NCAA Basketball: 7 notable mid-major coaches jumping into high-major ranks

Lamont Paris, South Carolina Gamecocks

Lamont Paris is set to take on his first high-major head coaching gig in the SEC with the South Carolina Gamecocks after a historic season with the Chattanooga Mocs in the SoCon and the best coaching year of his young career this past season.

He finished 27-8 with the Mocs in 2021-22, winning the SoCon Coach of the Year in leading the team to both the regular-season and conference tournament championships and their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2016.

He compiled a record of 87-72 with Chattanooga from 2017-22. In five seasons at Chattanooga, Paris has shown he can build a mid-major program, as the win total grew from 10 in 2015-16 to 27 this past year upon his departure and his first appearance in the NCAA Tournament as a head coach. The next step: Prove he belongs at the high-major level given his pedigree.

He’s already made the biggest recruiting coup of them all in getting the commitment and re-class of top prospect G.G. Jackson, who’s headed to campus a year early to be eligible in 2022-23. From the transfer portal, they’ll have Ebrima Dibba (Coastal Carolina), Hayden Brown (The Citadel), and Meechie Johnson Jr. (Ohio State). Now, he’ll just need to show he can make things work on the court in a talented SEC coaching landscape.