Oregon State’s Tinkle won’t return for 13th season

Oregon State men’s basketball coach Wayne Tinkle will not return next season, the school announced Thursday.

Tinkle has been asked by the school to finish the season and is expected to make a decision on that soon, athletic director Scott Barnes told ESPN.

“We are grateful to Wayne for his dedication to Oregon State and for the leadership he has provided our men’s basketball program,” Barnes said in a release. “He has represented Beaver Nation with integrity and commitment. As we approach the dawn of the new Pac-12 era, we believe it is in the best interest of our men’s basketball program to transition to its next chapter. These decisions are never easy, but we are focused on positioning our program for sustained success in a rapidly evolving collegiate athletics landscape.”

Tinkle was at the helm for 12 seasons, highlighted by Oregon State’s run to the Elite Eight in 2021. The Beavers finished the regular season with a 14-12 record but won the Pac-12 tournament and upset Tennessee, Oklahoma State and Loyola Chicago on the way to the regional final as a 12-seed. That tournament run resulted in a lucrative four-year contract extension for Tinkle that still has one year remaining.

Oregon State made one other NCAA tournament appearance during Tinkle’s tenure in Corvallis. Tinkle is 176-204 during his 12 seasons with the Beavers.

Prior to taking over at Oregon State, Tinkle was the head coach at Montana for eight years, leading the Grizzlies to two Big Sky regular-season titles and three NCAA tournament appearances.

Oregon State, which has spent the past two seasons playing in the West Coast Conference after the collapse of the old Pac-12, will return to a full Pac-12 schedule next season. The Beavers will be joined in the new-look league by Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, Gonzaga, San Diego State, Texas State, Utah State and Washington State.