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

300. Dan Earl (VMI) (Last year: 326)

• Overall record: 57-123

Earl made great progress last season with the Keydets and is now entering his seventh year as head coach at VMI. A previous player and coach at Penn State, Earl spent all of his assistant coaching career under Ed DeChellis, following the coach to Navy before taking the VMI job in 2015. After five less than stellar years, Earl was finally over .500 and led the Keydets to a 6th place finish in the SoCon.

299. Jay Young (Fairfield) (last year: 314)

• Overall record: 22-37

Himself a graduate of Marist, Young took over his own MAAC program two years ago and has done solid work early on at Fairfield. He’s previously been a head coach at the junior college and D2 level and spent fourteen years under Steve Pikiell at Stony Brook and Rutgers. Year two at Fairfield featured 10 wins and a 7th place MAAC finish meaning there’s still plenty of improvement to be had in year three.

298. Eric Olen (UC San Diego) (Last year: 307)

• Overall record: 7-10

Olen helped build UC San Diego into one of the best D2 programs, becoming an assistant coach in 2004 and taking over the top job in 2013. His only coaching job in his career, he led the Tritons to a host of success in their final years at the D2 level, with four straight D2 Tournaments among the highlights. This past season was rough, but it was an understandable transition to life in the Big West and at the D1 level.

297. Michael Fly (Florida Gulf Coast) (Last year: 296)

• Overall record: 34-48

Florida Gulf Coast burst onto the national scene this past decade and Fly was along for the whole ride. A graduate of Kentucky, he’s spent time in the NBA as a video coordinator and the same at Florida State. He joined the Eagles staff under Andy Enfield, was part of the Sweet Sixteen run in 2013, and eventually ascended to the top job in 2018, though the Eagles have taken a slight step back in his first three seasons in charge.

296. Tony Pujol (North Alabama) (Last year: 301)

• Overall record: 36-50

A steady climb led Pujol to North Alabama and he now enters his fourth season at his first collegiate head coaching job. He started off as a high school coach, eventually spending eight years under Anthony Grant as an assistant at VCU and Alabama. Also a former Wyoming assistant, he’s led the Lions to decent play in their first three seasons at the D1 level, with last year’s 13-11 mark the best so far.

295. Pat Duquette (UMass Lowell) (Last year: 302)

• Overall record: 95-139

Duquette spent two decades as a college assistant before beginning his head coaching career with these River Hawks. He spent more than half of that under Al Skinner at Boston College before eventually being hired by UMass Lowell in 2013. His first eight years have also been the program’s first eight at the D1 level, and they’ve resulted in a lot of 5th and 6th place finishes in the America East.

294. Duggar Baucom (The Citadel) (Last year: 304)

• Overall record: 215-277

Known for his fast-paced offenses, Baucom is nearly two decades deep into a solid head coaching career. He got his first experience on a number of coaching staffs, including under Bob McKillop at Davidson, and took his first head coaching job at Tusculum at the D2 level. Baucom was head coach at VMI for a decade before joining The Citadel in 2015. The good news is that this past season was his best with the Bulldogs.

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

• Overall record: 22-30

Burcar is really just beginning his coaching journey these last few seasons. He coached high school ball for twelve years before joining the Northern Arizona staff in 2018. A year later, he was promoted to interim head coach. After a great first campaign, he got the permanent job, but last year’s 6-16 mark was a clear step in the wrong direction. Getting this program back near the top of the Big Sky is a clear goal moving forward.

292. Luke Yaklich (UIC) (Last year: 318)

• Overall record: 9-13

Prior to taking over at UIC last season, Yaklich had become a rising name in the coaching world. After success coaching high school basketball in Illinois, he had been an elite defensive coach on staff at Illinois State, Michigan, and Texas, helping the Wolverines to the national title game in 2018. It’ll take more than a season to get the Flames going in the Horizon League again, but Yaklich is off to an acceptable start.

291. Paul Sather (North Dakota) (Last year: 297)

• Overall record: 24-35

Sather’s third head coaching job has been with the Fighting Hawks since 2019 and he’s looking to replicate some past success. He led Black Hills State to an NAIA Final Four and took Northern State to the D2 title game just three seasons ago. With North Dakota, he’s still building the program, though last season’s 5th place finish in the Summit League is a step in the right direction.

