East Tennessee State Head Coach and former Wichita State Assistant Coach Steve Forbes clinched an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament on Monday as his team defeated Wofford in the championship game of SoCon Tournament. 

Since leaving WSU in 2015, Forbes has put together quite the resume during his time at ETSU. In five seasons at the helm, Forbes has already surpassed the 100-win mark, and this will be his second trip to the NCAA Tournament with the Buccaneers. 

Wichita State Head Coach Gregg Marshall said he has stayed in touch with his former assistant, even texting Forbes prior to the championship game.

“I got a text from Steve and I wished him well before the game,” Marshall said. “He sent me a picture of him and his family holding the trophy. I told him, ‘You’ve done a great job with a clean sweep — regular-season conference title, conference tournament title, and coach of the year. Now go win a game or two in the NCAA Tournament and then prepare to make some tough choices.’ But they’re good choices.”

Over the past couple of years, Wichita State has been able to produce some of the nation’s top mid-major coaches, including Forbes and New Mexico State’s Chris Jans. Marshall said he’s quite proud of how well his former assistants have transitioned to their new coaching role. 

“He’s doing a marvelous job, as is Chris (Jans) at New Mexico State,” Marshall said. “Chris had huge injuries and starters out for a long period of time and then he goes undefeated in the conference. He’ll be a favorite to get to the NCAA Tournament again. I’m really proud of those guys.”

Marshall certainly cares about checking in on his former coaches, but his current focus is on his own team.

“I follow [former assistants] as best I can, but I’ve got my own ship to get into port,” he said.

Another WSU connection, former player Zach Bush, joined Forbes and the Buccaneers as a graduate assistant this year.

The automatic bid that ETSU secured ultimately helps WSU, as the Buccaneers would have most likely earned an at-large NCAA Tournament bid had they lost the title game. Their tournament win keeps another at-large spot open for a bubble team like WSU. 

According to BracketMatrix, the Buccaneers will most likely be slotted as a 12 seed on Selection Sunday. Since they won their conference tournament, ETSU won’t have to play in the First Four.