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

320. Greg Young (UT Arlington) (Last year: 343)

• Overall record: 11-18

Last year was Young’s first as head coach at UT Arlington after a dozen years on staff with the Mavericks. He’s a former junior college head coach, but this has been his first venture at the D1 level. He’s spent nearly his entire career in the state of Texas and has helped lead the Mavericks to success from all over the bench. His first season was a bit underwhelming when you look just at his record, but it’s just the beginning for Young.

319. Michael Schwartz (East Carolina) (Last year: N/A)

• Overall record: 0-0

After more than two decades on D1 coaching staffs, Schwartz begins his head coaching career this year at East Carolina. He briefly played basketball at Texas and has spent much of his career under coaches from that squad, including stints under Frank Haith at Miami and Tulsa. Schwartz spent his last six years at Tennessee, helping Rick Barnes turn those Volunteers into a winning SEC program again. Life will be more difficult at East Carolina; a team that has regularly resided in the basement of the AAC.

318. Jeff Wulbrun (Denver) (Last year: 345)

• Overall record: 11-21

Last season marked the beginning of Wulbrun’s collegiate head coaching career, having previously been a high school coach in the state of Illinois. Before arriving at Denver, he spent nearly a decade on the staff of Jerod Haase at UAB and Stanford. Wulbrun helped lead the Pioneers to an 11-win season, their best mark in four seasons. Denver’s seen conference wins equals the combined total of their last three years in the Summit League. All things considered, it’s a good start for Wulbrun, he just has to build on this momentum.

317. Brett Nelson (Holy Cross) (Last year: 325)

• Overall record: 17-62

Nelson has seen his win total increase in each of his three seasons at Holy Cross, but he’s going to need that number to keep increasing if he wants the Crusaders to have a successful program. A former star at Florida, Nelson was a longtime assistant, spending his previous five seasons on staff at Marquette. Last year’s 9-win season was another step forward, combined with a tie for 7th place in the Patriot League. However, it’s clear that finishing a bit higher in the conference would be more cause for celebration.

316. Ryan Pedon (Illinois State) (Last year: N/A)

• Overall record: 0-0

With two decades of D1 experience in his pocket, Pedon begins his first collegiate head coaching job at Illinois State. He spent much of the beginning of his career coaching in the MAC before stints under John Groce and Chris Holtmann, serving as an aide at Illinois and a full-time assistant at Butler and Ohio State. He’s been a key part of shaping the Buckeyes program the last five years, and the Redbirds are hoping that this prowess helps him turn Illinois State into an MVC contender very soon.

315. Michael Lewis (Ball State) (Last year: N/A)

• Overall record: 0-0

A former Indiana player under Bob Knight, Lewis’s coaching career has taken him to some interesting places. He served under Brad Stevens and Chris Holtmann at Butler before spending stints at Nebraska and UCLA, helping put together the Bruins’ recent Final Four team. Now, Ball State offers him his first chance to run a program on his own and brings him back to his home state of Indiana. The Cardinals have struggled the last few seasons and haven’t played in the NCAA Tournament since 2000.

314. Alvin Brooks (Lamar) (Last year: 303)

• Overall record: 56-111

Last year was a long-awaited return as a head coach for Brooks, who had previously been head coach at Houston back in the 1990’s. Before taking over at Lamar, he had actually returned and been a longtime assistant for the Cougars, helping Kelvin Sampson revolutionize that program in recent years. Unfortunately, his first season at Lamar was a paltry 2-27 finish, the Cardinals’ worst finish at the D1 level. This is just the beginning and a turnaround is likely ahead for Brooks and this team, but it’s hard to be elated at this point.

313. Chris Caputo (George Washington) (Last year: N/A)

• Overall record: 0-0

It’s a beginning for Caputo, who takes over as head coach at George Washington to begin his head coaching career. He had spent the last two decades as a staffer, assistant, and associate head coach under Jim Larranaga at both George Mason and Miami. George Mason’s surprise run to the Final Four was during his first year as a full-time assistant and he certainly played a role in shaping the Hurricanes into an ACC contender during that stretch. Now, he takes over a Colonials team that has been largely disappointing in recent years, hoping to turn them into a contender in a very tough A-10.

312. David McLaughlin (Dartmouth) (Last year: 311)

• Overall record: 46-92

The record may not be impressive, but McLaughlin hasn’t been bad as coach at Darmouth. He’s a former head coach at Stonehill when they were still at the D2 level. In his last six years with the Big Green, he’s yet to lead the program to significant success, though last season’s 5th place finish in the Ivy League was a personal best. Dartmouth hasn’t been in the NCAA Tournament in 63 years and it’s certainly hard to blame McLaughlin that this team isn’t winning Ivy League crowns.

311. Shane Burcar (Northern Arizona) (Last year: 293)

• Overall record: 31-53

A longtime high school coach, Burcar’s collegiate career began at Northern Arizona in 2018, and he was ascended to the head coaching job just a season later, with his predecessor departing for another job. Burcar had a solid first season, but these last two years have been a big step back for the Lumberjacks. Last year’s squad went just 9-23 and tied for last place in the Big Sky, leaving you to wonder how many of these seasons it’ll take to eliminate the goodwill from his great first year.

