240. Michael Fly (Florida Gulf Coast)
- Overall record 3-8
After seven years as an assistant at FGCU (including the 2013 Sweet Sixteen run), Fly was named head coach in 2018 and finally gets his shot to run a program. He has a great shot to continue the success that Andy Enfield and Joe Dooley have created with the Eagles, but there will likely be some growing pains, similar to the other first year head coaches.
239. Ashley Howard (La Salle)
- Overall record 0-9
After winning a pair of national championships as an assistant at Villanova, Howard begins his first year as a head coach at La Salle. He replaces John Giannini, who gave him first job as an assistant back in 2004. Howard should do big things in the A-10, but it will take a few years to build his kind of program.
238. Mike Dunlap (Loyola Marymount)
- Overall record 57-76
Dunlap had served as head coach of the Charlotte Bobcats, of the Adelaide 36ers in Australia, and at two D-II colleges before being hired by Loyola in 2014. Progress has been slow at his alma mater (he’s 48-75 after four years), but it’s hard to build a winning program with Gonzaga looming.
237. John Dunne (Marist)
- Overall record 156-229
Dunne turned 12 years as head coach of Saint Peter’s into the Marist job in 2018. He led the Peacocks to one NCAA appearance and won the CIT in 2017. He also knocked the #1 seed out of the MAAC Tournament last season before heading to Marist.
236. Sydney Johnson (Fairfield)
- Overall record 175-184
Another former player under Pete Carril at Princeton, Johnson spent four years as head coach of his alma mater before taking over at Fairfield in 2011. He hasn’t made the NCAA Tournament at Fairfield (he did in 2011 at Princeton), with a trio of CIT bids all he can show through seven seasons.
235. John Gallagher (Hartford)
- Overall record 109-155
Gallagher has served as head coach of Hartford since 2011, but a 109-155 isn’t very impressive in the America East. Also possessing 11 years as a D-I assistant, Gallagher should build on that record, with big things expected from Hartford this year. He’ll certainly need to do better than another CIT bid.
234. Tod Kowalczyk (Toledo)
- Overall record 286-234
Kowalczyk bounced around as an assistant, spending 7 years under Kevin Bannon at Rider and Rutgers, plus 2 years under Tom Crean at Marquette before being hired by Green Bay in 2002. After eight average seasons, he took over at Toledo in 2010. Overall, he may be 286-234 through sixteen years, but the best he’s done is an NIT bid in 2014.
233. Fran O’Hanlon (Lafayette)
- Overall record 315-381
O’Hanlon was an NBA draft pick back in 1970 and has coached at Lafayette since 1995, spending the previous six years assisting Fran Dunphy at Temple. He has three NCAA Tournament appearances in his 23 years, but has been unable to turn the Leopards into a consistent winner.
232. Jim Engles (Columbia)
- Overall record 130-150
Engles took over at Columbia in 2016 after eight years building the NJIT program from 1-30 in his first season to a pair of CIT bids before his departure. It’s been over fifty years since Columbia was in the NCAA Tournament, so Engles has quite the task on his hands, with a pair of 5th place finishes in his first two years in the Ivy League.
231. Dedrique Taylor (Cal State Fullerton)
- Overall record 70-95
Thirteen years as a D-I assistant (7 under Herb Sendek at Arizona State) preceded Taylor’s hiring at Cal State Fullerton in 2013. Things started slowly, but the Titans made the NCAA Tournament this past season, winning the Big West after finishing 4th in the league. You can’t expect to do that every season, but this is definitely one of the best programs right now in the Big West.