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

220. Darris Nichols (Radford) (Last year: 322)

• Overall record: 32-33

Once his play days at West Virginia were over, Nichols got into coaching after a very brief international career. He was a graduate assistant at his alma mater and spent time at four different schools as an assistant, including at Louisiana Tech and Florida under Mike White. The first head coaching chance came at Radford in 2021 and it’s been a decent first two years. While his first season wasn’t anything special, he just led the Highlanders to 21 wins and a trip to the semifinals of the CBI.

219. John Gallagher (Manhattan) (Last year: 213)

• Overall record: 169-207

It’s been an interesting journey for Gallagher in recent years and we’ll explain why. He coached at a number of D1 schools, including La Salle and Penn, before he was hired by Hartford back in 2010 as their new head coach. His first head coaching job, he would have success with the Hawks, leading them to the 2021 NCAA Tournament, but was blindsided by the school’s decision to drop down from D1. After resigning last year, he was recently hired by Manhattan, inheriting a program coming off its own inconsistent season.

218. Chris Gerlufsen (San Francisco) (Last year: 294)

• Overall record: 28-19

Before beginning his head coaching career on the west coast, Gerlufsen had bounced around at a number of schools all over the country. After a few non-D1 jobs, he spent long stints at The Citadel and Hartford before heading west, with stints at San Diego, Hawaii, and San Francisco. He was promoted to head coach last season after Todd Golden left for Florida. His Dons won 20 games and tied for 5th in a tight WCC in his first season, but there’s certainly room for improvement.

217. Jay Ladner (Southern Miss) (Last year: 300)

• Overall record: 125-161

Ladner has served as a head coach for more than three decades, though the first twenty years came at the high school level in Mississippi. After winning a junior college title at Jones County JC, he led Southeastern Louisiana for five seasons, winning a Southland regular season title during that span. Back in 2019, Ladner was hired by Southern Miss and things weren’t great initially. This past season significantly redeemed his stock, as he led the Golden Eagles into the Sun Belt with a 25-8 record and a regular season title.

216. Corey Gipson (Austin Peay) (Last year: 351)

• Overall record: 22-11

A former player and assistant at Austin Peay, Gipson returns to his alma mater this season as the new head coach. He was previously an assistant at a few other schools, including stints at UNC Greensboro and Missouri State. Gipson’s head coaching career actually began last season at Northwestern State, where he led the Demons to a major bounce back, winning 22 games and finishing 2nd in the Southland. Now he’s given a similar task with the Governors, who begin their second season in the ASUN.

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

• Overall record: 217-231

Driscoll was an assistant at several schools early in his career, and even spent four years at D3 LaRoche as head coach. His first D1 experience came under Larry Shyatt as an assistant at Wyoming and Clemson. Driscoll then served on Scott Drew’s initial Baylor staff before he was hired at North Florida way back in 2009. Driscoll has led the Ospreys for 14 years, getting them to the 2015 NCAA Tournament and three ASUN titles in the process. The last three seasons have been under .500, including a 7th place finish in the league in 2023.

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

• Overall record: 34-33

Early on, Schertz was an assistant under Bart Lundy at Queens and High Point, but he’s certainly carved out his own legacy as a head coach. He spent 13 years leading Lincoln Memorial, taking the Railsplitters to a slew of D2 postseason success, including three Final Fours in his last six seasons. Schertz got his D1 chance just two seasons ago when Indiana State brought him aboard. After an underwhelming first season, Schertz led the Sycamores to a 23-13 mark with a 5th place finish in the MVC, a major step forward for this program.

213. Daniyal Robinson (Cleveland State) (Last year: 331)

• Overall record: 21-14

Before his head coaching career began, Robinson spent more than two decades as a collegiate assistant. He worked initially at Little Rock and Illinois State under Porter Moser and would later be on his staff at Loyola-Chicago. Robinson was briefly at Houston and spent nearly a decade at Iowa State under three different head coaches. Cleveland State gave him that first head coaching shot last offseason and the first year was certainly a solid effort, with the Vikings winning 21 games for the first time in nearly a decade.

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

• Overall record: 288-282

Boasting nearly twenty years of D1 head coaching experience, Jones has become quite the name, especially in Beantown in recent years. He was originally an assistant under Jay Wright at Hofstra and later worked under him at Villanova. Jones’s first taste of head coaching came in a 7-year stint at Columbia before a brief stint on staff at Boston College. Since 2011, he’s been the head coach at Boston University and has had better success with the Terriers. He’s finished Top 5 in the Patriot League in all but one of his seasons, though last year’s 15-17 mark was certainly a step back.

211. Lennie Acuff (Lipscomb) (Last year: 247)

• Overall record: 65-60

Before his current stint at Lipscomb, Acuff had been a head coach at three other schools, with short stints at Belhaven and Berry, two NAIA schools. He spent 22 seasons as the head coach at Alabama-Huntsville at the D2 level, taking that program to several conference titles and postseason appearances. Lipscomb hired him back in 2019 and he’s coming off his best season leading the Bisons. Last year, Lipscomb won 20 games and finished 5th in the ASUN.

