Multiple sources familiar with the Scarlet Knights’ search told USA TODAY Sports that Rutgers is planning to hire LSU assistant coach Gary Redus II. A deal could be finalized this week.
Redus, 36, has never been a head coach in Division I women’s college basketball before. He’s been on Kim Mulkey’s staff at LSU since the 2022-23 season, which ended with the Tigers winning the national championship over Iowa.
From 2021 through June 2025, Rutgers’ president William F. Tate IV was the president of the LSU system. Additionally, Rutgers’ athletic director Keli Zinn was the deputy athletic director at LSU from 2022 through July 2025. Both Zinn and Tate had front row seats as Redus recruited high school All-Americans for Mulkey and helped build rosters that have piled up boatloads of wins. Since winning the national title, LSU has gone to back-to-back Elite Eights and is projected to be a No. 2 seed in the upcoming NCAA tournament.
Rutgers’ search for a new head coach was a quick one. The Scarlet Knights fired former coach Coquese Washington last Monday after four seasons in which she accumulated a record of 42-84. This season’s 1-17 record in conference play was Rutgers’ worst mark ever in the Big Ten.
According to multiple sources, Rutgers had also been targeting Rhode Island head coach Tammi Reiss. A New York native, an All-American guard at Virginia, and a former Syracuse assistant coach, Reiss has a record of 138-72 in seven seasons leading the Rams. She’s guided Rhode Island to a pair of Atlantic-10 regular season titles and just won the A-10 Tournament on Sunday night. However, Reiss’ buyout at Rhode Island would be north of $600,000, according to a copy of her contract obtained by USA TODAY Sports.
Sources also said one of the first calls Rutgers made was to Fairfield coach Carly Thibault-DuDonis, who declined to interview for the position. Thibault-DuDonis — the daughter of former WNBA head coach Mike Thibault who won a championship with the Washington Mystics in 2019 — has taken Fairfield to back-to-back NCAA tournaments and has won 79.4% of her games in four seasons there. The 34-year-old was previously an assistant at Minnesota and Mississippi State. She has turned down several Power 4 jobs in recent years.
Redus does not have a buyout of his contract at LSU if he leaves the Tigers for a head coaching job. He is represented by Klutch Sports, the agency founded by LeBron James’ agent, Rich Paul.
Under Hall of Fame coach C. Vivian Stringer — who retired in 2022 — Rutgers was a consistent winner in women’s basketball, going to two Final Fours and winning four Big East titles. Between 1998 and 2021, they went to 17 NCAA tournaments. Stringer also led the Scarlet Knights to a WNIT championship in 2014.
Before joining Mulkey’s staff, Redus previously worked as assistant at SMU, Vanderbilt and Division II Delta State. He played college basketball at South Alabama and professionally overseas for a few years. He is the son of a former MLB outfielder, Gary Redus Sr., who played 13 major-league seasons.
While he has never been a head coach, Redus has garnered a reputation as an ace recruiter, talent evaluator, and developer of guards. Last year, he helped LSU land four five-star recruits, a group that includes Grace Knox, Bella Hines and ZaKiyah Johnson, all key contributors to the Tigers this season. In 2020, while he was the recruiting coordinator for Stephanie White at Vanderbilt, he was named to the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association’s 30 under 30 list.