6. Southland Basketball rankings – Joe Golding (Abilene Christian, 2013-2020)
It seemed almost like destiny when Golding took over as head coach of his alma mater in 2011. After playing for the Wildcats in the 90’s, he spent the next decade bouncing around Texas, serving as a high school head coach, a Junior College coach, and a D1 assistant at Little Rock. He took over Abilene Christian just before the program joined D1, leading the program through the transition.
Suffice to say, the transition was successful. The Wildcats gradually became more successful in Golding’s first few seasons, rising from a 13th place finish in 2014 to a CIT bid by 2018. Everything came together the following year, as the Wildcats won 27 games, finished in 2nd place, and made their first NCAA Tournament in program history. Throw in another 2nd place last season and Golding clearly has this program on the way up.
When he played for the Wildcats, Golding could have never known that two decades later he’d lead them to the NCAA Tournament, guiding them as the program transitioned towards the big stage. He’s built this team into a contender in the Southland and should challenge for an additional Tournament trip in the near future. It’s always great to see a head coach succeed at his alma mater, but you rarely got a story as unique as this.