NCAA Basketball: Ranking all 353 D-I head coaches for 2018-19
By Joey Loose
180. Jason Hooten (Sam Houston State)
- Overall record 161-119
Hooten became head coach at Sam Houston State in 2010 following six years as an assistant there. He’s yet to win the Southland, but that record in that conference is actually impressive. He’s made four CIT’s in the last five years, but needs the Bearkats to take the next step.
179. Andrew Toole (Robert Morris)
- Overall record 154-127
Toole has been well equipped at Robert Morris, spending three years assisting Mike Rice Jr. before becoming head coach in 2010. He has an NCAA Tournament appearance and a few NIT bids, but the last three years have been more of a struggle. Time will tell if he can build another winner in the NEC, though he’s done it before.
178. Mark Byington (Georgia Southern)
- Overall record 95-74
A former interim head coach for College of Charleston, Byington’s hiring in 2013 by Georgia Southern was his first full-time head coaching job. His Eagles have yearly contended in the Sun Belt, though they’ve yet to get the job done, lacking anything better than a CBI appearance. This year could be different and Byington has the Eagles primed to compete in the league once more.
177. Dave Leitao (DePaul)
- Overall record 177-195
Leitao is the most recent coach to lead to DePaul to the NCAA Tournament (back in 2004), but this is his second stint at the school, rehired in 2015. He also has head coaching experience at Northeastern (1994-96) and Virginia (2005-09), but his first three years at DePaul have been largely uncompetitive. Perhaps year four can be different.
176. Jon Coffman (Fort Wayne)
- Overall record 83-58
Since Fort Wayne promoted him to head coach in 2014, Coffman has led the Mastodons to the postseason in each of his four seasons. The record looks nice, but he’s yet to win the Summit League, a fact that could change within the next few years.
175. Craig Smith (Utah State)
- Overall record 86-56
Smith joined Utah State in 2018, having spent the previous four years as head coach of South Dakota. The longtime assistant under Tim Miles (at North Dakota State, Colorado State, and Nebraska) also has NAIA head coaching experience at Mayville State, a stint that nearly led to a national title in 2007. His last year in South Dakota ended 26-9 and he definitely has the pedigree to turn around the Aggies program.
174. Mike Rhoades (VCU)
- Overall record 71-69
Rhoades, an assistant for VCU’s 2011 Final Four run, returned to the school as head coach in 2017 after three years leading Rice. He also spent a decade at D-III Randolph-Macon. He made great strides in his final year at Rice but couldn’t refuse the chance to return to VCU and is primed to have the Rams competing yearly in the A-10 again.
173. Allen Edwards (Wyoming)
- Overall record 45-34
Edwards took over as head coach of Wyoming in 2016, having spent the previous five years as assistant coach. He played under Rick Pitino at Kentucky and also spent time under Anthony Grant at VCU. His coaching career is off to a solid start, taking home the CBI championship in his first season. If he keeps winning 20 games a year, then his career is certainly going to take off in the future.
172. Mike Jones (Radford)
- Overall record 122-118
After more than two decades as an assistant coach, including on VCU’s 2011 Final Four team, Jones got his chance as head coach at Radford in 2011. It’s taken some time, but he’s finally building a winner, making the NCAA Tournament in 2018 for the first time and sitting just above .500 for his career.
171. Steve Hawkins (Western Michigan)
- Overall record 274-223
Hawkins has been at Western Michigan since 2000, taking over as head coach in 2003. He also spent nine years as head coach of D-II Quincy, and he does have a pair of NCAA Tournament bids with the Broncos. More often than not, Western Michigan has been on top of the MAC West, though Hawkins will need more than on bid every 7.5 seasons to elevate himself up this list.