Appalachian State will hire Dustin Kerns as the new head coach of the men’s basketball program, pending approval by the university's Board of Trustees on March 28.

Kerns just completed his second season as head coach at Presbyterian College, leading the Blue Hose to a 20-16 overall record, a fifth-place finish in the Big South Conference at 9-7, and an appearance in the 2019 postseason CollegeInsider.com Tournament (CIT).

Presbyterian traveled to defeat Seattle 72-68 and Robert Morris 77-70, before losing 83-66 vs. Marshall in the CIT quarterfinals. This was Presbyterian’s first winning season since transitioning to Division I in 2007 and first 20-win season since 2005-06.

Presbyterian rode its three-point shooting offensively this season, as one of Division I’s top ten teams in three-point attempts (1,034) and three-point field goals per game (10.9). The collaborative scheme also produced 15.7 assists per game, which ranks in the top 30 nationally.

Kerns has compiled a 31-37 record in two seasons as a head coach.

A 2002 Clemson graduate, Kerns has also been in support or assistant coaching positions for 13 seasons at Tennessee Tech, Tennessee, Wofford (twice), and Santa Clara. From 2013-17, Kerns was on the staff at Wofford for two Southern Conference championships and NCAA Tournament appearances.

Kerns replaces Jim Fox, who was fired on March 15, as App State’s 22nd head coach. Since Fox's dismissal, Jason Allison has run the Mountaineer program as Interim Head Coach.

The Mountaineers are set to return four starters and nine players from the 2018-19 roster that recorded an 11-21 overall record and finished tenth in the Sun Belt Conference at 6-12 in league play.