NCAA Basketball: Top head coaches under 40 Years old entering 2020-21

7. Travis Steele – Xavier

When Steele took over at Xavier, he was taking over a program in remarkable shape. He had served on staff for the last decade, watching Sean Miller and Chris Mack bring the Musketeers to great heights, but now the program is in Steele’s hands. The former Ohio State and Indiana assistant begins his third season in charge and the future remains bright.

Two years in, Steele hasn’t led Xavier back to the NCAA Tournament, but that’s no reason to call his tenure a failure at all. He’s brought a few high-level recruiting classes to the Musketeers and is 38-29 in his short tenure with the school. While neither of his 19-win seasons has ended in Tournament success, it’s clear that Xavier is building towards something in the tough Big East.

As Steele gets his recruits onto the court, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Xavier’s profile rise again. He was a big part of the Xavier team that secured a 1-seed in the 2018 NCAA Tournament and we’ll have to see if he can do that himself as head coach. He’s trained under an impressive list of head coaches, we’ll just see if Steele can shine on his own in the next few years.