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

50. Kermit Davis (Mississippi) (Last year: 45)

• Overall record: 467-299

Recent seasons have been quite the revival for Davis, who was head coach at Texas A&M more than thirty years ago but was dismissed after rules violations. He’s served two stints at head coach at Idaho and had a 16-year venture at Middle Tennessee, scoring a pair of first-round NCAA Tournament upsets with the Blue Raiders. Davis landed at Ole Miss in 2018 and led the Rebels to a surprising trip to the Big Dance in his first season, but was just 13-19 this past season. He’s hoping for a bounce back in year five.

49. Kevin Willard (Maryland) (Last year: 60)

• Overall record: 270-210

After an impressive 12-year stint at Seton Hall, Willard enters his first season with Maryland, hoping to propel the Terrapins into a permanent contender in the Big Ten. He was an assistant under Rick Pitino for a decade and then had success as head coach at both Iona and Seton Hall. Willard took the Pirates to five of the last six NCAA Tournaments, including another trip this past season. His best season was limited by the national pandemic, but he’s proven he’s a fantastic coach at the highest level.

48. Brian Dutcher (San Diego State) (Last year: 53)

• Overall record: 119-40

Dutcher is a rare breed, spending nearly three decades as an assistant under Steve Fisher at Michigan and San Diego State. When Fisher retired in 2017, Dutcher took over the Aztecs program and has been masterful across the last five seasons. San Diego State has been in three NCAA Tournaments, won a pair of MWC regular season titles, and had a 30-2 mark when the pandemic shortened the 2020 season. All that’s left for Dutcher is the postseason success, as he sits 0-3 in the Big Dance, but is certainly one of the nation’s best mid-major coaches.

47. Brad Brownell (Clemson) (Last year: 44)

• Overall record: 385-251

Brownell has two decades of head coaching experience but has done his best work with Clemson. He originally served four-year stints at UNC Wilmington and Wright State, leading both programs to the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers hired him in 2010 and he’s taken them to a myriad of postseason appearances, including a Sweet Sixteen run in 2018. Clemson hasn’t exactly been an ACC power these last twelve years, but Brownell has done a decent enough job, though a 17-16 mark last season doesn’t exactly exude that.

46. Matt McMahon (LSU) (Last year: 75)

• Overall record: 154-67

It’s a new era for McMahon, who takes over at LSU after spending more than a decade at Murray State, including the last seven years as head coach. The longtime former Appalachian State player and assistant got his head coaching career off in style, as he led the Racers to three NCAA Tournaments and a pair of first-round victories in the Big Dance. The man who found Ja Morant and built talented OVC squads takes over an LSU program likely headed for some fallout after the exit of former coach Will Wade.

45. Mike Anderson (St. John’s) (Last year: 47)

• Overall record: 419-241

Anderson spent twenty years as an assistant under the great Nolan Richardson and has now spent twenty years as a head coach on his own. A staffer on the Arkansas team that won the 1994 national championship, Anderson’s head coaching career has seen him lead UAB to the Sweet Sixteen and Missouri to the Elite Eight. He returned as head coach with the Razorbacks, leading them to eight decent seasons before landing at St. John’s in 2019. He’s 50-41 with the Red Storm and at least has the program trending upwards, though we’ll see if those big results come this season.

44. Mike Young (Virginia Tech) (Last year: 57)

• Overall record: 353-280

Young has had an impressive coaching career, though most of it came at Wofford. He spent thirty years there, including the last 17 as head coach, leading the Terriers to five NCAA Tournaments and a first-round win in his final campaign. Since 2019, he’s been the head coach at Virginia Tech and has been a fantastic addition to the Hokies program. He’s led the program to a pair of NCAA Tournaments already, winning the ACC Tournament in surprise fashion this past season.

43. Rick Stansbury (Western Kentucky) (Last year: 46)

• Overall record: 415-239

One of NCAA basketball’s finest recruiters, Stansbury enters his seventh year on the sidelines at Western Kentucky. He previously spent a long stint at Mississippi State, with eight years as an assistant, including during their Final Four run in 1996. Stansbury took the Bulldogs to six NCAA Tournaments as head coach but hasn’t been able to replicate that same success in Western Kentucky. He’s averaging more than 20 wins a season with the Hilltoppers but is still looking to break through to the Big Dance.

42. Steve Alford (Nevada) (Last year: 37)

• Overall record: 557-309

Following success at Indiana, including a national championship, and a brief NBA career, Alford has settled into a long head coaching career. He had D3 success at Manchester before leading Missouri State to the Sweet Sixteen. Alford had an up-and-down stretch at Iowa before a great burst at New Mexico. Alford led UCLA to three Sweet Sixteens before flaming out and has been at Nevada since 2019. The Wolf Pack struggled to a 13-18 mark last season and have yet to really gain their footing under Alford’s leadership these past three seasons.

41. Frank Martin (Massachusetts) (Last year: 41)

• Overall record: 288-201

A native and former high school coach in Miami, Martin was an assistant under Bob Huggins and later succeeded him as head coach at Kansas State. He took the Wildcats to an Elite Eight and a slew of trips to the Big Dance before heading for South Carolina in 2012. Martin led the Gamecocks to their first ever Final Four in 2017, but it was his only NCAA Tournament in ten seasons. He’s bouncing back this season, taking over up in UMass and bringing new energy to the Minutemen program, hoping to build an A-10 contender in the coming years.