Ali Farokhmanesh will be the new head coach for the Colorado State men’s basketball team. DNVR has obtained this information through multiple inside sources. An announcement is expected from CSU soon.
Farokhmanesh has been an assistant coach at CSU for the last seven years after coming over from Drake as part of Niko Medved’s initial staff in Fort Collins. Prior to his eight years with Medved, Farokhmanesh started his coaching career as a director of player relations and development at the University of Nebraska under Tim Miles.
Although he has earned multiple promotions in title and responsibility over the years, most recently Farokhmanesh was elevated to associate head coach in May of 2024. So when it was announced that Medved was leaving for Minnesota, it was unsurprising that it was the 36-year-old Farokhmanesh that was named interim head coach.
Most anticipated that it would be him that lands the gig but the news should at least give Ram Nation something to be excited about after the magical March Madness run came to an abrupt end. Farokhmanesh is viewed as a rising star in the coaching ranks and has been considered ready for a head coaching opportunity for a few years now. He had offers to take over smaller programs in recent cycles but Farokhmanesh has had his eyes on this exact opportunity.
A strong recruiter with deep ties locally, throughout the midwest, as well as in Texas, Farokhmanesh has proven to be able to land top talent. He’s done a tremendous job in terms of player development as well. We’ve seen guards like Isaiah Stevens and Kyan Evans make pretty significant leaps early in their careers under his tutelage.
In an interview with Kevin Lytle of the Coloradoan, Medved said that he believes his former lead assistant is ready to be a head coach.
“He’s been at the right hand here of everything that we’ve done since we’ve come to Fort Collins. He’s a tremendous coach and person, and he has the respect from players and people. I’m really pulling for him and want to do anything I can to help him. I do believe he’s ready for this opportunity.”
Now tasked with trying to keep the recent momentum of the program rolling, it will be interesting to see how much continuity Farokhmanesh is able to maintain in his first season. But having been around him for close to a decade now, the one thing I know he will do is surround himself with good people. He’s been very open over the years that it’s not just about finding players with talent, it’s about finding guys that will buy into the program as a whole and go about their business the right way.
In a similar vein, seeing everyone from Nique Clifford to Nico Carvacho publicly endorse Farokhmanesh should give you an idea of how he’s viewed by the players that have come through the program. Farokhmanesh, a lot like Medved, treats people the right way. He also just happens to be an incredibly bright basketball mind that has national name recognition from his time as a player.
Prior to his coaching career, Farokhmanesh was a star at Northern Iowa and played on two NCAA Tournament teams. His 3-pointer to seal the deal against Kansas and send UNI to its first-ever Sweet-16 is still considered one of the greatest March Madness moments of all-time. He played four years of professional basketball overseas as well.
