NCAA Basketball: Ranking all 363 D-I head coaches for 2022-23 season
By Joey Loose
100. Chris Mooney (Richmond) (Last year: 115)
- Overall record: 330-256
Another former Princeton basketball player turned coach, Mooney has been entrenched at Richmond since 2005. He had success at the D3 level as a head coach and also had a decent stretch as an assistant and head coach with the Air Force before the Spiders brought him to the East Coast. The last seventeen years have seen Mooney lead Richmond to varying levels of success, including a Sweet Sixteen run in 2011 and an NCAA Tournament win this past season, upsetting 5-seed Iowa in the process.
99. Pat Kelsey (College of Charleston) (Last year: 102)
- Overall record: 203-110
Kelsey played collegiately under the legendary Skip Prosser and later served on his staff at Wake Forest. He returned to his alma mater as an assistant before beginning his head coaching career at Winthrop a decade ago. He took the Eagles to four Big South regular season titles and a pair of NCAA Tournaments before departing for the College of Charleston this past offseason. His debut season with the Cougars was a decent 17-15 mark, though Kelsey certainly has this program buzzing.
98. Jeff Capel III (Pittsburgh) (Last year: 79)
- Overall record: 226-179
It’s been a wild ride for Capel, who played for Mike Krzyzewski at Duke back in the 90’s before beginning his own coaching career. As a head coach, he led VCU to the NCAA Tournament and took Oklahoma on an Elite Eight run before spending a 7-year stint as an assistant with the Blue Devils. Capel accepted the job at Pittsburgh in 2018, but the last four seasons have not gone according to plan. Capel is just 51-69 across these last four years, with last season’s 11-21 record his worst to date as a head coach. Is a turnaround in store for the Panthers or is Capel in for another long season?
97. Bob Richey (Furman) (Last year: 100)
- Overall record: 111-46
His head coaching career is still just beginning, but it’s been a healthy start for Richey. He originally arrived at Furman way back in 2011, becoming the head coach six years later and taking the Paladins to new heights. In his second season, he led Furman to their first ever Top 25 ranking. The Paladins have finished top 3 in the SoCon in each of his first five seasons, winning just over 72% of their conference games. Richey has yet to lead the program to the NCAA Tournament, but it’s hard not to be impressed by his record and success to this point.
96. Jeff Jones (Old Dominion) (Last year: 94)
- Overall record: 538-400
Jones spent two decades at Virginia as point guard, assistant coach, and head coach. He led the Cavaliers to an Elite Eight, Sweet Sixteen, and NIT title as head coach, but was fired back in 1998. He bounced back across a 13-year stint at American, winning a slew of Patriot League titles before heading to Old Dominion in 2013. It’s been a decent stretch for Jones with the Monarchs, leading the program to the NCAA Tournament in 2019. However, last year’s 13-19 season was a disappointing effort. This year, Old Dominion transitions to the Sun Belt, hoping to get back on track against their new conference foes.
95. Fred Hoiberg (Nebraska) (Last year: 59)
- Overall record: 139-123
A star shooting guard at Iowa State and in the NBA, Hoiberg’s coaching career got off to a hot start at his alma mater back in 2010. He took Iowa State to four NCAA Tournaments, including a Sweet Sixteen run, before heading to the NBA as head coach of the Chicago Bulls. Nebraska brought him back to college basketball three seasons ago, but the hire has not gone according to plan. Hoiberg is just 24-67 with the Cornhuskers, with last year’s 10-win campaign representing a small increase for a team dwelling in the basement of the Big Ten standings.
94. Ritchie McKay (Liberty) (Last year: 95)
- Overall record: 340-233
Following McKay’s full career track would take a long time, so we’ll run through the highlights. He’s been a D1 head coach at five schools, with two-year stints at Portland State, Colorado State, and Oregon State before leading New Mexico to an NCAA Tournament. Two separate terms as head coach at Liberty sandwich a stint on Tony Bennett’s Virginia bench, though his recent stint with the Flames has been quite successful. Liberty has won three of the last four A-Sun regular season titles and upset 5-seed Mississippi State during the 2019 NCAA Tournament. Frankly, McKay has Liberty in fantastic shape.
93. Scott Nagy (Wright State) (Last year: 101)
- Overall record: 298-161
Nagy has been impressive during his coaching career, originally beginning his head coaching sojourn at South Dakota State back in 1995. Across the next 21 seasons, he led the Jackrabbits to a slew of D2 Tournaments before their transition to D1. After leading the program to its first three NCAA Tournaments, he took the Wright State job in 2016 and has been just as successful there. Nagy is a 3-time Horizon League Coach of the Year, has won three conference regular season titles, and just led Wright State to a second NCAA Tournament this past season.
92. Herb Sendek (Santa Clara) (Last year: 103)
- Overall record: 510-379
Originally an assistant under Rick Pitino at Providence and Kentucky, Sendek has had quite the head coaching career of his own. It started back in 1993 at Miami-Ohio before long stints at NC State and Arizona State. Sendek took NC State to a Sweet Sixteen and five straight NCAA Tournaments before an up and down stretch with the Sun Devils. He’s led Santa Clara for the last six seasons and is coming off his best year with the Broncos, winning 21 games and leading the program to a 3rd-place finish in a top-heavy WCC.
91. Kyle Keller (Stephen F. Austin) (Last year: 90)
- Overall record: 126-56
A staffer or assistant at numerous schools over the years, Keller has had great success as head coach at Stephen F. Austin, where he’s been since 2016. A former aide at Oklahoma State, Kansas, and Texas A&M, Keller took the Lumberjacks to the NCAA Tournament in 2018. He’s won regular season titles in both the Southland and WAC, tying for that crown this past year as the program transitioned to their new conference in style. Any coach averaging 21 wins a year at a program like this is certainly doing their job.