NCAA Basketball: Ranking all 358 D-I head coaches for 2021-22 season
By Joey Loose
140. Mitch Henderson (Princeton) (Last year: 137)
- Overall record: 162-101
Born and raised in Indiana, Henderson attended Princeton and was part of some of the Tigers’ success in the 90’s on the basketball court. He began his coaching career spending 11 years under former Princeton coach Bill Carmody at Northwestern before being lured back to his alma mater in 2011. He enters year eleven with the Tigers, having made just a single NCAA Tournament, but having finished in the top 3 in the Ivy League in all but one season.
139. Mark Adams (Texas Tech) (Last year: N/A)
- Overall record: 44-90
After spending the last five seasons under Chris Beard, Adams takes over the Red Raiders program this season, but it’s by no means his first head coaching post. He previously served as head coach of five different Texas colleges, including a five-year stint at the D1 level with Texas-Pan American. There have been varying levels of success, including a junior college championship at Howard College, but he has all the pieces to be successful with Texas Tech, even if he’s not Chris Beard.
138. Joe Pasternack (UC Santa Barbara) (Last year: 194)
- Overall record: 126-88
Pasternack has seen a fair share of success already in his coaching career. A former student manager under Bob Knight, he had six years stints on staff at both California and Arizona and also spent four years as head coach at New Orleans. Hired by UC Santa Barbara in 2017, he’s led the Gauchos to at least 20 wins and a top 2 Big West finish in each of his four seasons, highlighted by last season’s trip to the NCAA Tournament.
137. Joe Dooley (East Carolina) (Last year: 129)
- Overall record: 200-162
Dooley has proven he’s a solid coach, but his best days have not come with East Carolina. He previously spent a decade on Bill Self’s Kansas staff and led Florida Gulf Coast to five postseason bids in five seasons, including a pair of NCAA Tournament bids. Dooley is three years deep in his second head coaching stint at East Carolina but has finished in last place in the AAC each of those years, just 29-52 in that span.
136. Rob Senderoff (Kent State) (Last year: 144)
- Overall record: 196-129
Senderoff’s coaching career has led him to his recent success at Kent State. He’s been an assistant under coaches like Herb Sendek, James Jones, and spent two controversial seasons under Kelvin Sampson at Indiana. Since becoming Kent State’s head coach in 2011, he’s put together a decent run of success, with an NCAA Tournament bid and a slew of other postseason appearances. A 15-8 mark last year kept the momentum going forward.
135. Jeff Linder (Wyoming) (Last year: 147)
- Overall record: 94-61
Linder took over at Wyoming last season and has these Cowboys trending in a solid direction. He has previous experience on several coaching staffs, including MWC rival Boise State for six years. He directed a great turnaround in four years leading the Northern Colorado program, leading the Bears to a CIT title and a trio of 21+ win seasons. A 14-11 start with Wyoming may not seem sexy, but it’s a good first step.
134. Ray Harper (Jacksonville State) (Last year: 154)
- Overall record: 187-129
Harper has already had a celebrated coaching career, long before his days with the Gamecocks. As head coach, he led Kentucky Wesleyan to a pair of D2 national titles, then led Oklahoma City to a pair of NAIA national titles. He took Western Kentucky to a couple of NCAA Tournaments and took Jacksonville State back to the Tourney in 2017, his first year on the job. Last season’s 18-9 mark was very good, but now his Gamecocks transition to the A-Sun.
133. Joe Golding (UTEP) (Last year: 222)
- Overall record: 134-114
This past year was pretty fantastic for Golding. In his tenth season leading his alma mater, he took Abilene Christian not only to their second straight NCAA Tournament but their first-ever Tourney victory in upsetting 3-seed Texas. Golding was then hired as the new head coach at UTEP and is tasked with fixing one of the C-USA’s more solid programs. It’s no easy task, but his stock has clearly risen these last few seasons, having won 71 games in his final three seasons with the Wildcats.
132. Brian Gregory (South Florida) (Last year: 125)
- Overall record: 305-246
Things have been up and down for Gregory over the years, though the longtime Michigan State assistant is still plugging away at his third D1 head coaching job. He took Dayton to a pair of NCAA Tournaments and an NIT title in eight seasons before lasting just five seasons at Georgia Tech. He enters year five at South Florida, with a CBI championship in 2019 being the lone highlight, finishing just 9-13 last season.
131. Tim Miles (San Jose State) (Last year: N/A)
- Overall record: 187-202
After a brief absence, Miles is back as a collegiate head coach, taking over his sixth different program, and third at the D1 level. He had plenty of early success, leading both Colorado State and Nebraska to NCAA Tournament bids. His seven years in Nebraska, his most recent post, were up and down, but much better than the current state of the Cornhuskers. There’s plenty of work ahead to fix a San Jose State program that’s been an MWC doormat for years.
