USC taps Enfield as new coach


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After weeks of speculation, USC announced Monday evening the hiring of new men’s basketball coach Andy Enfield, formerly of Florida Gulf Coast University.

New Trojan · New head coach Andy Enfield turned heads and received national acclaim after leading Florida Gulf Coast University to the NCAA tournament’s Sweet 16. - Courtesy of Steven M. Falk

New Trojan · New head coach Andy Enfield turned heads and received national acclaim after leading Florida Gulf Coast University to the NCAA tournament’s Sweet 16. — Courtesy of Steven M. Falk

Enfield recently shocked the college basketball world by leading FGCU to the NCAA tournament’s Sweet 16, the furthest a No. 15 seed had ever advanced in the tournament.

Enfield’s prior head coaching experience is brief, yet he and his team left an indelible impact on this year’s tournament. In just his second year at the helm of FGCU, the Eagles became the talk of March Madness as an exciting underdog that earned the moniker “Dunk City” thanks to its thunderous slam dunks in upsets over Georgetown and San Diego State.

Enfield, 43, previously worked as a shooting coach in the NBA and was later an assistant coach for five years at Florida State. After FGCU’s elimination at the hands of Florida, Enfield become a hot commodity among schools with head coaching vacancies, with his name mentioned for nearly every available major opening.

In his two seasons at FGCU, Enfield’s teams posted a 41-28 record.

USC is coming off of a 14-18 season in which it fired former head coach Kevin O’Neill in January. Under interim head coach Bob Cantu, the team went 7-8 and was knocked out of the first round of the Pac-12 tournament.

The Trojans are expected to play an up-tempo style under Enfield, a stark contrast to the grind-it-out, deliberate game plan favored by O’Neill.