160. Robert Ehsan (UIC) (Last year: 164)
Overall record: 93-71
A native of Sacramento and former player at UC Davis, most of Ehsan’s coaching career has come on the other coast, including long stints with both Maryland and UAB. He aided Jerod Haase with the Blazers before assuming the top job, though his first head coaching stint ended unceremoniously despite 76 wins in four years. After more work under Haase, this time closer to home at Stanford, Ehsan accepted the UIC opening last offseason and had a very solid first year in Chicago, leading the Flames to 17 wins while tying for 4th in the MVC.
159. Brett Reed (Lehigh) (Last year: 155)
Overall record: 287-259
A great majority of Reed’s coaching career has been at Lehigh, as the former Eckerd point guard arrived at the school way back in 2002. After five years on staff the top job became his and he’s now finished 18 years helming the Mountain Hawks. Reed has made a pair of trips to the Big Dance, though the highlight is clearly that wild upset win over Duke during the 2012 NCAA Tournament. Lately things haven’t been as fruitful, with his program coming off an 11-win campaign.
158. A. W. Hamilton (Eastern Kentucky) (Last year: 162)
Overall record: 122-102
A former underling of Kevin Keatts, Hamilton played most of his college career at Marshall when Keatts was on the coaching staff. He had extensive experience at the high school level before joining Keatts’s first staff at NC State. Since 2018, Hamilton has held down the top job at Eastern Kentucky and the work has been generally successful, especially leading the transition from OVC to the ASUN. The Colonels are just two years removed from a regular season crown and had a solid 18-win season last year.
157. Chris Victor (Seattle) (Last year: 154)
Overall record: 80-53
Victor was something of an unknown commodity before bursting onto the coaching scene with Seattle. A former player and coach at Concordia-Irvine, he gained early head coaching run at Citrus College and was later an assistant at a few D1 schools. After Jim Hayford was released by Seattle in 2021, Victor won 23 games as the interim head coach and was given the permanent role. After winning at least 20 games in each of his first three seasons, including a CBI title in 2024, the Redhawks took a step back with a 14-18 mark.
156. Daniyal Robinson (North Texas) (Last year: 194)
Overall record: 65-42
Before his recent success as a college head coach, Robinson spent more than two decades on collegiate staffs, including long stints under Porter Moser and later with Iowa State. He had actually been on staff with the Cyclones for seven years before taking Cleveland State’s head coaching opening in 2022. His work with the Vikings was brilliant, winning at least 21 games and making the CBI in all three seasons. Now Robinson transitions to a new challenge at North Texas, hoping to keep the Mean Green in fighting shape in the AAC.
155. Pat Skerry (Towson) (Last year: 171)
Overall record: 235-210
The first years of Skerry’s coaching career were a revolving door of positions, including a brief and forgettable stint as head coach at Curry, a D3 school. Among the later stops was work on staff at Rhode Island, Providence, and Pittsburgh before he took the Towson head coaching job in 2011. Skerry took over a Tigers team in bleak shape and turned them into a solid CAA program. In fact, he’s fresh off his second regular season title in the CAA, though he still hunts for that elusive March Madness bid.
154. Lennie Acuff (Samford) (Last year: 193)
Overall record: 110-82
Very few active D1 head coaches can match Acuff’s experience and years leading programs, even if much of that time came at the lower levels. His head coaching career began with mixed results at NAIA schools Belhaven and Berry before a 22-year stint and boatload of postseason appearances at the D2 level with Alabama-Huntsville. Acuff jumped to D1 with Lipscomb and just led the Bisons to the NCAA Tournament, his third straight 20-win season. He now transitions to Samford with the hopes of winning SoCon titles in the near future.
153. Bart Lundy (Milwaukee) (Last year: 160)
Overall record: 159-125
Another figure with several decades of head coaching experience, Lundy keeps chugging along at Milwaukee. He previously had two stints as head coach at Queens before that program transitioned to D1 and also had an eventful stretch leading High Point back in the 2000’s. After awesome D2 work in stint two with the Royals, Lundy joined the Panthers in 2022 and quickly turned things around. He’s had at least 20 wins in each of his first three seasons in Milwaukee, including a pair of 2nd place finishes in the Horizon League.
152. Dustin Kerns (Appalachian State) (Last year: 153)
Overall record: 145-116
Before his own head coaching career began, Kerns gained valuable experience as a graduate assistant at Tennessee before long stints on staff at Santa Clara and Wofford. After several years with Mike Young, his journey began by leading Presbyterian, including a 20-win campaign with the Blue Hose in 2019. Soon after he made the move to Appalachian State and got those Mountaineers into the NCAA Tournament in his second season. The overall work has been great, with the program just two years removed from a regular season title in the Sun Belt.
151. Chris Gerlufsen (San Francisco) (Last year: 178)
Overall record: 76-40
After his work playing at Randolph-Macon, Gerlufsen has worked his way up through the coaching ranks over the years. Following long stints on staff at The Citadel and Hartford, he made his way west, eventually becoming San Francisco’s associate head coach under Todd Golden. In 2022, he was named head coach when Golden parted for Florida. Gerlufsen has averaged more than 22 wins a season and is fresh off a second straight trip to the NIT with the Dons.
