Who is Melbourne United's new head coach Jacob Chance

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Melbourne United’s two marquee stars – Chris Goulding and Joe Ingles – are both older than their new head coach, Jacob Chance.

United announced the 32-year-old Australian’s appointment today as the replacement for NBL championship coach Dean Vickerman, who left the club to coach in Japan next season.

He has signed a four-year deal, returning to the club where he won a championship as an assistant to Vickerman.

Chance, who was the head coach of the San Antonio G League affiliate Austin Spurs, is six years younger than retired NBA star Joe Ingles, 38, and five years younger than shooting guard Chris Goulding, 37.

He is now the youngest coach in the NBL, but Goulding is confident the former United assistant coach is the right man for the job.

“Jacob brings him with the right understanding of where this club has been and what’s been built, while also knowing that continual improvement and evolution are important in where the club is going,” Goulding said.

“Having him at the helm for the next four years gives us the best chance to get back to the top of the ladder and challenge for championships.”

Chance was just 12 years old when Ingles made his professional debut for South Dragons in 2006.

NBL27 Coaches By Age

• Brian Goorjian (Sydney Kings) – 72
• Gordon Herbert (Melbourne United) – 67
• Scott Roth (Tasmania JackJumpers) – 63
• Trevor Gleeson (Adelaide 36ers) – 58
• John Rillie (Perth Wildcats) – 54
• Justin Tatum (Illawarra Hawks) – 47
• Adam Forde (Cairns Taipans) – 44
• Will Weaver (Brisbane Bullets) – 42
• Josh King (South East Melbourne Phoenix) – 40

United has already locked in Ingles, Sam Waardenburg, Goulding, and Shea Ili, as well as Fabijan Krslovic, Kyle Bowen, and Malith Machar for NBL27.

Chance is already scouting for imports.

“It's a great group,” Chance said.

“It's versatile, it's different, it's full of experience, IQ, and shooting, which are some big areas that you need to be successful in the game we play.

“It's going to be important to put great, high-character imports around them that complement their skill sets, but also add to our program.

“It's about bringing people who are about the right stuff every day. It will take some time here to fill out the roster, but the local core is exciting.

“It's filled with experience and winning, which is really important to me.”

Three-time NBL championship winner Vickerman has revealed the reason for his exit after leading the powerhouse franchise for nine seasons, including two titles.

"(I have) a picture on my wall of a jersey from New Zealand that had the nine years and the four championship pictures, and it's like 'oh man, I just got to this nine-year mark again'," the 54-year-old said on Cut to the Jase with Jason Cadee.

"I've kind of done these cycles of three years and, you know, the first three years as head coach in New Zealand, we won a championship and went to two grand finals.

"The first three in Melbourne, same thing. The second three in Melbourne, same thing.

"Then this third three, we go to two championship games and miss out last year, and it's kind of like 'oh, I did fail'. To me, I failed these last three years because I didn't bring a championship to the club.

"So there was a part of like, yeah, it's time for someone else to reinvent this and to do it different."

ESPN is reporting: “After a plethora of European candidates were considered or interviewed – among them, sources said: Francesco Tabellini, Ognjen Stojaković, Dainius Adomaitis, and Pierric Poupet – United meaningfully reengaged with Chance, with a revised, more attractive offer that was enough to lure him back to the team and give new owner Travis Knipe a substantial coup within the first few months of his majority stakeholdership.”

Jacob Chance's coaching resume

Who is Jacob Chance, Melbourne United's NBL27 head coach

Jacob Chance is one of Australia's fastest-rising coaches, he progressed from video analyst to NBA G League head coach in just over a decade.

After beginning with the Perth Wildcats, he earned assistant coaching roles in the NBL and NZNBL before helping establish the Tasmania JackJumpers as an expansion success. He then joined Melbourne United as an assistant coach while also working with Basketball Australia before being appointed head coach of the Austin Spurs, the NBA G League affiliate of the San Antonio Spurs, for the 2025-26 season. In June 2026, he returned to Melbourne United as head coach.