NCAA Basketball: Ranking all 68 head coaches in 2021 NCAA Tournament

56. Jeff Boals (Ohio)

0 NCAA Tournaments

The longtime assistant at Ohio State built solid success as head coach at Stony Brook, a stretch that brought him back to Ohio just two seasons ago. It took just those two years and now Boals has led the Bobcats to their latest MAC Tournament title and has them back in the NCAA Tournament. We’ll have to see how Boals fares as head coach in the Big Dance, but he’s certainly making a profound impact on this program and the MAC in general.

55. Grant McCasland (North Texas)

0 NCAA Tournaments

McCasland has spent a number of years at various head coaching jobs, but he’s certainly had his greatest success with North Texas. Formerly an assistant to Scott Drew at Baylor, McCasland took over the Mean Green in 2017 and has created and sustained a winning culture. This was their first C-USA Tournament title under his watch, though they did win the regular-season title last season as well. McCasland could be another rising star in the coaching ranks.

54. Johnny Jones (Texas Southern)

3 NCAA Tournaments (0-3)

Jones inherited a Texas Southern program in fantastic shape, but it took a great postseason run this past week to get the Tigers back to the NCAA Tournament. Jones previously coached North Texas twice to the Big Dance but faltered even with Ben Simmons at LSU. Perhaps Jones is better suited at a low-major program like these Tigers, though it’s hard to imagine the impact his team can make in the near future.

53. Mike Rhoades (VCU)

1 NCAA Tournament (0-1)

After working a nice turnaround in three years at Rice, Rhoades returned to VCU as head coach in 2017, having previously served on the staff that made the Final Four a decade ago. These Rams have been up and down during his four years leading the program, but he’s taking VCU to a second NCAA Tournament and still has this program in solid shape for the future.