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

220. Byron Smith (Prairie View A&M) (Last year: 186)

• Overall record: 100-94

Smith has himself quite the coaching career, spending most of it in the state of Texas, aside from a stint with the Harlem Globetrotters. He’d been an assistant at a number of schools, including Houston and Texas A&M, before ascending to the top job at Prairie View back in January 2016. He led the Panthers to three straight SWAC regular season titles, taking them to the NCAA Tournament in 2019. Prairie View followed that run with a disappointing 8-19 mark this past season, the main reason for Smith’s tumble down this year’s rankings, though there’s certainly a great chance a return to glory could be in the future.

219. A. W. Hamilton (Eastern Kentucky) (Last year: 185)

• Overall record: 64-60

Hamilton’s coaching career mainly boils down to his connection to Kevin Keatts, as he served under or on staff with him at each of his coaching stops. After more than a decade at Hargrave Military Academy, where he had spent time under Keatts, Hamilton was named to Keatts’ first coaching staff at NC State before taking the Eastern Kentucky job a year later. His first collegiate head coaching job has gone well for the most part, leading the Colonels to a 22-7 mark in his third year. However, last season was rough as Eastern Kentucky joined the Sun Belt, finishing as an afterthought at just 13-18.

218. Mike Magpayo (UC Riverside) (Last year: 232)

• Overall record: 30-20

Magpayo has had an intriguing rise in recent years. He was an assistant under current Washington State coach Kyle Smith at a pair of schools before later joining the UC Riverside staff in 2018. When head coach David Patrick left for another opportunity, Magpayo was named head coach and has been a great hire for the Highlanders. After a 14-18 mark in his debut season, Magpayo won 16 games in year two, a less impressive finish but still a solid start to his head coaching career, especially at a program without any D1 success before his arrival.

217. Matt Lottich (Valparaiso) (Last year: 204)

• Overall record: 97-96

It’s year seven for Lottich at Valparaiso and it’s the program’s sixth season since joining the MVC. He’s spent his entire coaching career with the school after starring for Stanford nearly two decades ago. He took Valparaiso to 24 wins and the NIT in his first season but has struggled to find consistent success in the following years. The Beacons have finished below .500 in four of his six years, including struggling to a 14-18 finish last year.

216. Michael Huger (Bowling Green) (Last year: 181)

• Overall record: 115-105

Huger played under Jim Larranaga at Bowling Green back in the early 90’s before a long international playing career. When he returned to the states, he spent most of his coaching career under Larranaga, with four-year stints at George Mason and Miami before returning home to Bowling Green in 2015. The Falcons gave him his first head coaching job, and he led them to a pair of 20-win seasons near the beginning of his tenure. Last season, the Falcons finished just 13-18, with Huger hoping he can get the program trending again in the other direction and lead Bowling Green to their first NCAA Tournament in more than 50 years.

215. Steve Henson (UTSA) (Last year: 187)

• Overall record: 89-101

Aside from his recent years at UTSA and a decade playing professional ball, Henson has spent much of his basketball career with former coach Lon Kruger. He played for him at Kansas State and served on his staffs with Illinois, the Atlanta Hawks, UNLV, and Oklahoma. Henson began his head coaching career with UTSA in 2016, just weeks after helping the Sooners to the Final Four. He’s had some pretty good seasons with the Roadrunners, but last year’s 10-22 mark was a disaster that can’t happen again, especially with the landscape of the C-USA changing this year.

214. Aaron McKie (Temple) (Last year: 241)

• Overall record: 36-40

A former Temple guard and longtime NBA player, McKie now enters his fourth season as head coach at his alma mater. The former NBA Sixth Man of the Year spent half a decade on staff with the Philadelphia 76ers before joining Fran Dunphy’s staff at Temple. McKie got the top job when Dunphy retired in 2019 and is finally making some headway with the Owls. After two less than impressive campaigns, Temple finished 17-12 this past season and is trending in a great direction for the near future.

213. John Gallagher (Hartford) (Last year: 195)

• Overall record: 169-207

It’s tough to be hard on Gallagher, whose program recently announced it would be transitioning to D3 athletics in the coming years. The former assistant at schools like Lafayette and Penn took over the Hawks program way back in 2010 and has been building something significant here. After a number of fine finishes and a few CIT bids, he took Hartford to their first NCAA Tournament in 2021. Last year’s 12-20 mark was certainly a step backward, but it’s certainly not the only backward step this Hawks program is taking.

212. Donnie Jones (Stetson) (Last year: 189)

• Overall record: 194-180

Jones enters year four leading the Hatters, embarking on his third D1 head coaching venture. He spent a long stretch on Billy Donovan’s staff, both at Marshall and Florida, before taking over the Marshall program after the Gators won those back-to-back titles. After building success there, he was head coach at UCF where a fantastic start turned dreadful when the program entered the AAC. Unfortunately, Jones still has work to do at Stetson, with three less than impressive seasons, including a paltry 11-19 finish last year.

211. Dedrique Taylor (Cal State Fullerton) (Last year: 250)

• Overall record: 121-148

All things considered, Taylor has done a pretty fantastic job at Cal State Fullerton. He picked up a ton of experience as an assistant, with stints at Nevada, Arizona State, and a few other schools. Taylor was named head coach of the Titans in 2013, his first head coaching job, and has led the program to success in the Big West. He led the Titans to the NCAA Tournament in 2018 and 2022, winning last year’s Big West Tournament. Even though his record may not be impressive, he’s certainly done a solid enough job coaching in March when the games really matter.