130. Mike Rhoades (VCU) (Last year: 143)
- Overall record: 127-95
Having previously led Randolph-Macon to a pair of D3 Sweet Sixteens, Rhoades returns for his fifth year back at VCU. He spent five seasons with the Rams on Shaka Smart’s staff, including that Final Four run, before becoming head coach at Rice. Decent success with the Owls led him back to VCU, where he’s made a pair of NCAA Tournaments in two years and maintained VCU’s place as one of the best programs in the A-10.
129. Earl Grant (Boston College) (Last year: 139)
- Overall record: 127-89
This year marks a big step up for Grant, taking over as new head coach at Boston College. After garnering coaching experience at Wichita State and Clemson, his first head coaching job involved spending the last seven years at the College of Charleston. He led the Cougars to the NCAA Tournament in 2018 and has finished top 4 in the CAA each of the last five seasons. Clearly, Boston College presents a much greater challenge in the ACC.
128. James Jones (Yale) (Last year: 130)
- Overall record: 333-280
Jones is no doubt eager to return to the basketball courts, having not coached a game since February 2020 with the Bulldogs. Jones played at Albany and became Yale’s head coach back in 1999, serving that program proudly for the last 22 years. His Bulldogs have made a couple of NCAA Tournaments and have finished top 4 in the Ivy League in all but Jones’s first season at the helm. They’re 45-15 in the last three years and have finished atop the conference standings in both of those seasons.
127. Dave Richman (North Dakota State) (Last year: 131)
- Overall record: 136-87
Richman has made himself quite a basketball career in the state of North Dakota. He’s spent a majority of his career with North Dakota State, as a student, assistant, and most recently as head coach. Ascending to the top job in 2014, he wasted no time, leading North Dakota State to their first NCAA Tournament win in his first season. His Bison have won three Summit League Tournaments and continues to be a top-level team in the conference.
126. Jerry Stackhouse (Vanderbilt) (Last year: 107)
- Overall record: 20-37
Stackhouse is one of those former longtime NBA players trying his hand at collegiate coaching. He spent a few seasons leading the Raptor’s G-League squad, but these last two years have been his first at the college level. The former Tar Heel guard hasn’t made any progress with the Commodores in his first two seasons, ending with two finishes at the bottom of the SEC standings. Can year three be any better?
125. LeVelle Moton (North Carolina Central) (Last year: 121)
- Overall record: 205-135
One of the hidden gems of the coaching world, Moton has done excellent work at North Carolina Central, where he starred at guard nearly three decades ago. He was promoted to head coach in 2009 and has since led these Eagles to their first four NCAA Tournament appearances. The program was just 5-9 this past season, but after three straight NCAA Tournaments, it’s understandable to have one down year.
124. Dan D’Antoni (Marshall) (Last year: 133)
- Overall record: 128-99
D’Antoni spent three decades as a high school coach and nearly another on his brother’s NBA staffs. His long-awaited return to collegiate coaching came as his alma mater made him head coach in 2014. He led Marshall to an NCAA Tournament appearance and upset win in 2018, a CIT championship in 2019, and a very solid 15-7 campaign last year, continuing their success in a deep Conference USA.
123. Kyle Smith (Washington State) (Last year: 136)
- Overall record: 194-151
Smith has been hard at work, trying to resurrect a Washington State program dormant since Tony Bennett departed over a decade ago. He’s a former head coach at both Columbia and San Francisco, leading both the Lions and Dons to great, relative success. He’s 30-29 after two seasons with the Cougars, which is actually a big step forward for a Washington State program used to finish at the bottom of the Pac-12 standings, though progress is meaningless unless it continues.
122. Eric Konkol (Louisiana Tech) (Last year: 142)
- Overall record: 129-65
Konkol gained much of his early coaching experience learning under Jim Larranaga, spending time on his staffs at George Mason and Miami. He begins his seventh season at Louisiana Tech, which gave him his first head coaching job. His work with the Bulldogs has been steady, with this past season the highlight. The Bulldogs won 24 games, finished atop the C-USA standings, and made the semifinals of the NIT.
121. Bob Marlin (Louisiana) (Last year: 127)
- Overall record: 430-283
Marlin enters his twelfth season as head coach at Louisiana, having put up twelve solid years at Sam Houston State before that. He’s a former Alabama assistant who had success as a junior college head coach, also leading those Bearkats to a pair of NCAA Tournaments. He took the Ragin’ Cajuns took the NCAA Tournament in 2014 and has led the program to several other postseason bids, while last year’s 17-9 season was their best in a few years.