Southern Miss basketball ‘looking forward’ to discussing Jay Ladner extension, source says
A single year can make all the difference.
Southern Miss is “looking forward” to negotiating a new contract for men’s basketball coach Jay Ladner following the end of the season, a source within the USM athletic department confirmed to the Sun Herald.
Ladner is coaching the fourth and final year of his current contract, which pays him a base salary of $345,000. The school announced last March it would retain Ladner for his final contract year after a 24-65 start to his tenure.
Ladner has led USM to 25 wins and a regular-season conference title this season in the Golden Eagles’ first year in the Sun Belt.
With an 18-game improvement, USM is two wins away from tying the record for largest single-season turnaround in college basketball history, which was Iowa State’s jump from two wins to 22 last year.
“At the end of the year, Jay Ladner and (the school) will sit down and talk about his contract extension and what that will look like for him,” the source said.
Ladner has earned $35,000 in bonuses so far this season. Winning the regular season title netted him $15,000. Winning SBC Coach of the Year earned him $10,000, and winning 25 games added another $10,000.
Southern Miss is the top seed in the SBC tournament and will face South Alabama in the quarterfinal round Saturday at 11:30 a.m. in Pensacola, Florida.
This story was originally published March 3, 2023 at 1:57 PM.
