Saint Louis coach Josh Schertz has agreed to a contract extension to remain with the Billikens, athletic director Chris May told reporters Friday morning.
The agreement comes as Schertz was considered one of the most likely mid-major candidates to draw interest from power conference schools.
But May confirmed the new deal before Saint Louis’ 88-81 win over George Washington in the Atlantic 10 quarterfinals that pushed the Billikens to 28-4 this season, matching a school record for wins.
The Billikens are the top seed in the A-10 tournament after Schertz led them to a 15-3 mark in conference play and their first regular-season championship since 2014.
But they had to overcome a 20-point first-half deficit against the Revolutionaries to advance to the tournament semifinals on Saturday.
The Billikens found out about Schertz’s new deal before the opening tip against George Washington, and the coach joked that his team’s early performance didn’t exactly serve as an endorsement of the decision.
“Well, obviously, the players were much inspired,” Schertz said with a laugh. “They were trying to get me fired. I guess that shows how they feel about me.”
Saint Louis was considered likely to make the NCAA tournament entering Friday, according to ESPN’s Joe Lunardi. Schertz believes the Billikens are worthy of making the 68-team NCAA tournament field for the first time since 2019 regardless of how the rest of the weekend goes.
“We’re 28-4 in the seventh-best league in the country,” he said. “I think we have enough good wins. I’d be shocked if we’re not just in, but in comfortably. Hopefully, now we’re just playing for seeding and a championship.”
In January, the Billikens made their first appearance in the Associated Press Top 25 since 2020-21, reaching as high as No. 18 and appearing in seven straight polls before dropping out Monday.
Schertz is in his second season at Saint Louis with a 46-19 overall record and an NIT appearance in 2025. Prior to the Billikens, he was the coach at Indiana State for three seasons and had a successful run at Division II Lincoln Memorial, including three Final Four appearances.
“I had really high expectations on what I thought it could be in terms of people, commitment and infrastructure,” Schertz said. “And it’s been all that and more. … We’re just scratching the surface of what it can be. We’ve got a good run ahead of us, hopefully this year and certainly in the years to come.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
