning announcing that English will not return next season.
“We appreciate Kim and his staff for their efforts over the past three seasons leading our men’s basketball team. We wish him and his family all the best in the future,” athletic director Steve Napolillo said in the statement.
English compiled a 48-52 record overall and 23-37 in the Big East conference. He succeeded the popular and successful Ed Cooley, a son of Providence, in 2023 after Cooley left for Georgetown. English had spent the previous two seasons at George Mason.
The Friars looked promising in English’s debut season, posting a 21-14 record overall, 10-10 in the Big East, and earning an invitation to the NIT after being snubbed by the NCAA Selection Committee.
The last two seasons were the flip side of 2023-2024. His second team was, 12-20, 6-14 in the Big East, PC’s worst finish in years. This season was not the rebound English expected after revamping his roster. Providence stumbled to a 15-18 finish, 7-13 in the Big East. The Friars lost to St. John’s in the second round of the Big East Tournament on Thursday.
Embarrassing home losses to Georgetown, St. John’s and Marquette, and an ugly brawl in the St. John’s game, were among the lowlights this season. English’s frustration with his team’s lack of defensive effort and failure to communicate was evident in several of his postgame comments.
English signed a six-year contract extension on April 5, 2024, that ran through the 2030 season. Various reports placed the value at $8-9 million. The PC release did not include any financial information.
Providence is now searching for its next men’s basketball coach; a national search that was no doubt already underway.
The URI men’s team also finished a disappointing 2025-26 season on Thursday, losing in the first round of the Atlantic 10 conference tournament. The Rams have not made the NCAA tournament since 2018.
The URI women, however, are headed to March Madness after emerging as conference champions in both the regular season and the conference tournament. It will be just the second time in program history that the Rams compete for a national title. The team will learn its opponent on Sunday.
