Reports indicate Mark Madsen will be the next Cal men's basketball head coach

Utah Valley is still competing for the NIT title, but Madsen is expected to be named the next Cal coach later this week.

More reports have filtered out from official sources around the Cal men’s basketball coaching search, and it appears we are approaching a resolution.

Barring an unforeseen turn of events, Utah Valley coach Mark Madsen is the next man to be patrolling the sidelines of Haas Pavilion.

The San Francisco Chronicle already reported Madsen was offered the job on Sunday.

Jon Rothstein at CBS Sports confirmed his initial report.

Jon Rothstein @JonRothstein

Sources: Barring an unforeseen set of circumstances, Utah Valley's Mark Madsen will be the next head coach at Cal.

Jon Rothstein @JonRothstein

Sources: Utah Valley's Mark Madsen has emerged as a leading candidate for the head coaching vacancy at Cal. Madsen has won a combined 48 games in the past two seasons at Utah Valley.

Jeff Goodman at Stadium also appeared to confirm the story.

Jeff Goodman @GoodmanHoops

Unless he has a change of heart, Cal is expected to hire Utah Valley head coach Mark Madsen once Utah Valley is done playing in the NIT, source told @Stadium. Everyone thought Madsen was a lock to return to Stanford - but the Cardinal did not make a move and Madsen couldn’t… https://t.co/K2twJ2MHV2

The major reason an announcement has likely not been made is that Utah Valley is competing in the NIT semifinals. Also, Madsen is expecting the birth of his child, and might not be coaching tonight.

The Salt Lake Tribune @sltrib

.@UVUmbb coach Mark Madsen is at home with his wife preparing for the birth of his baby, and will come to Las Vegas to coach on Tuesday if the baby hasn't come.

trib.alReports link Mark Madsen to Cal job, but Utah Valley’s coach could miss NIT semifinals for another reasonAs reports link Mark Madsen to Cal job, the Utah Valley head coach is away from the team before NIT semifinals

This has been a pretty intensive search for Mark Fox’s replacement. The search involved several prominent candidates like St. Mary’s coach Randy Bennett, UC Santa Barbara coach Joe Pasternack, Kennesaw State coach Amir Abdur-Rahim and more, many of the above who were favored by various Cal donor groups.

However, Cal went in a different direction. Thanks partly due to counseling from former Cal basketball coach Mike Montgomery (who coached Madsen at Stanford), Cal athletic director Jim Knowlton (facing scrutiny of his own) went with Madsen, who has bona fides similar to many of the candidates being entertained.

Madsen is not likely the top pick of many Cal fans, most certainly due to his affiliation with the Farm across the Bay. But he has shown strong coaching acumen at Utah Valley, managing year-over-year improvement that has culminated in a WAC title and an NIT tournament run. He might not be the home run hire most Cal fans are hoping for, but the end result is many steps up from what transpired in the last two men’s basketball coaching searches for the Bears.

Cal fans, what are your thoughts on Mark Madsen in blue and gold?