150. Nick McDevitt (Middle Tennessee) (Last year: 179)
Overall record: 203-184
Surprisingly McDevitt has spent his entire career with just two schools. He played for UNC Asheville and joined the staff right after graduation, eventually becoming their head coach. McDevitt took the Bulldogs to the Big Dance in 2016 and averaged nearly 20 wins in five years leading his alma mater. After more than two decades in Asheville, he took Middle Tennessee’s job back in 2018. While that same level of success hasn’t yet come with the Blue Raiders, this team did win 22 games and claim a spot in the NIT last season.
149. Mike Magpayo (Fordham) (Last year: 186)
Overall record: 89-63
Another sensational piece of the ever growing Kyle Smith coaching tree, Magpayo coached high school ball for many years before joining Smith at Columbia back in 2010. He worked for several schools over the last decade, including two years close to home at UC Riverside. He’d follow that success up as UC Riverside’s head coach for the last five years and is fresh off an NIT bid with the Highlanders. Magpayo accepted a major challenge with the Fordham job this offseason and we’ll see if he can make moves in the A-10 with the Rams.
148. Speedy Claxton (Hofstra) (Last year: 124)
Overall record: 81-52
One of the true stars in recent memory at Hofstra, Claxton starred at point guard for the Pride in the late 90’s and was a 1st round pick in the 2000 NBA Draft. After nearly a decade in the NBA, he returned to his alma mater’s coaching staff in 2013 and was an assistant for several years under Joe Mihalich. Claxton was promoted to the top job in 2021 and won at least 20 games in his first three seasons, including a regular season crown in year two. Last season was an unfortunate step backwards, finishing just 11th place in the CAA.
147. Rob Lanier (Rice) (Last year: 147)
Overall record: 154-154
Another coaching career with numerous stops along the way, Lanier enters this second season as head coach at his fourth D1 institution. He took Siena to the Big Dance more than two decades and later worked under Billy Donovan at Florida and Rick Barnes at Texas and Tennessee. Getting back in the head coach’s chair in 2019, Lanier took Georgia State to the NCAA Tournament and was decent with SMU before getting unceremoniously dismissed. That 13-19 mark in year one at Rice didn’t stand out but it’s only the start.
146. Eran Ganot (Hawaii) (Last year: 143)
Overall record: 174-120
Despite being native to Brooklyn and New Jersey, Ganot has spent his entire coaching career out west, splitting time between two schools. He had nearly a decade of experience under Randy Bennett at Saint Mary’s sandwiching a brief run as an assistant at Hawaii. In 2015, Hawaii brought him aboard as their next head coach and he instantly rewarded them, winning an NCAA Tournament game in his first campaign. Things haven’t been as fruitful since and his Rainbow Warriors are coming off a tough campaign, finishing below .500 in the Big West for the first time during his tenure.
145. Mark Madsen (California) (Last year: 145)
Overall record: 97-89
Despite starring at Stanford in the late 90’s, Madsen has been making his mark in recent years at rival California. A former 1st round draft pick, he played in the NBA for nearly a decade and spent several years on NBA staffs, including with the Los Angeles Lakers. Madsen got his head coaching career started at Utah Valley and won a pair of WAC regular season titles, including a run to the NIT semifinals in 2023. Shortly thereafter he was brought to Berkeley, and while he’s just 27-38 has the challenge of this adjustment to the ACC.
144. Jim Les (UC Davis) (Last year: 149)
Overall record: 364-356
Way back in the 80’s Les was a standout player at Bradley and a late NBA draft pick in 1986. He played nearly a decade of pro ball before settling into his coaching career. His alma mater employed him for nine seasons during which he led them on an incredible Sweet Sixteen run in 2006. Les then bounced back with UC Davis, where he’s worked since 2011, and reached the Big Dance with the Aggies in his sixth season. He’s won a pair of Big West titles and has done largely successful work, though UC Davis did finish under .500 last year.
143. Joe Golding (UTEP) (Last year: 142)
Overall record: 204-177
Golding spent the late 90’s as a point guard at Abilene Christian and he’d later have some great years as head coach at his alma mater. Before they hired him in 2011, he spent time on a few other college staffs and was a high school coach as well. Not only did he author a smooth transition to D1 with the Wildcats, he took Abilene Christian to their first two NCAA Tournaments, including a big upset win over Texas in 2021. Golding then accepted the UTEP job soon after and has won 70 games in his four years with the Miners, still looking for that breakthrough in CUSA.
142. Joe Gallo (Merrimack) (Last year: 151)
Overall record: 100-79
A Merrimack guard in the early 2000’s, Gallo has put in significant work in his coaching career at his alma mater. Before returning as head coach in 2016, he did have stints elsewhere, including with Dartmouth and Robert Morris. Gallo led the Warriors to three straight D2 Tourney appearances before heading the transition to D1 back in 2019. Since then, Merrimack won three regular season titles in the NEC before postseason eligibility and are fresh off a 2nd place finish in their debut in the MAAC.
141. Jake Diebler (Ohio State) (Last year: 129)
Overall record: 25-18
Much of Diebler’s work in basketball came at Valparaiso and Ohio State. He was a guard and later assistant with Valpo under Bryce Drew, later working for Drew at Vanderbilt in the SEC. Diebler had time as a video coordinator with the Buckeyes, later getting several promotions. When Chris Holtmann was fired in February 2024, Diebler took on the interim role and impressed with an 8-3 mark to finish the season. His first year as the full-time head coach wasn’t as sensational, with 17 wins and 10th place in the Big Ten.