290. Greg Herenda (Fairleigh Dickinson)
- Overall record 63-98
After 20 years as an assistant coach and 7 years as a non-D-I head coach, Herenda began at Fairleigh Dickinson in 2013. His Knights won the NEC in 2016 before bowing out in the First Four, making his 63-98 record look less underwhelming.
289. Brian Earl (Cornell)
- Overall record 24-41
Another former Princeton player under Pete Carril, Earl was tabbed at Cornell in 2016. He previously spent nearly a decade as an assistant at Princeton and has plenty of Ivy League experience. Cornell has struggled in recent years but he should still have a few years to put something together for the Big Red.
288. Griff Aldrich (Longwood)
- Overall record 6-3
A long time AAU coach in Texas, Aldrich was named Longwood’s head coach in 2018 after spending the last two seasons directing the recruiting efforts for UMBC (who of course upset #1 Virginia last year). He has very little professional coaching experience but he has plenty of recruiting connections from his time on the AAU circuit, though Longwood is far from Texas.
287. Mike Morell (UNC-Asheville)
- Overall record 1-7
After seven years under Shaka Smart (at both VCU and Texas), Morell begins his first year as a head coach, taking over for Nick McDevitt, who left for Middle Tennessee. It remains to be seen if Morell can cause as much ‘havoc’ as Smart, but he can definitely win some games in the Big South.
286. Lamont Paris (Chattanooga)
- Overall record 14-28
Paris begins his second season at Chattanooga, the kind of school where a number of coaches have paid their dues before taking better jobs (Jeff Lebo, Will Wade, and Matt McCall). Going just 10-23 in his first season was a disappointing start for the former Wisconsin assistant and it might not be too much better in year two.
285. Robert McCullum (Florida A&M)
- Overall record 95-153
McCullum has embarked on a long and eventful coaching career which includes serving as head coach of Western Michigan (2000-03) and South Florida (2003-07) as well as a lot of years as an assistant (many under Lon Kruger). He’s only 95-153 in his career and will need to improve on last year’s 9-25 in his first year at Florida A&M.
284. Tavaras Hardy (Loyola MD)
- Overall record 3-5
Formerly an assistant at Northwestern, Georgetown, and Georgia Tech, Hardy begins his first season at Loyola with a solid pedigree. Expectations are very low in his debut year, but he can slowly build this program back into a yearly contender, something that hasn’t happened since they joined the Patriot League in 2013.
283. Duggar Baucom (The Citadel)
- Overall record 190-225
An offensive stalwart, Baucom has led The Citadel since 2015, with limited results. His career also includes 10 years as head coach at VMI and a 190-225 record at military colleges isn’t awful. However, Baucom has yet to sniff the NCAA Tournament and possess only one CIT appearance in his career.
282. Jay Spoonhour (Eastern Illinois)
- Overall record 89-115
Spoonhour was hired in 2012 to head Eastern Illinois after three seasons at Moberly Area CC in Missouri. Going 89-115 in a mediocre OVC isn’t exactly impressive, but he did win the NJCAA championship in 2001 at Wabash Valley. He can win; he just needs to win OVC games.
281. Jay Ladner (Southeastern Louisiana)
- Overall record 63-76
Ladner possesses a lot of head coaching experience, though before his hiring in 2014, all of it came at either the high school or junior college level. While he’s just 59-72 in his first four seasons, last year produced a regular season Southland title and an NIT bid, perhaps a sign of things to come.