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UMass rewards Derek Kellogg with contract extension through 2018-19 season

Derek Kellogg

AP

AP

After leading his alma mater to its first NCAA tournament appearance since 1998, UMass head coach Derek Kellogg has been rewarded with a contract extension through the 2018-19 season. News of Kellogg’s extension was announced Friday morning by the UMass athletic department. What’s also notable about Kellogg’s extension is that another two years could be added down the line based upon his team’s performance.

In six seasons at the school Kellogg’s won 109 games, and there’s been a noticeable jump in the wins department over the last three years. In Kellogg’s first three seasons the Minutemen won no more than 15 games in a single campaign. But UMass has won at least 21 games in each of the last three seasons, including a 24-9 finish to the 2013-14 campaign.

“We are extremely pleased with the job Derek has done in his time here and feel the program is in a good place,” UMass athletic director John McCutcheon said in the release. “He has built a solid foundation for the future. We felt it was appropriate to put something together that the University and he are both comfortable with in terms of the extension to keep him here for a long time.”

UMass will have to account for the loss of point guard Chaz Williams and forward Raphiael Putney from last season’s team, but key contributors such as guard Derrick Gordon and forwards Maxie Esho and Cady Lalanne return to Amherst. As a result, UMass is expected to be in the mix for an NCAA tournament bid in 2014-15.

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