Eastern Michigan to hire new basketball coach; he worked under John Beilein

A familiar face is heading back to Washtenaw County.

Billy Donlon, a former assistant coach under John Beilein at Michigan who has spent the past four seasons on the staff at Clemson, is expected to be named the next head men's basketball coach at Eastern Michigan, according to a source with knowledge of the hiring.

The hiring is expected to be announced Tuesday afternoon.

Eastern moved quickly in choosing its replacement for Stan Heath, whose contract was not renewed after five seasons.

Eastern Michigan athletic director Scott Wetherbee officially moved on from Heath on March 8, but Heath and his staff were aware for several weeks that he would be not returning.

Donlon, 49, brings head-coaching experience and Midwest roots to Ypsilanti, where the men's team hasn't made the NCAA Tournament since 1998, the longest Division I drought in the state of Michigan.

He was head coach at Wright State from 2010-16, notably pulling off an upset over second-seeded Oakland in the semifinals of the 2016 Horizon League tournament at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit in a game that ended around midnight.

Donlon was voted the Horizon League coach of the year in 2013, after he won a then-program record 23 games.

Donlon was fired at Wright State following the 2015-16 season, despite a 22-13 record, and three appearances in the Horizon League championship game.

After Wright State, Donlon quickly landed a job on Beilein's staff at Michigan for a season, helping the Wolverines reach the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament.

Donlon got his second crack at being a head coach at Kansas City, which was in the Western Athletic Conference when he arrived, and moved back to the Summit League in his second season.

He was there for three seasons, taking the program from an 11-21 record the season before he arrived to 19-12 in his third year.

In 2022, Donlon left Kansas City to join head coach Brad Brownwell's staff at Clemson.

Donlon coached under Brownwell at Wright State, before Brownwell left for Clemson in 2010 and Donlon took over the top job.

Clemson has made the NCAA Tournament the last two seasons, including this year.

Clemson (24-10), a No.

8 seed, plays No.

9 Iowa in a first-round game Friday in Tampa, Fla.

Donlon also has been an assistant coach UNC Wilmington, his alma mater, and St.

Peters and American.

He grew up in Northbrook, Illinois, and was a high-school and college point guard.

Donlon, 155-133 at Wright State and Kansas City, was said to be eager to get another head-coaching job, and Eastern Michigan might've been feeling the competition, hence the speedy hire.

Western Michigan, with its proximity to Chicago and new arena coming in 2027, was seen as especially stout competition for Donlon, whose specialty is defense.

Eastern Michigan hasn't had a winning season in men's basketball since 2017-18, and hasn't made the NCAA Tournament since five head coaches ago.

EMU, though, believes it has the facilities and the resources to compete for Mid-American Conference titles, particularly with its well-funded and engaged booster outfit, GameAbove Sports Group.

The hiring of Donlon is a critical one for Wetherbee, who is in his 10th year on the job at Eastern Michigan, and has two marquee programs ― football and men's basketball ― that are struggling.

Wetherbee also has a new boss, with new university president Brendan Kelly set to start his new position April 1.

Donlon beat out the perceived front-runner for the job, former Eastern Michigan star Earl Boykins, who is an assistant coach at Southern Cal and who played on Eastern's last NCAA Tournament team.

Heath was 57-99 at Eastern Michigan, his alma mater, in a rocky tenure that included the one-year Emoni Bates sideshow, as well as player gambling allegations the last two seasons.

This past season, one of Heath's best players, Carlos Hart, left the team midseason after he was indicted as part of a sweeping federal sports-gambling investigation.

Eastern was 10-21 in 2025-26, winning once after Hart left the team in mid-January.

Western Michigan remains in search of a men's basketball coach, having fired DJ Stephens after four years.

On Tuesday, Northern Illinois, leaving the MAC for the Horizon League in men's basketball next season, announced the hiring of Matt Majkrzak, the head coach at Northern Michigan.

Majkrzak made four consecutive Division II NCAA Tournament appearances, and was 28-7 this season, setting a program record for wins.

tpaul@detroitnews.com
@tonypaul1984

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This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Eastern Michigan to hire Billy Donlon as new basketball coach