College basketball coaches have to wear many hats. They recruit, coach, mentor and develop. It’s a hard job that deserves recognition when done well. With that, here are the top 25 college basketball coaches.
Note: First-year coaches will not be included on the list. No matter how promising they look.
Here are last year’s rankings.
Top 25 College Basketball Coaches
25-21
25. Dusty May
Last year’s rank: N/A
May had an incredible season at Florida Atlantic, leading them to a 35-4 season. They were under-seeded at the NCAA Tournament and made it all the way to the Final Four. The Owls are poised for another big season in 2023-24.
24. Juwan Howard, Michigan Wolverines
Last year’s rank: 16
Howard did not have a good season at Michigan in 2022-23. Before that though, he made one Sweet Sixteen and one Elite Eight. He will have to turn things around to stay on this list after missing the NCAA Tournament last season.
23. Jerome Tang, Kansas State Wildcats
Last year’s rank: N/A
It’s hard for a year one coach to make the list because they could just be a one-year wonder. Tang made a massive turnaround at Kansas State, taking a team to the Elite Eight in year one after they were under .500 the season before.
22. Greg McDermott, Creighton Blue Jays
Last year’s rank: 23
McDermott has made eight NCAA Tournaments at Creighton and has a 449-281 career record. He has made an Elite Eight and a Sweet Sixteen over the last three seasons. Things didn’t go as smoothly as projected last season, but McDermott righted the ship by making the Elite Eight.
21. Tommy Lloyd, Arizona Wildcats
Last year’s rank: 25
In year one at Arizona, Lloyd made an Elite Eight and won 33 games. Last season, Arizona won 28 games, but lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. He is still new to being a head coach, but he is off to a terrific start to his career.
20-16
20. Dana Altman, Oregon Ducks
Last year’s rank: 13
Altman has over 750 career wins that have come at Marshall, Kansas State, Creighton and Oregon. With the Ducks, he was able to make the Final Four in 2017 and consistently compete atop the Pac-12. He has three Sweet Sixteens, one Elite Eight and one Final Four. He drops in this year’s rankings after missing two straight NCAA Tournaments.
19. Brian Dutcher, San Diego State Aztecs
Last year’s rank: N/A
After struggling to get out of the first round of the NCAA Tournament in four seasons at San Diego State, Dutcher led the Aztecs to the national championship. He has a 151-47 record as head coach and has taken over for Steve Fisher well.
18. Sean Miller, Xavier Musketeers
Last year’s rank: N/A
Miller was left off this list last season because he was returning to Xavier following a season off. He has had success with a 449-166 record and four Elite Eight appearances and four Sweet Sixteens. Last season was one of the Sweet Sixteens and it looks like he has Xavier going back to form after some down years.
17. Rick Pitino, St. John’s Red Storm
Last year’s rank: 20
After returning to college basketball, Pitino immediately made two NCAA Tournaments in three seasons with Iona. Pitino has proven he can still coach well, even at the mid-major level. He has a 834-293 record in his career, a national championship at Kentucky and a vacated one at Louisville. The bottom line is he is a good coach and now will get a chance in the Big East.
16. Rick Barnes, Tennessee Volunteers
Last year’s rank: 19
Barnes has done some really good work with the Volunteers. He has made five straight NCAA Tournaments and put some good teams on the floor. At Tennessee, he has made two Sweet Sixteens. His time at Texas and Tennessee makes him worthy of his ranking.
15-11
15. Chris Beard, Ole Miss Rebels
Last year’s rank: 8
Beard was fired from Texas for what happened off the court, but has been a good coach on the court. He has a 171-73 record and made the national championship game at Texas Tech before coaching the Longhorns. Not being able to coach at the end of last season hurts his ranking, but he is now at Ole Miss
14. Jim Larranaga, Miami Hurricanes
Last year’s rank: N/A
Three straight seasons of 14, 15 and 10 wins from 2018-19 to 2020-21 kept Larranaga off this list. But in the two seasons since, Miami has made an Elite Eight and a Final Four. He also gets a lot of credit for making a Final Four with George Mason in 2006.
