Sources: Saint Louis, Josh Schertz in talks about coaching job

Saint Louis is in talks with Indiana State's Josh Schertz to make him the Billikens' next head coach, sources told ESPN.

No deal is done, sources said, but the two sides are in discussions.

Schertz is coming off leading Indiana State to its best season in almost 25 years, as the Sycamores won their first Missouri Valley regular-season title since 2000. They fell in the conference tournament championship game to Drake and were one of the first teams left out of the NCAA tournament.

Entering the NIT, for which they earned a 1-seed, they have 28 wins -- the second most in a season in school history.

Schertz is in his third season at Indiana State, guiding the program to a 12-win turnaround from year one to year two in Terre Haute. After an 11-20 campaign in 2021-22, the Sycamores went 23-13 last season, including a win over Missouri Valley champion Drake.

Prior to being hired in 2021 to replace Greg Lansing, Schertz was a successful Division II coach at Lincoln Memorial. Under his tutelage, the Railsplitters went to three Division II Final Fours and won 30 games four times. During his 13 seasons as head coach, he went 337-69, winning 83% of his games.

Schertz also spent time as the associate head coach at High Point and Queens University, and began his coaching career as an assistant coach at Division II Lynn University.

If a deal comes together at Saint Louis, Schertz would replace Travis Ford, who was fired last week after eight seasons with the Billikens. Saint Louis, a heavily-resourced program and considered one of the best jobs in the Atlantic 10, last went to the NCAA tournament in 2019.