NCAA basketball court (generic, 4/4/2015) [600x400]
NCAA basketball court (generic, 4/4/2015) [600x400] (Credit: Lance King/Getty Images)

Roadrunner James Franklin drove across Maryland to see Olu Fashanu Chop Robinson drafted

Florida Atlantic has hired Baylor assistant John Jakus as its next men's basketball coach, the school announced Wednesday.

Jakus is replacing Dusty May, who left last week to become the head coach at Michigan. May led FAU to the 2023 Final Four and back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances.

"This program has been in such great hands, and I have a tremendous amount of respect for what Dusty May, his staff, and the players have accomplished," Jakus said in a statement. "FAU has been one of the best teams in the nation the last two years and I am so fortunate to carry on that tradition."

Jakus has been on Scott Drew's staff for seven seasons, helping lead Baylor to the national championship in 2021 and back-to-back Big 12 regular-season titles in 2021 and 2022. He spent three seasons on Mark Few's staff at Gonzaga as director of basketball operations and began his college coaching career as a graduate assistant at Baylor.

"His pedigree, learning from two of the greatest coaches in the game today, is unmatched," FAU athletic director Brian White said in a statement. "John is a tireless worker who cares deeply for his players and has an innate understanding of the current landscape in college athletics. He is a winner and is passionate about doing it the right way."

Jakus also has coaching experience overseas as the head coach of ABA Strumica in Macedonia and Agape Bulgaria.

Drew's coaching tree has produced several head coaches, including Kansas State's Jerome Tang, Texas Tech's Grant McCasland, Wichita State's Paul Mills and North Florida's Matt Driscoll.