15. Grant McCasland (Texas Tech)
The two decades at Texas Tech have been something of a roller coaster for the Red Raiders. The program that hired Bob Knight, Billy Gillispie, and Tubby Smith found their breakthrough success under Chris Beard, who led them all the way to the national title game back in 2019. After his departure and Texas Tech’s failure under Mark Adams, it was fair to wonder if this program would revert to irrelevancy but McCasland has ensured that won’t be the case.
A former junior college head coach and a previous Baylor assistant under Scott Drew, McCasland began his head coaching journey at the D1 level with work at Arkansas State before a great run at North Texas that included an NCAA Tournament upset win and an NIT title. McCasland took Texas Tech’s open job in 2023 and has had a transformative effect in just two seasons. His Red Raiders have been competitive in a tough Big 12 and marched all the way to the Elite Eight this season, falling just short of the Final Four thanks to a furious Florida comeback.
Still shy of 50, McCasland has a number of years ahead of him and has already shown that he can build great success in Lubbock. There’s no telling what each different year could bring, especially with the sport depending so strongly on transfers and NIL commitments, but McCasland sure can coach and has definitely inspired this program. He’s a bit older but he feels in the same vain as a rising coach like Golden, hoping to bring Texas Tech its first taste of a national title.