College basketball’s new reality is alive and well in Cincinnati, where the Bearcats have a general manager helping steer the program through a landscape that changes by the week.
Corey Evans arrived from the Oklahoma City Thunder in March 2025 after four years in the NBA as an amateur evaluation scout, and he spent the 2025-26 season working alongside former head coach Wes Miller. Once Miller was dismissed and Jerrod Calhoun came over from Utah State, the setup could have shifted. Instead, Calhoun and Evans have reportedly settled into a smooth working relationship while navigating the sport’s current chaos.
Evans laid out what that job actually looks like earlier this month on the Bearcats Blitz, and the picture he painted was equal parts roster tracking, staff coordination, and constant problem-solving.
“There's some days that are kind of down, and you're just kind of studying different rosters in the league and elsewhere. There's another day where you're dealing with the courts and the cases, in different states and trying to figure out where our roster is going to be in 2 weeks or 3 weeks or one week, right?” opened Evans.
That uncertainty is part of the job right now, especially with Cincinnati still working to finish its roster for the 2026-27 season. For a stretch, it looked like former Utah State star MJ Collins would be heading to the Big 12 program, but his future is back in question with an exhibition against Ohio State set for October 7.
Evans also stressed that the role stretches far beyond roster management. He described a daily grind that includes helping organize recruiting, management, and strategy, while also making sure he stays connected to the people inside the building.
“And you're trying to touch different parts of the program. You're trying to help organize the staff with recruiting and management and strategy.
And then there's other moments where you're just trying to be around the players and around the managers, around the GAs and/or whoever it is. So I think it's about the main priority here, just touching different parts of the program. on the daily, but you're also trying to prepare for next year,” continued Evans.
Cincinnati does have an early win on the recruiting trail for the class of 2027. Calhoun landed 4-star guard Kameron Mercer, who committed to UC in late May.
For Evans, though, the bigger point is that the job is never static. He said the work can feel like a moving target, but that unpredictability is part of what makes it worthwhile.
“So, it's a lot of a guessing game,” Evans concluded. “You're trying to kind of create your own work at times.
But the most important thing is being with the players and the coaching staff, the administration. and trying to be a help in any which way possible. … But that's the fun part of the job.
You're not doing the same thing every day.”
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