NCAA Basketball: Ranking all 357 D-I head coaches for 2020-21 season

290. Brian Collins (Tennessee State) (Last year: 321)

• Overall record: 27-36

A former player under Rick Byrd at Belmont, Collins is now tasked with trying to overthrow his alma mater in the OVC. A former assistant under Steve Forbes and Dan Muller, Collins is also a former junior college coach and is still relatively young at 36 years old. His work with the Tigers has started well, winning 18 games this past season and propelling Tennessee State among the top half of the conference. It’ll take time to catch Belmont, but who knows what’s next for Collins and these Tigers.

289. Jimmy Allen (Army) (Last year: 286)

• Overall record: 54-70

Allen has significant experience on staffs at our nation’s military academies, having spent a decade combined at Army and Navy before taking over the Black Knights in 2016. He created success at D3 Averett and has Army trending upwards after his first four seasons leading them to a 4th place finish in the Patriot League this past year.

288. Robert McCullum (Florida A&M) (Last year: 292)

• Overall record: 117-180

McCullum has coached for over forty years around the country and even briefly in Africa, serving as head coach at Western Michigan and South Florida, while also assisting coaches like Lon Kruger, Eddie Sutton, and Dana Altman. He’s done solid work in his first three years with the Rattlers, as Florida A&M has finished tied in fourth place in the MEAC in each of the last two seasons.

287. Baker Dunleavy (Quinnipiac) (Last year: 278)

• Overall record: 43-51

His father a successful NBA coach and his brother a great player, Dunleavy carved his own path, playing and coaching under Jay Wright at Villanova. He took over Quinnipiac in 2017, having served on staff for Villanova’s 2016 title team. The Bobcats made a CIT appearance in 2019 and have done pretty solid in the MAAC to this point under Dunleavy’s charge. Time will tell if he’ll live up to his father or brother’s careers.

286. Willie Jones (North Carolina A&T) (Last year: N/A)

• Overall record: 14-5

Last season, Jones became interim head coach of the Aggies and things went really well. The former longtime assistant was the MEAC Coach of the Year and led the Aggies to a solid 14-5 mark, securing the job on a long-term basis. Obviously, most of that slate came in conference play, but Jones should have North Carolina A&T set up well for the future.

285. A. W. Hamilton (Eastern Kentucky) (Last year: 311)

• Overall record: 29-35

Hamilton is a protégée of Kevin Keatts, serving on his staff at NC State after succeeding him at Hargrave Military Academy. His collegiate head coaching career is off to a solid start, as he just led the Colonels to a 4th place finish in the OVC in just his second season. So far, he seems like the guy to get Eastern Kentucky back on track; we’ll have to see if they can make the next step.

284. Danny Sprinkle (Montana State) (Last year: 347)

• Overall record: 16-15

A former player at Montana State two decades prior, Sprinkle just finished his first season as head coach at his alma mater. He’d spent the last few years as an assistant in the Big West after time on the Bobcats staff and is off to a solid start. A 16-win season does mark a step forward for Montana State and it’s only the beginning for what Sprinkle could do at his alma mater.

283. Jay Ladner (Southern Miss) (Last year: 261)

• Overall record: 85-110

Ladner took over at Southern Miss this past season after five seasons leading Southeastern Louisiana. A longtime high school coach, Ladner did solid work with the Lions but has plenty of work ahead at Southern Miss. Doc Sadler was building something great before he left, and Ladner’s Golden Eagles won just nine games in last year’s rebuilding effort.

282. Jim Engles (Columbia) (Last year: 230)

• Overall record: 145-186

After a successful 8-year run rebuilding NJIT, Engles took the Columbia job in 2016, returning him to the Ivy League school at which he had spent five years previously as an assistant. However, the success has not come as easily as with the Highlanders, as his Lions won just six games this past season and have yet to finish in the top half of the conference. There’s still time to turn things around, but Columbia bottomed out this season.

281. Mike Martin (Brown) (Last year: 279)

• Overall record: 108-124

Martin is very familiar with Brown, having played for the Bears nearly twenty years ago, before taking over as head coach in 2012. His entire coaching career has come in the Ivy League, and he finally has his Bears looking competitive in the league. After a CBI quarterfinals run in 2019, last year’s team finished 8-6 in conference play and is certainly trending in the right direction.

