NCAA Basketball: Ranking all 362 D-I head coaches for 2023-24 season

120. Joe Pasternack (UC Santa Barbara) (Last year: 142)

• Overall record: 170-107

In his earliest days, Pasternack was a student manager at Indiana under Bob Huggins before getting into coaching. He had long stints as an assistant at California and Arizona, sandwiching his first head coaching gig at New Orleans. His best success has come at UC Santa Barbara, who brought him aboard back in 2017. Pasternack has led the Gauchos to 20 wins in five of his six seasons and has taken the program to NCAA Tournament appearances in two of the last three seasons, including last year’s 27-8 season.

119. James Jones (Yale) (Last year: 124)

• Overall record: 373-301

Nowadays among the longest-tenured head coaches in the game, Jones begins his 25th season leading Yale, having spent a majority of his coaching career with these Bulldogs. He actually played and worked at Albany for a decade before brief coaching stints at Yale and Ohio. Since his return to Yale as head coach in 1999, he’s been responsible for a bevy of success. The Bulldogs have won five of the last eight regular season titles in the Ivy League, with three trips to the NCAA Tournament plus an NIT bid last year.

118. Paul Mills (Wichita State) (Last year: 165)

• Overall record: 106-84

Previously a high school coach in the state of Texas, Mills was a video coordinator for a season at Rice before beginning a long partnership with Scott Drew. Mills joined Drew’s original Baylor staff in 2003 and helped turn the program around before leaving for Oral Roberts fourteen years later. His first collegiate head coaching gig was extremely successful, with Mills leading the Golden Eagles to the Sweet Sixteen in 2021 and another trip to the Big Dance this past March. He transitions to Wichita State, hoping to rejuvenate a Shockers program that’s struggled in recent seasons.

117. Richard Pitino (New Mexico) (Last year: 127)

• Overall record: 194-168

The son of a Hall of Famer, coaching was always in Pitino’s blood and he’s gotten plenty of opportunities. He bounced around as an assistant, working under his father at Louisville, Billy Donovan at Florida, and for a few other schools. He was great in a lone season leading Florida International before an up-and-down 8-year stretch as head coach at Minnesota. Pitino was hired by New Mexico in 2021 and is off to a decent start with the Lobos, coming off a 22-win season and a trip to the NIT.

116. Niko Medved (Colorado State) (Last year: 106)

• Overall record: 171-152

Still considered a rising name in coaching circles, Medved has had a productive first decade as a head coach. A former assistant at several schools, including Minnesota, he led a turnaround as head coach at Furman before starting that same process in a single season at Drake. Colorado State hired him back in 2018 and he’s done the same thing with the Rams, making this a competitive program in the MWC again. Medved took the Rams to the Big Dance in 2022, though last year’s 15-18 mark was certainly a step backwards.

115. Wayne Tinkle (Oregon State) (Last year: 104)

• Overall record: 285-249

Tinkle played center at Montana and internationally for more than a decade before beginning his coaching career at his alma mater. After five years as an assistant with the Grizzlies, he became head coach in 2006 and was successful, taking Montana to three NCAA Tournaments. He’s had quite the tenure at Oregon State, breaking a long Tournament drought in his second season before leading the Beavers to a surprise Elite Eight run back in 2021. Things have not been pretty since then, though last year’s 11-21 mark is actually way better than the year before.

114. Jeff Boals (Ohio) (Last year: 113)

• Overall record: 133-89

Back in the 90’s, Boals played at Ohio and he’s done well back with the Bobcats as their head coach. Between then, he was an assistant at several schools, including a 7-year stretch under Thad Matta at Ohio State. His first taste of head coaching came at Stony Brook, where he won 55 games across three years before returning to Ohio in 2019. In his second season, he led Ohio to an NCAA Tournament appearance and upset win over Virginia; they finished 5th place and won 19 games last season.

113. Matt Langel (Colgate) (Last year: 147)

• Overall record: 202-174

Unquestionably one of the rising names in the game, Langel has been fantastic in recent years at Colgate. All of his previous experience came with Fran Dunphy, whom he played for at Penn and served as an assistant under at both Penn and Temple. Colgate handed him his first head coaching gig in 2011 and are reaping the benefits. Colgate has appeared in the last four NCAA Tournaments, including last season’s 26-win mark, and continues to be a dominant force in the Patriot League.

112. Chris Collins (Northwestern) (Last year: 160)

• Overall record: 156-162

Collins played at Duke back in the 90’s and spent more than a decade on Coach K’s staff with the Blue Devils. He also spent time coaching at Seton Hall and in the WNBA but got his head coaching start at Northwestern back in 2013. Four years into his tenure, he led the Wildcats to their first NCAA Tournament, but many of his seasons have ended in disappointment. This past season was different again, as he led the Wildcats to a tie for 2nd in the Big Ten and another trip and win in the Big Dance, cementing this as an impressive season for Northwestern.

111. Pat Chambers (Florida Gulf Coast) (Last year: 107)

• Overall record: 207-193

Early on his career, Chambers was a player and assistant at Philadelphia University before a five-year stint under Jay Wright at Villanova. As a head coach, he won 21 games apiece in two seasons at Boston university before spending nine years leading Penn State. His tenure with the Nittany Lions ended in disgrace, but did include an NIT title and a few competitive seasons. He was hired by Florida Gulf Coast this past offseason and led the Eagles to a 9th place finish in the ASUN, with his work only getting started.

