320. Wayne Brent (Jackson State)
- Overall record 69-102
Brent won four state titles in six years at Callaway High School in Jackson before the local university snatched him up in 2013. He’s just 68-95 in his first five seasons and his only previous full-time D-I experience was four years assisting at Ole Miss. He does have a CIT appearance on his resume, but went just 12-20 last season, and it’s hard to build a winning tradition in the SWAC.
319. Jason Gardner (IUPUI)
- Overall record 53-80
Four seasons under .500 have greeted Gardner since he was named head coach in 2014. He got the job following a long international playing career and a few years assisting Porter Moser and Josh Pastner. IUPUI recently moved to the Horizon League but that transition could lead to even more struggles for this Jaguars program.
318. Mike Martin (Brown)
- Overall record 79-103
Martin played for Brown in the early 2000’s and spent a year as an assistant coach there, so his hiring in 2012 wasn’t a big surprise. Unfortunately, he’s only finished in the top half of the Ivy League once in those six years.
317. Kevin Nickelberry (Howard)
- Overall record 133-223
Hired at Howard in 2010, Nickelberry also spent three years as the head coach of Hampton plus a year coaching the Libya national team. Regardless, he’s just 128-221 and has never sniffed the postseason in his first 11 years as a D-I head coach, though his program could still catch fire in a winnable MEAC.
316. Jared Grasso (Bryant)
- Overall record 3-27
The longtime Iona assistant, Grasso begins his first year as head coach at Bryant. His track record includes a dismal 1-22 run as Fordham’s interim head coach in 2010, but that’s not all on him. He has assistant coaching experience also at Hofstra, Hartford, and Quinnipiac (his alma mater), and he’s definitely one of the best hires Bryant could’ve made this offseason.
315. Mark Prosser (Western Carolina)
- Overall record 2-7
Son of the late Skip Prosser, he begins his first year at Western Carolina. He has one year of head coaching experience, an abysmal season at D-II Brevard, followed by the last six years as an assistant at Winthrop. He could very well turn into a great head coach, but he’s not his father, not yet anyway.
314. Corey Williams (Stetson)
- Overall record 52-117
After a brief career as an NBA point guard, Williams spent time as an assistant under Scott Sutton and Leonard Hamilton (who he played for at Oklahoma State). The former Florida State assistant was hired by Stetson in 2013 and the results simply haven’t been there. Williams is just 51-109 after five seasons, and the Hatters have never finished higher than seventh in the Atlantic Sun.
313. Ron Cottrell (Houston Baptist)
- Overall record 89-164
Cottrell has seen his fair share of success in leading Houston Baptist since 1991. The program was dominant in NAIA but is just 87-160 since joining D-I. Cottrell is a solid coach and the Huskies have been in the postseason two of the last three years, but the ceiling isn’t very high for this team.
312. Byron Smith (Prairie View A&M)
- Overall record 36-51
Since being named head coach in January 2016, things have been slowly improving for Smith and Prairie View A&M, with each season better than the last. Most of his coaching background comes as an assistant at various Texas schools but he also spent a year as head coach of the Harlem Globetrotters, for what that’s worth.
311. Kareem Richardson (UMKC)
- Overall record 66-104
Richardson came to UMKC in 2013 after many stops as an assistant coach, including spending a year each with Chris Mack and Rick Pitino. Outside of a solid 2017 with a CBI bid, things have not gone smoothly, and his career record sits at just 64-97.