280. Bryan Mullins (Southern Illinois) (Last year: 307)

• Overall record: 16-16

Though just 33 years old, Mullins is already hard at work at his alma mater, taking over last season at Southern Illinois. His only previous coaching experience came at Loyola, serving on staff as the team made their surprising Final Four run in 2018. With expectations low, Mullins led the Salukis to a surprise 5th place finish in the MVC, setting the program up well for the future.

279. Preston Spradlin (Morehead State) (Last year: 266)

• Overall record: 46-69

Spradlin spent a few seasons on John Calipari’s Kentucky staff before Morehead State offered him the beginning of his full-time coaching career. He took over as interim head coach when Sean Woods was dismissed in 2016 and continues to hold down the top job. Morehead State hasn’t turned around under Spradlin’s watch, but the results have been consistent enough these last three and a half years.

278. Mark Prosser (Western Carolina) (Last year: 305)

• Overall record: 26-37

While he did serve one season at D2 Brevard, Western Carolina gave Prosser his first chance to follow father Skip’s footsteps as a D1 head coach. Prosser spent several seasons on staff at both Wofford and Winthrop but has his own challenges ahead. This past season, the Catamounts won 19 games, an impressive step forward after a 7-25 debut, and perhaps they could join the cluster of successful teams atop the SoCon.

277. John Dunne (Marist) (Last year: 257)

• Overall record: 172-267

Dunne is plenty familiar with the MAAC, having spent twelve years as head coach of Saint Peter’s before swapping to Marist in 2018. The former Seton Hall aide led the Peacocks to the NCAA Tournament and won the CIT in 2017, but has work ahead with the Red Foxes. Marist fell to just a 7-23 mark this past year, finishing dead last in the MAAC.

276. Scott Pera (Rice) (Last year: 282)

• Overall record: 35-60

Pera begins his fourth season as head coach at Rice, having spent three years on staff beforehand. He’s most known for his involvement with James Harden, having coached him in high school and as an assistant with Arizona State. His Owls have improved in wins in each year since his arrival, but are probably still a few years off from competing for their first C-USA crown.

275. Lennie Acuff (Lipscomb) (Last year: 291)

• Overall record: 16-16

A long head coaching career took Acuff to Lipscomb last season, this after two decades of success at D2 Alabama-Huntsville. His Bisons were rebuilding after great successes in years prior, and a 16-16 mark is a solid start for Acuff’s tenure. He even led them back to the A-Sun title game before falling to Liberty; he’ll have them competing for league titles consistently if he keeps this up.

274. Lew Hill (UTRGV) (Last year: 277)

• Overall record: 59-73

After a long coaching career that took him around the country, including the last 12 seasons under Lon Kruger, Hill finally got his shot as head coach at UTRGV in 2016. The former Texas A&M assistant has hard work ahead in the WAC, but is off to a fine start, already leading the Vaqueros to a CBI and a CIT bid. His most recent team finished in 3rd place, and he’s definitely building a program that could potentially challenge New Mexico State atop the conference.

273. Jay Spoonhour (Eastern Illinois) (Last year: 268)

• Overall record: 116-143

Bouncing around for many years, Spoonhour has seemingly found a home with Eastern Illinois, where he’ll enter his ninth year as head coach. He coached Wabash Valley to the junior college championship nearly twenty years ago, but success has been fleeting with the Panthers. Eastern Illinois has struggled to seriously contend in the OVC, though last year’s 17-win campaign was the second most during his tenure, perhaps a good omen for the future.

272. Paul Mills (Oral Roberts) (Last year: 275)

• Overall record: 39-56

After spending all of his career in Texas, Mills took over the Oral Roberts program three seasons ago, having spent the last 14 years on Scott Drew’s staff at Baylor. A former high school coach as well, Mills is steadily improving things for the Golden Eagles, winning 17 games this past season, a 6-win improvement over his first two seasons.

271. Shane Burcar (Northern Arizona) (Last year: 342)

• Overall record: 16-14

A longtime high school coach, Burcar got his first shot in the college game with Northern Arizona and has taken advantage of the opportunity. An assistant in his first year, he was named interim head coach for this past season, went 16-14, and secured the permanent job title. He made an instant impact and will look to continue that trend for a Lumberjacks program that’s really struggled the last few seasons.