310. Paul Sather (North Dakota) (Last year: 291)

• Overall record: 30-60

After significant success as head coach at the NAIA and D2 levels, Sather took over at North Dakota three seasons ago. He took both of those programs on deep postseason runs but has really struggled with the Fighting Hawks. This past season saw North Dakota finish just 6-25 and in last place in the Summit League. This program is trending in the wrong direction, having been in the NCAA Tournament back in 2017, but there’s still time for Sather to turn things around.

309. Brian Barone (SIU Edwardsville) (Last year: 323)

• Overall record: 28-61

SIU Edwardsville hasn’t done much since joining D1 just over a decade ago, but maybe Barone can turn that around. He spent his early coaching days on the staffs of Porter Moser and Tom Crean, while also briefly serving as a junior college head coach. He ascended to the top job in Edwardsville three seasons ago and just won 11 games last year. Obviously, an 11-21 mark doesn’t sound very impressive, but it’s the most wins for the Cougars in a season in seven years, and hopefully, something to build on with the OVC now a weaker conference.

308. Ron Cottrell (Houston Baptist) (Last year: 314)

• Overall record: 120-240

Cottrell resurrected the basketball program at Houston Baptist more than three decades ago and continues to lead the Huskies. He was briefly an assistant at Arkansas under Nolan Richardson before leaving for Houston way back in 1990. The Huskies had a plethora of success at the NAIA level and are still adjusting to D1 ball, even a decade later. Last season’s 11-win mark was a step forward and also allowed Cottrell to pick up his 500th career win as head coach.

307. Dwayne Killings (Albany) (Last year: 332)

• Overall record: 13-18

It was a decent first season for Killings at Albany, beginning his head coaching career by finishing in the middle of the pack in the America East. He’s bounced around quite a bit these last two decades, being a full-time assistant at Connecticut and Marquette, while also spending time working in the NBA and D-League. Killings isn’t necessarily off to an impressive start with the Great Danes, but his first year was certainly solid, with hopes of turning the tides for a program that was the best in the conference not too long ago.

306. Amir Abdur-Rahim (Kennesaw State) (Last year: 334)

• Overall record: 19-65

When he originally arrived at Kennesaw State, Abdur-Rahim had quite the task at hand with a pretty rough program but his first three years have been quite the build. He was previously an assistant at number of schools, including Murray State, Texas A&M, and Georgia. His first season with the Owls was horrific, but this past season he finished 13-18, a big step forward based on a 1-win start two seasons earlier. There’s still plenty of growth possible in the A-Sun for this program.

305. Josh Schertz (Indiana State) (Last year: 312)

• Overall record: 11-20

This past season was the first for Schertz at the D1 level, but he’s already an accomplished coach. A former aide under current Milwaukee coach Bart Lundy at a pair of schools, he spent thirteen years at Lincoln Memorial, leading that program to a ton of D2 tournaments and postseason success. Now in the MVC, winning is a bit harder, and a 9th place finish wasn’t exactly a surprise, but Schertz can hopefully turn around the recent struggles for the Sycamores in these coming seasons.

304. Kenny Blakeney (Howard) (Last year: 326)

• Overall record: 21-46

Before becoming head coach at Howard in 2019, Blakeney had bounced around quite a bit in his coaching career. The former Duke star had been on staff at Seton Hall, Harvard, Columbia, and a number of other schools before taking over the Bison program. He has immediately upgrading the recruiting at Howard, though the on-court results weren’t there in his first two seasons. A 16-13 mark and 2nd place finish in the MEAC from last season is certainly more like it.

303. Brian Collins (Tennessee State) (Last year: 310)

• Overall record: 45-73

Previously a successful junior college head coach, Collins begins his fifth year of his D1 head coaching spot at Tennessee State. A former Tigers assistant, he also earned experience on the staff of current Wake Forest coach Steve Forbes at East Tennessee State, eventually ending up in the OVC in 2018. His time as head coach has been up and down, with last season more on the positive side. Tennessee State tied for 5th in the OVC with a 14-18 campaign, and likely has an easier future with Belmont and Murray State out of the conference.

302. Keith Urgo (Fordham) (Last year: N/A)

• Overall record: 0-0

After a long and successful stint coaching college basketball in the state of Pennsylvania, Urgo gets his shot to lead his own team. He’s a previous assistant at Penn State and Villanova, spending an entire decade in the Big Ten with the Nittany Lions. He spent the past season on staff at Fordham and slides into the head coaching spot as Kyle Neptune takes over at Villanova. Last year was a decent start, but Urgo knows that it’s just the beginning to turning this program around.

301. Tony Madlock (Alabama State) (Last year: 344)

• Overall record: 16-20

Madlock spent a number of years as an assistant before getting his chance as head coach. Prior to taking over South Carolina State last season, he had stints at Auburn, Mississippi, and Memphis, even serving as interim head coach with the Rebels. Last year’s 15-16 campaign with South Carolina State was remarkable growth after inheriting a 1-win team. This year he moves to Alabama State, hoping to have that same level of instant success in the SWAC.