220. Barret Peery (Portland State)
- Overall record 25-17
A former assistant under Herb Sendek and a successful junior college head coach, Peery took over Portland State in 2017 and led the Vikings to a 20-14 mark in his first season. He went 181-29 while at Southern Idaho and Indian Hills CC, though more 20 win seasons in the Big Sky is more than enough success for the Southern Utah grad.
219. Joe Jones (Boston University)
- Overall record 214-214
Jones became the Terriers’ head coach in 2011, having previous served as head coach of Columbia from 2003-10. His career record sits right at .500, but he has nothing more than a single NIT to show for any of it. Patience might run thin, though he’s never had a conference record under .500 in his seven years in Boston.
218. Niko Medved (Colorado State)
- Overall record 83-93
Medved will begin his first year as head coach of Colorado State in 2018, though he’s already spent time as head coach of Furman (2013-17) and Drake (2017-18). He didn’t stick around at either school long enough to actually make an NCAA Tournament, but he did leave both programs in better shape, though leaving Drake after one season may have set them back a few years.
217. Jeff Boals (Stony Brook)
- Overall record 39-34
After seven years under Thad Matta at Ohio State (and nearly a dozen years elsewhere as an assistant), Boals took his first head coach job in 2016, replacing Steve Pikiell at Stony Brook. Year one ended in the CBI while year two was rough, but there’s still plenty of time for Boals to turn things around.
216. Matthew Driscoll (North Florida)
- Overall record 151-155
Driscoll took the North Florida job in 2009 after six years coaching under Scott Drew at Valparaiso and Baylor. His Ospreys have been generally competitive in the Atlantic Sun, though he boasts only one NCAA Tournament appearance, a loss in the First Four in 2015. Driscoll did become the program’s first coach since joining D-I, so I’m sure making the NCAA Tournament just six years after the transition isn’t a big disappointment.
215. Bill Herrion (New Hampshire)
- Overall record 406-403
Herrion’s coaching career began as an assistant under Mike Jarvis at Boston University and George Washington before embarking on a long head coaching career. He led Drexel (1991-99) and East Carolina (1999-2005) before being hired by New Hampshire. He made three NCAA Tournament appearances at Drexel, but hasn’t sniffed the Dance since 1996 when his 12-seeded Dragons upset Memphis in the first round.
214. Tim Craft (Gardner-Webb)
- Overall record 92-83
After spending six years as an assistant under Jeff Lebo at Auburn and East Carolina, Craft was hired to succeed Chris Holtmann at Gardner-Webb in 2013. Last year’s 14-18 was his first season under .500, and he’s yet to win the Big South five years in. Things are projecting in the wrong direction for this young coach in his first head coaching job.
213. James Whitford (Ball State)
- Overall record 79-91
Whitford took over at Ball State in 2013 after eight seasons coaching under Sean Miller at both Xavier and Arizona. He’s effectively rebuilt Ball State, who went from 12 wins in his first two seasons, to averaging more than 20 each in the three seasons since. Unfortunately, the CIT quarterfinals is as far as he’s gotten in the postseason, and it’ll be tough to topple Buffalo in the MAC.
212. Steve Henson (UTSA)
- Overall record 36-40
Henson played for and coached under Lon Kruger at five different places, including the Atlanta Hawks, before becoming UTSA’s head coach in 2016. His first year was the expected struggle, but the Roadrunners won 20 games and advanced in the NIT last season, perhaps a sign of good things to come.
211. Richie Riley (South Alabama)
- Overall record 39-33
Though he’s only 35 years old, Riley has already bounced around a fair bit in his career. After two years leading Nicholls State (co-conference champs last season), he took the South Alabama job and begins his first year in the Sun Belt. Expectations are higher than at Nicholls, but Riley could fail just as easily as former Butler assistant Matthew Graves, his predecessor.