Johnny Estelle

Biography

Johnny Estelle was hired as an assistant coach on Ross Hodge's first staff in the spring of 2025. Estelle, a native of Waco, Texas, has nearly 30 years of coaching experience, including 14 years as a head coach and the last two seasons as an assistant coach at North Texas. “Johnny’s impact will be felt all throughout the program,” Hodge said. “He is intentional and has a unique ability to develop impactful relationships that last. He has been inducted into two separate hall of fames, which speaks directly to his ability as a basketball coach and his influence as a person.” This past season at North Texas, the Mean Green won 27 games and advanced to the semifinals of the NIT. The Mean Green ranked third in the country in scoring defense at 60.1 points per game, 1.5 points behind first-place Houston. UNT had the AAC’s second-most efficient offense and second-most efficient defense. UNT’s 27 wins were the second-most single season wins in school history and the 14 league victories were tied for the third-most league wins in school history. North Texas had five players earn all-conference honors. UNT won 19 games in his first season in 2023-24 and reached the second round of the NIT. The 10 league wins and .555 league winning percentage were both the best by a first-year UNT men’s basketball staff. Estelle recruited some of North Texas’ top performers and helped mentor guard Jason Edwards and Atin Wright to first-team all-conference honors. UNT won 46 games in Estelle’s two seaso