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

• Overall record: 125-192

McCullum has had quite the coaching career, taking him around the country and globe as an assistant and head coach. The former longtime assistant under Lon Kruger has been head coach at Western Michigan and South Florida, an assistant in China, and has been with the Rattlers since 2017. Last year’s 4th place finish in the MEAC was solid, but this year Florida A&M joins the SWAC.

289. Ryan Looney (Idaho State) (Last year: 338)

• Overall record: 21-33

If Looney keeps turning programs around, then he and Idaho State could find themselves making headlines in the coming years. Now on his fourth program, and his first D1 head coaching post, his post recent success was taking Point Loma to the D2 title game in 2019, just before accepting the Bengals’ coaching job. This past season was a big step forward, with a 4th place finish in the Big Sky.

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

• Overall record: 52-64

While father Mike and brother Mike Jr. made their mark in the NBA, this Dunleavy has been a collegiate coach throughout his young career to this point. He played for and coached at Villanova under Jay Wright, serving as part of the staff that won the 2016 national title. He’s led Quinnipiac since 2017, with a CIT bid to show for his work thus far in a challenging MAAC.

287. Pat Baldwin (Milwaukee) (Last year: 306)

• Overall record: 47-70

A longtime assistant, Baldwin got his shot as head coach at Milwaukee in 2017, and this year might be the year he turns things around for the Panthers. A former assistant at Loyola-Chicago and Northwestern, he’s yet to lead Milwaukee to a higher than 5th place finish in the Horizon League. However, the arrival of his son, a star recruit, could mean great things for Baldwin and this program moving forward.

286. Leonard Perry (Pacific) (Last year: N/A)

• Overall record: 48-97

Perry takes over this season at Pacific, having spent the last five years as associate head coach. He was previously head coach at Idaho, his alma mater, for five uninspired years and played and coached under Larry Eustachy at five different colleges. Also a former NBA assistant and scout, Perry helped Damon Stoudamire build this Pacific program into something solid and now it’s his chance to perhaps take another step forward with the Tigers.

285. Mike Morrell (UNC Asheville) (Last year: 298)

• Overall record: 29-53

Morrell enters his fourth season at UNC Asheville and has been steadily building progress with the Bulldogs. He previously spent seven years as an assistant to Shaka Smart at VCU and then Texas, while also gaining staff experience at Clemson. Last year’s UNC Asheville squad went 10-10 and finished 4th in the Big South, a steady climb from his first few seasons in charge.

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

• Overall record: 145-186

Engles prepares anew at Columbia, hired to coach the Lions back in 2016. He’s a former assistant at Columbia who then spent eight years at NJIT, leading the Highlanders to their most success at the D1 level. After that success with NJIT, he’s yet to have similar success in the Ivy League, with Columbia finishing in last place in 2020, their most recent season.

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

• Overall record: 93-127

Ladner has been a head coach for nearly three decades, even if much of that experience came at the high school level. Also briefly a junior college head coach, he spent five years at Southeastern Louisiana before Southern Miss brought him home in 2019. Ladner has only really just gotten started at his alma mater, though the initial results aren’t outstanding to this point; after all it’s only been two years.

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

• Overall record: 108-124

Martin is very familiar with Brown and the Ivy League, entering his tenth year as the Bears’ head coach. He played at Brown and was briefly an assistant before spending six years on staff with Penn, helping bring plenty of talent to the Quakers. His time coaching Brown has been up and down, but 2020 was his first season above .500 in conference play, perhaps a sign of good things to come.

281. Juan Dixon (Coppin State) (Last year: 305)

• Overall record: 33-85

Born and raised in Maryland, Dixon continues to do wonders in his home state. He starred at Maryland and was the Most Outstanding Player in 2002, leading the Terrapins to their first national championship. After a playing career in the NBA, his head coaching career began at Coppin State in 2017. While the beginning saw fair shares of struggles, his Eagles were 8-4 in MEAC play this past season, a major step forward.