NCAA Basketball: Ranking all 358 D-I head coaches for 2021-22 season
By Joey Loose
280. Brian Burg (Georgia Southern) (Last year: 322)
- Overall record: 13-13
Burg has only briefly been a head coach but learned from one of the best before taking that job. He bounced around as an assistant coach before spending five years under Chris Beard, assisting him at both Little Rock and Texas Tech. Not only did he help lead those two programs to some great things, but he has gotten Georgia Southern off to a decent enough start in year one.
279. Barclay Radebaugh (Charleston Southern) (Last year: 266)
- Overall record: 210-274
Radebaugh arrived at Charleston Southern in 2005 and has done some solid work for the Buccaneers. His coaching career has involved coaching stints at South Carolina, Miami FL, and a number of solid mid-majors. He’s never led the Buccaneers to the NCAA Tournament, but solid play and a few NIT bids are nothing disappointing. Unfortunately, his team was just 3-18 last season; a trend that cannot continue.
278. Jimmy Allen (Army) (Last year: 289)
- Overall record: 66-80
Allen has fared solidly in his coaching career to this point. He led a major turnaround at the D3 level in six years leading Averett. He’s been with the Black Knights since 2010 and was promoted to head coach back in 2016. This Army program has improved little by little since Allen took the top job, making the CBI quarterfinals this past season, another step forward for the Black Knights
277. Dan Engelstad (Mount St. Mary’s) (Last year: 315)
- Overall record: 32-54
Engelstad’s coaching career is still in its early days but he’s certainly gotten off to a good start. A former D1 assistant, including at Mount St. Mary’s to start his career, he spent five years winning a ton of games at the D3 level as head coach at Southern Vermont. The Mountaineers brought him back as head coach in 2018. After two subpar seasons, he led Mount St. Mary’s back to the NCAA Tournament this past season by winning the NEC Tournament and getting the program back in business.
276. Billy Lange (Saint Joseph’s) (Last year: 264)
- Overall record: 103-156
It’s been an intriguing coaching career to this point for Lange, soon to begin his third year as head man at Saint Joseph’s. He spent two stints coaching under Jay Wright at Villanova, plus a six-year stint on the staff of the Philadelphia 76ers. As a head coach, he did great work at the D3 level with the Merchant Marine Academy but struggled at Navy. His first two seasons with the Hawks have been pretty uninspiring, but it’s still a bit too early to call his hiring a mistake.
275. Steve Smiley (Northern Colorado) (Last year: 344)
- Overall record: 11-11
A successful junior college head coach, last season was Smiley’s first as a D1 head coach and it was a pretty solid season, all things considered. A former assistant at Weber State and previously with Northern Colorado, Smiley led the Bears to a 7th place finish in his first season, after predecessor Jeff Linder departed in the offseason. Obviously, Smiley is only getting started and it’ll be interesting to see how his Bears compete for Big Sky titles down the line.
274. Brian Kennedy (NJIT) (Last year: 270)
- Overall record: 63-82
Basketball is in Kennedy’s blood, beginning his coaching career on uncle Pat’s coaching staff at DePaul over two decades ago. Kennedy played his college ball at Princeton and Monmouth, but since DePaul has spent his entire collegiate coaching career with NJIT. Since ascending to the top job in 2016, he’s led the Highlanders to a CIT bid and into a new conference (the America East). Last year was a tough debut in the conference, but could bigger things be in store down the line?
273. Derrin Hansen (Omaha) (Last year: 238)
- Overall record: 127-149
Hansen has spent most of his coaching career with Omaha, but all of it has come in the state of Nebraska, including time at the high school and junior college level. An assistant for seven years, he took over the Mavericks program in 2005, leading them to a couple of D2 Tournaments before transitioning to the D1 level soon after. Unfortunately, the Mavericks were just 5-20 last season and aren’t trending in the best direction.
272. Tavaras Hardy (Loyola-Maryland) (Last year: 255)
- Overall record: 32-49
Native to suburban Chicago, Hardy played his college ball at Northwestern before spending more than a decade on the staffs of some solid D1 programs. After serving at Northwestern, he spent a few seasons each at Georgetown and Georgia Tech before Loyola hired him in 2018. He’s led the Greyhounds to three straight 9th place finishes in the Patriot League, needing to show some sort of progress in the next year or two with the program.