210. Stan Johnson (Loyola Marymount) (Last year: 237)

• Overall record: 43-39

Bouncing around between several colleges, Johnson earned plenty of experience before his own head coaching career began. He started twenty years ago at Bemidji State and spent time at seven different schools, including at Utah, Arizona State, and most recently with Marquette. Johnson was hired by Loyola Marymount back in 2020 and had a great first season, finishing 3rd in the WCC. After taking a step back in year two, Johnson led the Lions to 19 wins and a 4th place finish this past season.

209. Nathan Davis (New Hampshire) (Last year: 188)

• Overall record: 129-115

This season marks a new beginning for Davis, who takes over at New Hampshire. A former assistant at Navy, Bucknell, and a few other schools, he led Randolph-Macon to the D3 Tournament in all six years as head coach before taking over at Bucknell back in 2015. With the Bison, he won four straight Patriot League titles and went twice to the Big Dance, but his last four seasons were miserable and he was fired last year. He’ll look to regroup with a Wildcats program that has never been to the NCAA Tournament.

208. Ben Johnson (Minnesota) (Last year: 149)

• Overall record: 22-39

Johnson hasn’t exactly had the kind of success he was hoping for early on at his alma mater. A native of Minneapolis, he served on several coaching staffs, with time at Northern Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota, and Xavier before returning to the Golden Gophers as head coach in 2021. Minnesota had just finished below .500 in consecutive seasons and unfortunately the streak is now four straight. Johnson’s Golden Gophers finished dead last in the Big Ten last season and only won 9 games; patience might run out sooner rather than later.

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

• Overall record: 94-80

Originally from Washington DC, Broadus has spent his entire coaching career doing solid work on the east coast. He was an assistant at a number of schools, including Georgetown (who made a Final Four in 2007), before he took over as head coach at Binghamton. He led the Bearcats to the Big Dance but was dismissed following several violations. After assisting at Georgetown and Maryland for nearly a decade, he got his second chance at Morgan State and has been relatively decent, sitting 57-54 through four years in the MEAC.

206. Michael Lewis (Ball State) (Last year: 315)

• Overall record: 20-12

Lewis played at Indiana under Bob Knight before joining his former coach as a graduate assistant at Texas Tech in the early 2000’s. His coaching career saw him on numerous staffs over the years, including Butler under Brad Stevens, Nebraska, and most recently with UCLA. Lewis got his head coaching opportunity just last season, taking over at Ball State. Year one was certainly a great start, as his Cardinals won 20 games for the first time in six years while finishing 4th in the MAC.

205. Bashir Mason (Saint Peter’s) (Last year: 197)

• Overall record: 179-148

After playing point guard at Drexel, Mason began his coaching career with stints on staff at Marist and Wagner. Surprisingly, he was promoted to Wagner’s top job in 2012 when he was still just 28 years old. He won three NEC regular season titles with the Seahawks and was largely successful during his tenure. He jumped ship last offseason, taking over a Saint Peter’s program coming off that unbelievable run to the Elite Eight. His first season with the Peacocks was no comparison, as Mason’s crew finished just 14-18.

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

• Overall record: 99-91

It’s been a journey for Figger, who served as an assistant at several schools before getting his head coaching career started back in 2017. He aided at South Alabama, Arkansas, Kansas State, and South Carolina, serving under Frank Martin for over a decade at those last two schools. His first head coaching gig was a solid 4-year run at Austin Peay before UTRGV brought him to town in 2021. His Vaqueros are just 23-40 after a pair of seasons in the WAC, though last year was significantly better than his first year.

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

• Overall record: 177-166

Early in his career, Baggett bounced around at several different colleges, with short stints on staff at Western Kentucky, Coastal Carolina, and a few other schools. He became an assistant at Rider in 2006, associate head coach two years later, and was named the new head coach back in 2012. This has been his program for the last eleven years and there has been mixed results. Rider has been a contender in the MAAC for most of his tenure, though they’ve yet to reach the Big Dance. Last year’s 2nd place finish was a big step forward after two straight seasons under .500.

202. David Riley (Eastern Washington) (Last year: 275)

• Overall record: 41-27

After graduating from Whitworth in 2011, Riley has spent his entire coaching career to date at Eastern Washington. He originally joined the Eagles as a graduate assistant, following his college coach Jim Hayford from Whitworth. He became a full-time assistant three years later and was promoted to the top job in 2021 after a decade on the coaching staff. He’s helped maintain Eastern Washington’s footing as a strong Big Sky program, winning the league’s regular season title during a 23-win campaign this year.

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

• Overall record: 141-161

Taylor has coached college basketball on the west coast for his entire career. A former player at UC Davis, he spent time at his alma mater before stints with Portland State, Nevada, and Arizona State, spending seven years with Herb Sendek at that final post. Cal State Fullerton handed him his first head coaching job back in 2013 and his first decade with the Titans has been successful. He’s led the program twice to the NCAA Tournament, most recently in 2022, and is coming off a second straight 20-win season.