Tim O’Shea, the former University of Rhode Island assistant coach who just completed his seventh season as the head coach at Ohio University, reportedly will be the next coach at Bryant University.

O’Shea would only confirm that he’s spoken with people at Bryant. School officials say a new coach will be announced at a press conference Monday. Three media outlets -- the Columbus Dispatch, espn.com and foxsports.com -- report O'Shea will be named the Bulldogs' next coach.

O’Shea will replace Max Good, the coach who built Bryant into a Division Two power over the last half dozen years. Good left Bryant two weeks ago to become the associate head coach at Loyola-Marymount in California. Bryant is moving from the Northeast 10 to Division One beginning this September. The basketball program will begin a Division One schedule next season and play nonconference foes that include Providence College and Connecticut. Bryant will be phased in as a full-fledged member of the Northeast Conference over the next five seasons.

O’Shea moved from URI to Boston College, his alma mater, with Al Skinner in 1997. After helping BC to a Big East championship, O’Shea was hired at Ohio in 2002. He quickly led the Bobcats to the top of the Mid-American Conference and into the NCAA Tournament in 2005 where Ohio narrowly lost to Florida in the first round. Ohio has won 19 or more games in each of the last four seasons, including a 20-13 record in 2007-08.

O’Shea interviewed for openings at Providence College, Massachusetts and Bucknell in the last few months and remained intrigued by a return to his roots in New England. Once the Bryant position opened, officials there apparently targeted O’Shea. He is a Wayland, Mass., native, has family in New England and owns a home in Newport.