271. Reggie Theus (Bethune-Cookman) (Last year: N/A)
- Overall record: 94-128
The announcement was a bit of a surprise, but Theus is back as a D1 head coach for the third time. Formerly head coach at New Mexico State, Cal State Northridge, and with the Sacramento Kings, Theus is a longtime NBA player who’s picked up coaching experience all over the country over the years. He takes over a Bethune-Cookman program that’s been very solid in recent years but transitions this season to the SWAC.
270. Mark Prosser (Winthrop) (Last year: 278)
- Overall record: 37-53
After three years leading Western Carolina, Prosser returns this season to Winthrop, having spent six seasons as an assistant previously under outgoing head coach Pat Kelsey. Also a former aide at Wofford and Bucknell, Prosser had a great 2020 season but two subpar years with the Catamounts. He takes over a Winthrop program that should contend for Big South titles regularly, especially if he can maintain the energy Kelsey put into the program.
269. Sam Scholl (San Diego) (Last year: 248)
- Overall record: 33-49
Aside from an eight-year stint at Santa Clara, Scholl has known nothing but this Toreros program in his coaching career. After playing two years for the program, he began his first of two coaching stints and was eventually promoted to interim head coach in 2018. Now entering year four as head coach, his program has struggled the last two seasons and already seems far removed from an NIT appearance in 2019.
268. Mike Schrage (Elon) (Last year: 312)
- Overall record: 23-30
Floating around as an assistant for several years, Schrage began his head coaching career with Elon back in 2019. A former operations assistant at Duke, he spent several years assisting Johnny Dawkins at Stanford and then Chris Holtmann at Butler and Ohio State. Last year’s 10-9 finish was a definite step forward in his second year as head coach, though the Phoenix will look to rise up the CAA standings in the coming years.
267. Ashley Howard (La Salle) (Last year: 240)
- Overall record: 34-52
Howard played his college ball at Drexel and spent plenty of years as a collegiate assistant before his head coaching career got started. The highlight was a stint at Villanova including a pair of NCAA championships on Jay Wright’s coaching staff. Things have not been as rosy since taking over at La Salle in 2018, with three less than great seasons in a tough A-10.
266. Mike Brennan (American) (Last year: 261)
- Overall record: 98-129
After playing at Princeton under the great Pete Carril, Brennan’s coaching career took him on staff at his alma mater, at American, and briefly under John Thompson III at Georgetown. American’s head coach since 2013, he led the Eagles to the NCAA Tournament in his very first season, but it’s been more of a struggle in recent years, though his program only played five games last year.
265. Scott Pera (Rice) (Last year: 276)
- Overall record: 50-73
A former high school coach in Pennsylvania, Pera prepares for his fifth year as a collegiate head coach. A former assistant at Arizona State and Penn, he joined the Rice staff in 2014 and was promoted to the top job three years later. This past season was his first over .500 with the Owls, though they’ve still got some heavy work ahead to compete near the top of Conference USA.
264. Anthony Latina (Sacred Heart) (Last year: 258)
- Overall record: 99-140
Latina has been entrenched at Sacred Heart since 2005, having previously been an assistant at a few other New England colleges. He’s been head coach of the Pioneers since 2013 and has had some of his better years very recently. Latina has yet to lead Sacred Heart to the postseason, but the Pioneers have finished above .500 in the NEC in each of the last three seasons.
263. Darrell Walker (Little Rock) (Last year: 214)
- Overall record: 42-46
The national pandemic came at a rough time for Walker, entering his fourth season at Little Rock. His 2020 Trojans won the Sun Belt, but this season his squad struggled. A former NBA guard, assistant, and head coach, Walker has done solid work at the collegiate level, previously leading D2 Clark Atlanta to solid success. Overall, he has the Trojans trending upwards if he can put together more seasons like that 21-win campaign.
262. Wayne Brent (Jackson State) (Last year: 300)
- Overall record: 108-137
After playing and briefly coaching at Louisiana-Monroe, Brent has spent much of his coaching career at the high school level. His first collegiate head coaching job came when Jackson State hired him in 2013. There wasn’t much to love aside from a CIT bid in 2016, but last year’s Tigers squad didn’t lose any conference games in the SWAC and is certainly vying to be a contender more often in the league.
261. Greg Gary (Mercer) (Last year: 292)
- Overall record: 51-70
Gary played college ball at Tulane and later served under college coach Perry Clark as an assistant both at his alma mater and at Miami. His first head coaching experience was at Centenary before the Gentlemen moved down from D1. After eight years on Matt Painter’s staff at Purdue, Gary took over at Mercer in 2019. There are certainly no complaints about an 18-11 season in year two with these Bears.