Pepperdine expected to hire Lorenzo Romar as next head coach, per report

The Arizona assistant will be heading elsewhere after just one season in the desert

Lorenzo Romar’s stay in Tucson will be a short one.

The Arizona Wildcats assistant coach is expected to be named the new head coach of the Pepperdine Waves, according to Jon Rothstein of FanRag Sports.

Rothstein reports that an official announcement will likely be made early this week, and that Romar is expected to remain with the Wildcats through the NCAA Tournament.

Romar was hired by Sean Miller and Arizona last April after he was fired at Washington after being at the helm in Seattle for 15 seasons.

This will be Romar’s second stint at Pepperdine. The 59-year-old was the head coach there from 1996-99 as well, when he posted a 42-44 record.

It is hard to say what Romar’s role at Arizona has been since Miller has been mum about that, but his character is always lauded by players and fellow coaches, so he will be missed in Tucson.

With Romar leaving, Arizona will have to fill two assistant coaching vacancies this offseason. Former assistant Book Richardson was suspended before the season (and subsequently fired) after being arrested for bribery, fraud, and corruption due to his involvement in a college basketball recruiting scandal.

Given Romar’s vast recruiting ties in the West, he is an intriguing fit at Pepperdine, which fired Marty Wilson back in February after the Waves started the season 4-22.

In the meantime, Romar and Arizona will look to continue their postseason run. The Wildcats won their second consecutive Pac-12 Tournament championship on Saturday in Las Vegas.

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Follow Ryan Kelapire on Twitter at @RKelapire

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