NCAA Basketball: Ranking all 363 D-I head coaches for 2022-23 season

180. Carmen Maciariello (Siena) (Last year: 168)

• Overall record: 47-29

Maciariello enters his fourth season as head coach of his alma mater. He was previously an assistant at a number of schools, including at Fairfield under Ed Cooley and with the Saints under Jamion Christian. When Christian departed after just one season at the helm, Maciariello was named head coach in 2019. He led the Saints to the MAAC regular season title in each of his first two seasons and followed that up with a decent 15-14 mark, though he still hunts for that bid to the NCAA Tournament.

179. Trent Johnson (Cal State Northridge) (Last year: N/A)

• Overall record: 283-288

This is Johnson’s fifth D1 head coaching job after previously assisting at six different schools across a long career. He led both Nevada and Stanford to Sweet Sixteens as head coach then had limited success leading LSU and TCU. Johnson was named head coach at Cal State Northridge last season when Mark Gottfried was suddenly removed from the program. Clearly, a 7-23 start isn’t ideal and he’s got work ahead, but the Matadors have an experienced coach calling the shots in a winnable Big West.

178. Richie Riley (South Alabama) (Last year: 183)

• Overall record: 110-79

It’s been a gradual rise for Riley who still is just 39 years old but has picked up experience all over the place. He was an assistant at numerous schools, including Eastern Kentucky, UAB, and Clemson, before being named head coach at Nicholls State. His second season with the Colonels saw him win the Southland regular season title, leading to his hiring at South Alabama in 2018. These four seasons with the Jaguars have been very solid, with Riley leading the Sun Belt school to a pair of 20-win seasons and a win percentage just under 60%.

177. Rick Croy (Cal Baptist) (Last year: 182)

• Overall record: 68-51

Previously a successful junior college coach at Citrus College, Croy picked up coaching experience at a number of schools, including a stint under Randy Bennett at Saint Mary’s. He took over at Cal Baptist in 2013, leading the Lancers to five D2 Tournaments before the program joined D1 in 2018. In these past four years, Cal Baptist has played in a pair of CBIs and finished above .500 each season, with Croy slowly building this team into a WAC contender, even after a 9th place finish in conference play last year.

176. Jay McAuley (Wofford) (Last year: 178)

• Overall record: 53-38

When Mike Young departed Wofford to take over at Virginia Tech, McAuley took over the program back in 2019. A former basketball player at Georgia, he spent several seasons at Wofford while also coaching under Chris Holtmann at Gardner-Webb and Niko Medved at Furman. The last three seasons have seen the Terriers continue to be a productive program and a contender in the SoCon, even if they haven’t quite replicated the success of their 2019 season. Last year was another 19-win season and a 3rd-place finish in conference play.

175. Austin Claunch (Nicholls State) (Last year: 191)

• Overall record: 74-46

When considering the great young head coaches in the nation, Claunch certainly deserves to be mentioned. Just 32 years old, he didn’t have much coaching experience before landing at Nicholls State, serving on staff at Clemson alongside predecessor Richie Riley. He took over as head coach of the Colonels in 2018 and has done fantastic work already, leading the program to the last two Southland regular season titles. Last season, Claunch secured his second 21-win campaign, though Nicholls State had to settle for a trip to the NIT.

174. Tim Craft (Gardner-Webb) (Last year: 176)

• Overall record: 156-134

An assistant with the school nearly a decade prior, Craft returned to the Runnin’ Bulldogs as head coach in 2013. He had been an aide to Jeff Lebo at Auburn and East Carolina before accepting his first collegiate head coaching job. Craft led the program to their first-ever NCAA Tournament back in 2019 and has had consistent success with the Bulldogs, finishing in the top half of the Big South every single season. An 18-13 finish last year was their best season since that trip to the Big Dance.

173. Takayo Siddle (UNC Wilmington) (Last year: 318)

• Overall record: 34-19

UNC Wilmington has really bounced between periods of success and periods of disappointment and Siddle seems to be ushering in more success for the Seahawks. He was an assistant to Christ Holtmann and Gardner-Webb before heading to Wilmington on Kevin Keatts’ staff. After three years under Keatts at NC State, Siddle took over a Seahawks program immerse in struggle. This past year was just his second year on the job but he led the Seahawks to a 27-9 mark with a CAA regular season title and CBI championship.

172. Steve Lutz (Texas A&M-Corpus Christi) (Last year: 342)

• Overall record: 23-12

This past season was a major breakthrough for Lutz, who only just began his head coaching career in Corpus Christi. He spent more than two decades as a D1 assistant, with long recent stints at Creighton under Greg McDermott and Purdue under Matt Painter. In that first season with Texas A&M-CC, he took the program to a 23-win campaign and a trip to the NCAA Tournament, achieving most of his goals in his very first season on campus. Lutz certainly has a bright future ahead with the Islanders.

171. Scott Cross (Troy) (Last year: 179)

• Overall record: 265-212

Arriving on campus as a transfer player in 1995, Cross was part of UT Arlington basketball for more than two decades, serving as a coach long past his graduation. After twelve years as head coach, Cross was surprisingly fired and has bounced back, taking over at Troy just three years ago. After two rough seasons, he led the Trojans to a 20-win season and appearance in the CBI. He previously led the Mavericks to the NCAA Tournament back in 2008 and hopes to do the same at this Sun Belt school.