110. Steve Lutz (Western Kentucky) (Last year: 172)

• Overall record: 47-23

Lutz was a collegiate assistant for several decades before getting his head coaching chance, but he’s really taken advantage of his opportunities. He had successful stints as an assistant at SMU, Creighton, and Purdue before taking over at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in 2021. Lutz would lead the Islanders to the NCAA Tournament in each of his town seasons with the program before he was hired by Western Kentucky this offseason. He’ll hope for similar success with a Hilltoppers program that’s been stale in recent years.

109. Chris Mooney (Richmond) (Last year: 100)

• Overall record: 345-274

A former player at Princeton, Mooney has had himself a successful coaching career, going back to his head coaching stints at the high school level and at Beaver College. His D1 head coaching career actually began with a single season leading Air Force before Richmond hired him way back in 2005. His best success came in 2011 as he led the Spiders to the Sweet Sixteen. Mooney is responsible for three NCAA Tournaments and a slew of postseason appearances in the A-10. Unfortunately, health issues shortened Mooney’s season last year but he’s back, just two seasons removed from a trip to the Big Dance in 2022.

108. Jerry Stackhouse (Vanderbilt) (Last year: 110)

• Overall record: 61-69

Stackhouse starred at North Carolina in the 90’s and played for nearly two decades in the NBA. Soon after retiring, he served on a couple of NBA staffs and was the Raptors’ G-League coach for two seasons. In 2019, Vanderbilt brought him back to the collegiate game and it’s been an interesting first four years. There wasn’t much to celebrate in his first few seasons, though he did lead the Commodores to a tie for 4th in the SEC and a second straight trip deep into the NIT.

107. Casey Alexander (Belmont) (Last year: 108)

• Overall record: 235-150

After playing under Rick Byrd at Belmont back in the early 90’s, Alexander joined the staff right away and was a critical part of the Bruins’ success for nearly two decades. His head coaching career began with a short stint at Stetson before returning to Nashville at Lipscomb. There he delivered an NCAA Tournament appearance and trip to the NIT title game before returning to Belmont in 2019. Taking over after Byrd’s retirement, Alexander has now led this program into the MVC, tying for 3rd in their first season in the new league.

106. Bob Marlin (Louisiana) (Last year: 128)

• Overall record: 472-306

Marlin has been coaching for quite a long time and has been a D1 head coach for the last 25 years. Formerly head coach at Pensacola State College and a former assistant at Marshall and Alabama, that D1 head coaching journey began at Sam Houston State in 1998. He had 12 really solid years with the Bearkats before taking over at Louisiana. The Ragin’ Cajuns haven’t been a Sun Belt contender every season, but won the league and are fresh off an NCAA Tournament appearance, the second under Marlin’s leadership.

105. Mike Rhoades (Penn State) (Last year: 120)

• Overall record: 176-113

For the first 13 years of his coaching career, Rhoades was at Randolph-Macon, spending ten of those seasons as a successful D3 head coach. He then joined Shaka Smart’s VCU staff in 2009 and helped lead the program to the Final Four two years later. Rhoades was hired by Rice and had three solid years turning that program around before being called back to VCU in 2017 as head coach. He won a ton of games and led the Rams to three NCAA Tournaments, including last year’s A-10 regular season title. Now he takes over a Penn State program that presents a much tougher challenge.

104. Kyle Smith (Washington State) (Last year: 102)

• Overall record: 233-183

Considered one of the brilliant minds in the game, Smith spent nearly two decades as a collegiate assistant before getting his chance as head coach, including long stints at San Diego and Saint Mary’s. After aiding Randy Bennett for nine years, he was head coach at Columbia, winning the CIT in 2016, and San Francisco, winning at least 20 games in all three seasons. Smith was brought to Washington State back in 2019 and has had decent luck turning around a dormant Huskies program, with NIT bids and 5th place finishes in the Pac-12 each of the last two years.

103. Russ Turner (UC Irvine) (Last year: 114)

• Overall record: 265-170

Turner remains with the Anteaters, with this still being his first head coaching position. He was an assistant at Hampden-Sydney, his alma mater, before stints at Wake Forest and Stanford. He followed former Stanford coach Mike Montgomery to the NBA, spending six years with the Golden State Warriors before taking over at UC Irvine in 2010. Across these last thirteen years, Turner has cultivated the best program in the Big West, with six regular season titles, a pair of trips to the Big Dance and an upset win back in 2019. Last year was just another of those regular season titles.

102. Lamont Paris (South Carolina) (Last year: 89)

• Overall record: 98-93

Before his shot as a head coach, Paris was an assistant coach at several smaller schools before long stints on staff at Akron and Wisconsin. After helping the Badgers to multiple Final Fours under Bo Ryan, his head coaching career began at Chattanooga back in 2017. He engineered a turnaround in his fifth season, leading the Mocs to the SoCon regular season title and a trip to the NCAA Tournament. Paris was nabbed by South Carolina a few weeks later and has barely gotten started with the Gamecocks, winning just 11 games in his first season at the power conference level.

101. Keith Dambrot (Duquesne) (Last year: 112)

• Overall record: 416-257

Dambrot has had a series of coaching positions across his career, including a stint at LeBron James’ high school coach in Akron. He’s led five different colleges, including Central Michigan in the early 90’s and Akron more recently. After winning more than 300 games across those thirteen years with the Zips, he was hired by Duquesne in 2017. The results have been mixed, but he’s coming off a 20-win season where the Dukes tied for 6th in a tough A-10.