13. Nate Oats, Alabama Crimson Tide
Last year’s rank: 24
After having some success at Buffalo, Oats joined Alabama. He would’ve missed the tournament in year one, then made the Sweet Sixteen in year two. For the 2021-22 season, the Crimson Tide got bounced in the first round. This season, they were the country’s no. 1 seed, but lost in the Sweet 16. If Oats wants to make up more ground on this list, he needs to get past the Sweet Sixteen.
12. Matt Painter, Purdue Boilermakers
Last year’s rank: 11
With five Sweet 16 appearances and an Elite Eight, Painter probably doesn’t get the credit he deserves. Losing to a no. 16 seed doesn’t help, but the Boilermakers had a good regular season in 2022-23. He is still speaking his first Final Four, but has a 67.6 win percentage in his career and has won the Big Ten. Getting a Final Four appearance or staying consistent will likely get Painter to slowly move up the list.
11. Mick Cronin, UCLA Bruins
Last year’s rank: 12
Cronin was always seen as a solid coach at Cincinnati, but moving to UCLA helped him reach another level. He paired a Final Four run with a Sweet 16 appearance last season. He moves up 11 after winning 30 games last season and making another Sweet 16.
10-6
10. Bruce Pearl, Auburn Tigers
Last year’s rank: 9
Pearl had some success at Tennessee before being hired by Auburn. At Auburn, he has taken a basketball program with not much history to a Final Four. He had the Tigers poised for a run in the 2022 NCAA Tournament, but they lost in the second round. Pearl made the NCAA Tournament again in 2023 and they made the second round.
9. Dan Hurley, UConn Huskies
Last year’s rank: N/A
After getting bounced out from two straight NCAA Tournaments in the first round, Hurley is now a national championship-winning head coach. He has a 255-160 records with stops at Rhode Island and Wagner also included. This is a drastic move up the rankings from last year and it looks like Hurley could move up even further if he puts up another good season.
8. Eric Musselman, Arkansas Razorbacks
Last year’s rank: 10
Musselman has worked the transfer portal and recruited well. It has paid off. He has two straight Elite Eight appearances with the Razorbacks. He also has a Sweet 16 appearance with Nevada before joining Arkansas and getting one there this past season. Musselman still looks like he is on an upward trajectory for this list next season.
7. Tom Izzo, Michigan State Spartans
Last year’s rank: 5
Izzo is another coach who has taken some flack in recent years. No Big Ten team has won the NCAA Tournament since his Spartans did in 2000. That title gives him something few other coaches have at this point. He reached the Sweet Sixteen this past season and has made 25 straight tournaments. Izzo deserves respect for being consistent for that long and making it to the second weekend in 2023.
6. John Calipari, Kentucky Wildcats
Last year’s rank: 2
Calipari has drawn some criticism over the last few seasons. The 2020-2021 season was a disaster. In 2021-2022, the team had some promise, but were upset by the no. 15 seed St. Peter’s Peacocks. Then last season, they got a no. 6 seed and the Wildcats were bounced out in the second round. Calipari still has plenty of Final Fours, Elite Eights and tournament wins under his belt at Kentucky. They have finished two of the last four seasons in the top 10 of the AP poll and the other two outside of it (2020-21 and 2022-23) While some of the recent retirements help him remain in a lofty ranking, Calipari recruits well and has done a good job at Kentucky. His number one recruiting class could help him climb back up the list.
5-1
5. Tony Bennett, Virginia Cavaliers
Last year’s rank: 6
Virginia wasn’t an easy job, but Bennett has made the most of it. He won a National Championship in 2019 and has a nice program. He missed the NCAA Tournament in 2021-22, but has things back on track after a 25-8 season last year.