170. Billy Gillispie (Tarleton State) (Last year: 166)

• Overall record: 172-135

It’s been a real adventure for Gillispie, who finds himself starting his third season at this fifth D1 head coaching stint. A former high school coach and collegiate assistant, he had great success at UTEP and Texas A&M, taking the Aggies to the Sweet Sixteen. Since then, it’s been a lot of downhill for Gillispie, who had a rough stint leading Kentucky and was cast aside after allegations of abuse at Texas Tech. He took over at Tarleton State in 2020 as the program joined D1 and is just 24-27 in their first two years in the WAC.

169. Terrence Johnson (Texas State) (Last year: 221)

• Overall record: 39-15

It’s been an unexpected rise for Johnson, who actually has limited college coaching experience. He spent a number of years coaching in the high school and AAU ranks, while also getting experience at Samford and Texas State. He joined the Bobcats’ coaching staff in 2015 and was promoted to head coach five years later after Danny Kaspar suddenly resigned. In his first two seasons as a collegiate head coach, he’s led Texas State to a pair of Sun Belt regular season titles, winning the league’s Coach of the Year honors in each season.

168. Brian Wardle (Bradley) (Last year: 173)

• Overall record: 205-181

Wardle played collegiately at Marquette and began his coaching career on Tom Crean’s staff with the Golden Eagles. He later spent a decade at Green Bay, including five seasons in his first head coaching position with the Phoenix. Wardle took the Phoenix to consecutive NIT bids before heading to Bradley, engineering a recent turnaround with the program. His Braves have won a pair of MVC Tournaments and won 20 games in three straight years; last year’s 17-14 mark was a sign of good things to come in the near future.

167. Brett Reed (Lehigh) (Last year: 162)

• Overall record: 246-208

Reed has been a fixture at Lehigh for more than two decades where he has spent most of his coaching career. He spent five years on the Mountain Hawks coaching staff before being promoted to head coach back in 2007. He took Lehigh to the NCAA Tournament in 2010 and 2012 but is still looking for that trip to the Big Dance. Last year’s 13-19 mark isn’t exactly impressive, but it was another top 4 finish for Lehigh in the Patriot League, which has become a regular occurrence for this program.

166. Rod Barnes (Cal State Bakersfield) (Last year: 145)

• Overall record: 358-360

Nearly four decades ago, Barnes was a basketball player at Ole Miss. His early coaching career was spent at his alma mater as assistant and head coach, leading the Rebels to three NCAA Tournaments and a Sweet Sixteen in 2001. After he was fired, he bounced back at Georgia State but struggled mightily there, landing him at Cal State Bakersfield way back in 2011. Barnes led the Roadrunners to their first ever NCAA Tournament appearance and to an NIT the following season, but things have been less promising lately, with just a 9-19 finish last year.

165. Paul Mills (Oral Roberts) (Last year: 167)

• Overall record: 76-79

Long before arriving at Oral Roberts, Mills spent a number of years coaching high school basketball and spent 14 seasons helping Scott Drew build the Baylor program. He got his first collegiate head coaching job with the Golden Eagles back in 2017 and has certainly had success to date. While his record sits below .500 and his program has never finished higher than third in the Summit League, the 2021 team was a major breakthrough, winning the conference tournament and advancing to the Sweet Sixteen as a 15-seed.

164. Jim Les (UC Davis) (Last year: 164)

• Overall record: 311-312

After a long playing career and brief assistant coaching career, Les began head coaching when he took over at Bradley, his alma mater. He took the Braves to a surprise Sweet Sixteen run back in 2006 before being fired five years later. Ever since 2011 he’s been entrenched at UC Davis and now enters his twelfth season with the Aggies. He led them to the NCAA Tournament in 2017 sandwiched by a pair of NIT appearances. Last year’s 13-11 mark was an average year at UC Davis, with Les hoping to win the Big West again very soon.

163. Patrick Ewing (Georgetown) (Last year: 105)

• Overall record: 68-84

This Basketball Hall of Fame center that starred at Georgetown before a long NBA career now enters his sixth season leading the Hoyas. Ewing previously spent more than a decade on NBA coaching staffs, but Georgetown presented him with his first head coaching stint. It’s been struggles at Georgetown for the most part, though Ewing did lead a surprise run to the Big East Tournament title and NCAA Tournament in 2021. However, following that up with just 6 wins last season was not ideal.

162. Nick McDevitt (Middle Tennessee) (Last year: 234)

• Overall record: 148-139

Last season was very important for McDevitt, who finally had a breakthrough at Middle Tennessee. Previously, he spent more than two decades at UNC Asheville as player and coach, including five years as head coach. He took his alma mater to the NCAA Tournament and an NIT before landing at Middle Tennessee in 2018. After three rough seasons to begin his tenure, McDevitt led the Blue Raiders to a 26-11 mark and a trip to the CBI finals this past season, getting his overall record back to respectability.

161. Steve Donahue (Penn) (Last year: 157)

• Overall record: 295-294

One of the finest Ivy League coaches in recent memory, Donahue got much of his early coaching experience on the Penn staff under Fran Dunphy. He spent a decade leading Cornell, taking the Big Red to three straight NCAA Tournaments and a Sweet Sixteen run in 2010. He followed that with four less than stellar years at Boston College before taking over the Penn program in 2015. His Quakers have had ups and downs over these last seven years, but he did take them to the NCAA Tournament in his third season, though last year saw them finish just 12-16.