NCAA Basketball: Ranking all 358 D-I head coaches for 2021-22 season

80. Tommy Lloyd (Arizona) (Last year: N/A)

• Overall record: 0-0

Time and time again, Lloyd had chances to depart Gonzaga and become a head coach, but he had rebuffed all previous offers until this year. He spent the last twenty years on the Gonzaga staff, helping recruit much of their talent and helping build the Bulldogs into otherworldly success. Lloyd takes over this season at Arizona, hoping to restore this Wildcats program to the glory of yesteryear, hoping to make them yearly contenders for Pac-12 titles and NCAA Tournaments again.

79. Jeff Capel (Pittsburgh) (Last year: 71)

• Overall record: 215-158

Capel enters his fourth season with the Panthers and is certainly no stranger to the bright lights. He had success as head coach at both VCU and Oklahoma, leading the Sooners to the Elite Eight back in 2009. Capel then spent seven years on Coach K’s staff at Duke before attempting to revitalize this Pittsburgh program. Last year’s 12th place finish in the ACC is his best mark to this point; there’s still a lot of work ahead in one of the nation’s toughest conferences.

78. Bryce Drew (Grand Canyon) (Last year: 90)

• Overall record: 181-115

After struggling at Vanderbilt, Drew proved his coaching mettle in this past year, his first at Grand Canyon. The former NBA guard was a successful player, assistant, and head coach at Valparaiso, leading them to a pair of NCAA Tournaments before three less than optimal years with the Commodores. In his first season with the Antelopes, he led Grand Canyon to their first ever NCAA Tournament and has them primed as a yearly contender on top of the WAC.

77. Lorenzo Romar (Pepperdine) (Last year: 76)

• Overall record: 438-330

Back where his head coaching career began, Romar enters the fourth year of his second stint with Pepperdine, having previously coached them in the 90’s. He had a solid stint leading Saint Louis before 15 years of solid work at Washington, leading the Huskies to three Sweet Sixteen’s. He led Pepperdine to the CBI title and a 4th place WCC finish this past season, both solid steps forward for a program dogged by Gonzaga and others in this conference.

76. Mark Pope (BYU) (Last year: 99)

• Overall record: 121-71

In quite a hurry, Pope is becoming a household name with his work on the west coast. He turned around the program at Utah Valley, spending four years with the Wolverines in beginning his head coaching career. Named BYU’s head coach in 2019, he’s 44-15 with the Cougars, has finished 2nd to Gonzaga twice in the WCC, and led the Cougars into the NCAA Tournament this past season. BYU heads to the Big 12 in a few years and Pope should have them in fine shape to compete for NCAA Tourney bids there.

75. Matt McMahon (Murray State) (Last year: 68)

• Overall record: 123-64

It’s been good work for McMahon since he became Murray State’s head coach in 2015. After playing and coaching at Appalachian State, he eventually joined the Racer’s staff in 2011, becoming the head coach four years later. He’s led Murray State to three OVC titles, two NCAA Tournaments and a Tourney upset win, though this past seasons’ 13-13 mark was clearly a down year for the program.

74. Johnny Dawkins (UCF) (Last year: 77)

• Overall record: 250-175

After starring at Duke and in the NBA, Dawkins joined the Duke bench and spent nearly a decade there before starting his head coaching career at Stanford. After two NIT titles and a Sweet Sixteen run, he transitioned to UCF in 2016 and begins his sixth season with the Knights. There have been a couple of great seasons, including an NCAA Tournament win in 2019, though UCF is still fighting for consistency.

73. Tommy Amaker (Harvard) (Last year: 73)

• Overall record: 427-278

Amaker is another member of the Krzyzewski Coaching Tree, playing and coaching at Duke before beginning his head coaching career. He led Seton Hall to a Sweet Sixteen before stalling at Michigan. Hired by Harvard in 2007, he’s led the Crimson to four straight NCAA Tournaments and a pair of Tourney wins, creating a great turnaround for a long-dormant program. Harvard has finished top 4 in the Ivy League for 11 straight years.

72. Frank Haith (Tulsa) (Last year: 72)

• Overall record: 332-217

Haith enters his eighth season at Tulsa, already deep into his third D1 head coaching venture. After two decades as an assistant, with the best days at Wake Forest and Texas, he spent seven years leading the Miami Hurricanes, leading them to a slew of postseason bids. After three successful years at Missouri, he landed at Tulsa in 2014, leading the Golden Hurricane to an NCAA Tournament and an AAC regular season title in 2020.

71. Tad Boyle (Colorado) (Last year: 88)

• Overall record: 285-185

These years have been good for Boyle, as he enters year twelve with the Buffaloes. His head coaching career began with Northern Colorado, engineering a massive turnaround with the Bears across four seasons. He got Colorado back to the NCAA Tournament this past season, marking his fifth appearance and second victory with the Buffaloes. This has been a solid Pac-12 program during Boyle’s tenure.