The name Martelli is a familiar one to Atlantic 10 basketball fans, and it will soon be well known to VCU basketball supporters.

The Rams are close to an agreement with Phil Martelli Jr., the coach of Bryant University, to become VCU's next men's basketball coach, according to multiple media reports late Tuesday night.

The news came just hours after Richard Pitino, rumored to be one of the school's top targets, decided to take the job at Xavier.

Martelli's father, Phil, was the coach at Saint Joseph's for 24 seasons, with seven NCAA tournament appearances to his name. His other son, Jimmy, was hired as VCU's director of basketball operations in 2017, and later went to Penn State with coach Mike Rhoades.

Martelli Jr. was a talented player for Saint Joseph's before entering the coaching ranks. He has been at Bryant for eight years, but was named the head coach two games into the 2023-24 season.

This year marked his second as a head coach, and the team reached the NCAA tournament, where the Bulldogs lost to Michigan State in the first round. Ironically, the Spartans then beat Richard Pitino's New Mexico team in the second round.

CBS Sports reported that Phil Martelli Sr. will join his son's staff at VCU in some capacity.

(VCU is a sponsor of The Richmonder, but did not influence or review this story.)