4. Kelvin Sampson, Houston Cougars
Last year’s rank: 7
Sampson has coached at big programs in the past, but that didn’t end well. He has found a home at Houston and has taken them to the program’s greatest heights since the “Phi Slama Jama” days. He has made a Final Four and won four AAC Coach of the Year Awards. It wasn’t easy taking Houston from mediocrity to a team that is constantly in the top 25, but Sampson was able to do it. The last time they lost double-digit games in a season was 2016-17 and now they get the chance to prove themselves in the Big 12.
3. Scott Drew, Baylor Bears
Last year’s rank: 4
There may not have been a bigger mess that has been inherited than Drew did when he took over for Baylor. The team was looking into a new direction after a teammate murdered a player. Drew took a while, as was expected, but he facilitated Baylor going from the bottom of the Big 12 all the way to National Champions in 2021. The reason he doesn’t rank even higher on this list is that there have been some down years in Drew’s tenure, but the last five years have been incredible.
2. Mark Few, Gonzaga Bulldogs
Last year’s rank: 3
The big knock on Few is not winning a national championship. He does have two Final Fours and a 689-135 record at a smaller school. They have grown from a little fish to one of the name brands in college basketball and most of that is a credit to Few.
1. Bill Self, Kansas Jayhawks
Last year’s rank: 1
Self has won two national championships which is more than any other active coach. He has a 787-237 record in his career and a 580-132 record at Kansas. His most recent championship was in 2022 and last season he had another good season with a 24-8 record. He deserves to sit at the top until someone knocks him down.
Also in Consideration
Randy Bennett, St. Mary’s Gaels
St. Mary’s and Bennett have been the biggest competition in the WCC for Gonzaga. He has one Sweet 16 in his career and just needs to advance further in the tournament more consistently to move up this list.
Ed Cooley, Georgetown Hoyas
Cooley is a very good coach, but he has missed two of the last four tournaments. He has one Sweet 16 appearance in his career and another one could help him make the list.
Hubert Davis, North Carolina Tar Heels
Davis was on the list last season after making the National Championship Game in his first season. Things hit the fan in year two and the Tar Heels didn’t make the big dance and turned down an NIT invite.
Jamie Dixon, TCU Horned Frogs
Dixon did a great job at Pittsburgh and now is building TCU well. The Horned Frogs made the NCAA Tournament in two straight seasons, but Dixon will help himself by advancing past the first weekend at TCU.
Andy Enfield, USC Trojans
Enfield rose to fame because of the “Dunk City” team at FGCU. At USC, he has made just four NCAA Tournaments. The Elite Eight run in 2021 helps, but Enfield needs to keep the positive momentum going.
Greg Gard, Wisconsin Badgers
Gard was on the list last season, but the Badgers made the NIT following that. One Sweet Sixteen appearance helps Gard’s case, but he has to get things back on track this season.
Shaheen Holloway, Seton Hall Pirates
Holloway had a good run in the NCAA Tournament at St. Peter’s in 2022. Last season, he did a solid job to get Seton Hall close to the bubble.
T.J. Otzelberger, Iowa State Cyclones
Iowa State made a Sweet 16 in Otzelberger’s first season then made the NCAA Tournament last year.
Jon Scheyer, Duke Blue Devils
Scheyer had a solid first season as Duke’s head coach. They made the second round last season and now Scheyer has to build on it.
Shaka Smart, Marquette Golden Eagles
After things didn’t end well at Texas, Smart put his name back on the map with a solid season at Marquette. He needs to advance to a second weekend in the NCAA Tournament to make the list.
Brad Underwood, Illinois Fighting Illini
While his first two seasons at Illinois didn’t go too well, Underwood has gotten things under control. The Fighting Illini have had a few good regular seasons in a row. Now, Underwood just has to get the team past the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Buzz Williams, Texas A&M Aggies
Williams has made nine NCAA Tournaments in his career. Last season was his first NCAA Tournament at Texas A&M.
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