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NCAA Basketball: Ranking all 353 D-I head coaches for 2019-20 season

By Joey Loose

DURHAM, NC - MARCH 03: (L-R) Head coach Mike Krzyzewski of the Duke Blue Devils talks to head coach Roy Williams of the North Carolina Tar Heels before their game at Cameron Indoor Stadium on March 3, 2018 in Durham, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
DURHAM, NC - MARCH 03: (L-R) Head coach Mike Krzyzewski of the Duke Blue Devils talks to head coach Roy Williams of the North Carolina Tar Heels before their game at Cameron Indoor Stadium on March 3, 2018 in Durham, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /
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TALLAHASSEE, FL – DECEMBER 17: Florida State assistant coach Dennis Gates talks to the team during the game at the Donald L. Tucker Center on December 17, 2012 in Tallahassee, Florida. (Photo by Jeff Gammons/Getty Images)
TALLAHASSEE, FL – DECEMBER 17: Florida State assistant coach Dennis Gates talks to the team during the game at the Donald L. Tucker Center on December 17, 2012 in Tallahassee, Florida. (Photo by Jeff Gammons/Getty Images) /

340. Carson Cunningham (Incarnate Word) (Last year: 351)

  • Overall record: 6-25

Cunningham has seen a quick ascent, as the young coach went from high school coach in Indiana to NAIA head coach before Incarnate Word hired him last season. He did solid work at Carroll College, but there’s much work ahead at Incarnate Word. The Cardinals are still adjusting to life in D1, though they could make a nice step forward this season.

339. Kenny Blakeney (Howard) (Last year: N/A)

  • Overall record: 0-0

After a long assistant coaching career, the former Blue Devil begins his first head coaching position at Howard this season. He’d spent time at places like Delaware, Seton Hall, and Howard before taking seven years off from coaching, returning this past year as an assistant at Columbia. It’s quite an ascension for Blakeney, but his Duke ties could help him bring talent to Washington DC and help make the Bison competitive again in the MEAC.

338. Mike Schrage (Elon) (Last year: N/A)

  • Overall record: 0-0

Schrage will begin his head coaching career at Elon this upcoming season, though he does have plenty of bigtime experience on his resume. After being a student manager at Indiana, he spent six years on Duke’s operations staff before a long run as assistant coach at Stanford, Butler, and Ohio State. He’s worked mostly under Johnny Dawkins and Chris Holtmann and should have the pedigree to rebuild this struggling Elon program.

337. Brett Nelson (Holy Cross) (Last year: N/A)

  • Overall record: 0-0

Formerly the associate head coach at Marquette, Nelson takes over for the retired Bill Carmody with the Crusaders. He played his college ball under Billy Donovan at Florida and has coached under a variety of brilliant minds. He’s a young head coach and he’ll bring a lot of energy and passion to Holy Cross. How he fares moving forward will be a mystery, but he has done plenty of good with the Golden Eagles in recent seasons.

336. Dennis Gates (Cleveland State) (Last year: N/A)

  • Overall record: 0-0

A popular assistant coach for some time, Gates’ head coaching career begins in a tough spot at Cleveland State. The Vikings recently fired their coach and saw most of their roster transfer from the school. A former assistant Florida State, Gates has already done a solid job of building a competent roster, though Cleveland State likely won’t be competing for a Horizon League crown right away.

335. Eric Skeeters (Delaware State) (Last year: 348)

  • Overall record: 6-25

Skeeters began his head coaching career this past season at Delaware State, fresh off a stint with history-making UMBC as an assistant. A long assistant coaching career took him to places like Virginia Tech, Towson, and South Florida. Year one with the Hornets was a last place finish, though it will certainly take a few years to start winning more games at this program.

334. Jean Prioleau (San Jose State) (Last year: 345)

  • Overall record: 8-53

It’s hard to solely blame Prioleau, but San Jose State has not been competitive in recent years. He took the Aggies job after seven years on the Colorado Staff but it hasn’t translated well for the Mountain West crew. He’s put up just four wins in each of his first two seasons and things aren’t exactly looking up for year three. Prioleau is a respected coach, but these Aggies are just not in a position for success moving forward.

333. David Kiefer (Southeastern Louisiana) (Last year: N/A)

  • Overall record: 0-0

With Jay Ladner taking the Southern Miss, Kiefer was just promoted to head coach. At age 33, he’s a really young head coach, though he did play a key role in rebuilding this program the last few seasons. A former assistant under Frank Martin, Kiefer has a roster to rebuild at SLU, in his first career head coaching position. Whether he’s too young to take over the program remains to be seen, but he has the experience and knowledge to continue the Lumberjacks’ success.

332. Mike Balado (Arkansas State) (Last year: 342)

  • Overall record: 24-40

A former assistant to Rick Pitino at Louisville, Balado has spent the last two seasons at Arkansas State as he begins his head coaching career. The team took a small step forward in year two but have some work ahead to dig out of the bottom of the Sun Belt. Balado’s coaching career has taken all over the southeast, including time at Miami. Patience will run thin with Balado if these Red Wolves don’t start winning soon.

331. Dane Fischer (William & Mary) (Last year: N/A)

  • Overall record: 0-0

There were many questions surrounding the firing of Tony Shaver, and Fischer inherits a William & Mary program dealing with a mass exodus. Fischer has spent the last decade under Dave Paulsen, with four years at George Mason on his resume. There isn’t a lot of major college experience and this is his first head coaching position. There’s definitely potential with the Tribe, but next year will be extremely rough as he tries to build a competitive roster moving forward.

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