210. John Pelphrey (Tennessee Tech) (Last year: 205)

• Overall record: 174-191

Pelphrey is a former forward at Kentucky who’s had moderate success in his own coaching career. He spent more than a decade on Billy Donovan’s coaching staffs, helping build some of that early and late success at Florida. In between stints with the Gators, he was head coach at South Alabama and Arkansas, leading both programs to the NCAA Tournament before struggling late with the Razorbacks. Pelphrey just completed his third year at Tennessee Tech and is just 25-65, though last year’s 11-win campaign might have been a decent step forward.

209. Matthew Driscoll (North Florida) (Last year: 207)

• Overall record: 203-214

Driscoll bounced around at quite a number of high schools and junior colleges early in his career before spending six years under Scott Drew at Valparaiso and Baylor. He took over at North Florida back in 2009, inheriting a program still in relative infancy. Driscoll lead the Ospreys to their first-ever NCAA Tournament back in 2015 and has won the first three conference regular season titles in program history, having solid success in the A-Sun. The last two years have been a step back, finishing just 11-20 last season, but there’s reason for optimism that things will turn around again.

208. Preston Spradlin (Morehead State) (Last year: 220)

• Overall record: 92-88

Previously a staffer at Kentucky under John Calipari, Spradlin joined the Morehead State coaching staff back in 2014. After the dismissal of head coach Sean Woods, Spradlin took over as head coach late in 2016 and has remained there for the last six years. His first few full seasons were a struggle, but he’s had a big breakthrough lately. His Eagles made the NCAA Tournament in 2021 and have won 23 games in each of the last two seasons. With Belmont and Murray State gone from the OVC, Spradlin’s Eagles might be in great position to win more conference titles in the years to come.

207. Kevin Baggett (Rider) (Last year: 209)

• Overall record: 161-152

After playing his college ball at Saint Joseph’s, Baggett has engaged on a coaching career that’s seen him bounce around a number of D1 schools. After stints at Western Kentucky, UMBC, and a few other schools, he landed at Rider in 2006 and became head coach six years later. His first decade leading the Broncs has had ups and downs, with some really successful years in the MAAC but no NCAA Tournament appearances. His program finished just 14-19 last year, a second straight year below the .500 mark, while programs like Iona and Saint Peter’s garnered the national headlines.

206. Bill Herrion (New Hampshire) (Last year: 208)

• Overall record: 449-457

Long ago, Herrion was just an aide to Mike Jarvis, but now he’s spent the last 31 seasons as a D1 head coach. He had a ton of success in the America East with Drexel leading the Dragons to three straight NCAA Tournaments before struggling across six seasons at East Carolina. Herrion has been head man at New Hampshire since 2005 and hasn’t exactly replicated his initial success in the conference. He’d led the Wildcats to a few postseason bids, while last year’s 15-13 finish was his best in six years.

205. Matt Figger (UTRGV) (Last year: 169)

• Overall record: 84-74

Figger’s coaching career initially saw him bounce around as an assistant at a long list of schools, including long stints under Frank Martin at Kansas State and South Carolina. After helping lead the Gamecocks to the Final Four in 2017, he took his first head coaching job at Austin Peay and was relatively successful across four seasons with the Governors. Last season, he took over at UTRGV and finished just 8-23, with the hopes that this was a rebuilding year and the Vaqueros can compete for WAC titles in years to come.

204. Kevin Broadus (Morgan State) (Last year: 184)

• Overall record: 79-64

Broadus begins year four at Morgan State, fresh off a two-year stint as an assistant at Maryland. A former assistant at a number of schools, including two stints at Georgetown, he had a successful run as head coach at Binghamton, leading the Bearcats to the NCAA Tournament in 2009. He was dismissed after NCAA violations tarnished the program, and only just returned to the head coaching ranks a decade later. It’s been an up-and-down affair at Morgan State, but he did lead the Bears to the TBC this past year.

203. Joe Jones (Boston University) (Last year: 215)

• Overall record: 273-265

Jones has spent much of the last two decades as a D1 head coach, spending time at both Columbia and Boston University. He spent time under Jay Wright at both Hofstra and Villanova and also had a brief foray on the staff of Boston College. As a head coach, his time at Columbia wasn’t really successful, but he’s taken the Terriers to a number of postseason bids, including a 21-win season and CBI run this past year. However, Jones is still looking for his first trip to the Big Dance as a head coach.

202. Dusty May (Florida Atlantic) (Last year: 214)

• Overall record: 66-56

An assistant coach at a number of solid programs, May finally got his shot to become a head coach when Florida Atlantic brought him aboard in 2018. He had been an assistant at Murray State and UAB before spending seven years under Mike White, including the last few at Florida. His first four years with the Owls have been productive, with four seasons above. 500, including a 19-win season last year. He’s led the program to a pair of postseason appearances but still hunts for that elusive Big Dance ticket.

201. Todd Simon (Southern Utah) (Last year: 216)

• Overall record: 105-102

Though he’s a native of Michigan, Simon has spent much of his basketball life over on the West Coast. He spent a handful of years coaching high school ball in Nevada and had two separate stints on the UNLV staff, including as interim head coach. Simon took his first full-time collegiate head coaching job in 2016 when Southern Utah brought him to town and it’s paid off in recent years. After a 20-4 campaign two seasons ago, he led the Thunderbirds to a 23-win season and another great finish near the top of the Big Sky standings. Simon has improved his win total in each of his first seasons and might have a Tournament team here very soon.