By Theo Lawson

The Spokesman-Review

Ernie Kent won’t return for a sixth season as Washington State’s men’s basketball coach, The Spokesman-Review learned Thursday through a source.

The search for a new coach will begin immediately, according to the source.

After the 2018-19 basketball season, Kent had three years remaining on his current contract, which paid the WSU coach $1.4 million annually. Per the source, Kent will be paid out per the terms of his contract and will be compensated $4.2 million.

The Cougars went 11-21 overall and 4-15 in Kent’s fifth season in Pullman, finishing the year with the program’s largest ever loss in the Pac-12/10 Tournament — an 84-51 defeat to sixth-seeded Oregon Wednesday night at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

WSU failed to reach the postseason in Kent’s five years at the helm and never won more than 13 games in a single season. Kent, who was hired by former WSU athletic director and current Nebraska AD Bill Moos befo finishes his tenure with an overall record of 58-98 and was 22-69 in Pac-12 Conference games.