When Will Hardy got the Utah Jazz head coaching job in 2022, he didn’t call veteran NBA assistants. He didn’t call old colleagues from his time under Gregg Popovich in San Antonio. The first two people he called were Evan Bradds and Sean Sheldon, two young, largely unknown coaches who hadn’t yet made a name for themselves at the highest level.
That instinct turned out to be right. Now, as Bradds leaves to become Belmont’s next head coach, Hardy isn’t being politely supportive in the way coaches tend to be when someone from their staff gets a job. He’s being emphatic: “They won’t regret it. Bradds and Sean Sheldon were the first two people that I called when I got this job.”
Coming from an NBA head coach about a mid-major hire, that’s not a formality. That’s a statement.
Will Hardy on Belmont's hiring of Evan Bradds: They won't regret it. Bradds and Sean Sheldon were the first two people that I called when I got this job. pic.twitter.com/FeFiiCvCzV
— JP Chunga (@JP_Chunga) March 20, 2026
The Belmont Job
Belmont is not a program that hires recklessly.
Rick Byrd coached there for 33 seasons. Casey Alexander went 166-60 over seven more before leaving for Kansas State. In four decades, the Bruins have had exactly two head coaches. Bradds will be the third, inheriting a program that went 26-6 this season and will likely make him the youngest Division I head coach in the country at 31.
The infrastructure is sound. What Belmont needed wasn’t a rebuilder. It needed someone who could honor what exists and push it forward. The question isn’t whether Bradds belongs in coaching. It’s whether he’s ready to run something. Hardy’s answer is yes.
And Hardy has more context than almost anyone.
What Hardy Saw In Him
When Hardy called Bradds in 2022, Bradds had spent five seasons doing invisible work — video, individual skill development, building trust with players — under Brad Stevens, Ime Udoka, and Joe Mazzulla in Boston.
Hardy hired him immediately to run the Jazz’s player development program, responsible for Keyonte George, Walker Kessler, and Cody Williams.
In March 2023, on a road trip in Dallas, Bradds told Hardy directly at dinner that he wanted to coach the Summer League team. Hardy agreed on the spot.
Assistants don’t typically make asks like that. Head coaches don’t typically agree immediately.
But Hardy trusted him, and Bradds delivered.
That trust carried forward. Last May, Jon Scheyer hired Bradds away from Utah to serve as offensive coordinator at Duke. The Blue Devils went on to win the ACC regular season and tournament titles and earn the No. 1 overall seed in the 2026 NCAA Tournament.
Bradds will remain with Duke through their run before officially joining Belmont.
The Player Who Became a Coach
When Hardy called Bradds in 2022, Bradds had spent five seasons doing invisible work: video, individual skill development, building trust with players, all under Brad Stevens, Ime Udoka, and Joe Mazzulla in Boston. Hardy hired him immediately to run the Jazz’s player development program, responsible for Keyonte George, Walker Kessler, and Cody Williams.
In March 2023, on a road trip in Dallas, Bradds told Hardy directly at dinner that he wanted to coach the Summer League team. Hardy agreed on the spot. Assistants don’t typically make asks like that. Head coaches don’t typically agree immediately.
But Hardy trusted him — and Bradds delivered.
That trust carried forward. Last May, Jon Scheyer hired Bradds away from Utah to serve as offensive coordinator at Duke, where the Blue Devils went on to win the ACC regular season and tournament titles and earn the No. 1 overall seed in the 2026 NCAA Tournament. Bradds will remain with Duke through their run before officially joining Belmont.
The Real Endorsement
There are two ways to read Hardy’s comment.
The generous one: he valued Bradds early and is publicly backing a former colleague.
The more revealing one: when Hardy got his first NBA job and had to build a winning culture from scratch, he reached for Bradds first. Not as a favor. Because when it mattered, Bradds was at the top of the list.
Belmont is betting that instinct translates to a head coaching chair. Hardy has no doubt.
“They won’t regret it.”
