120. Joe Pasternack (UC Santa Barbara) (Last year: 127)
Overall record: 207-135
The first taste of college ball for Pasternack came as a student manager under Bob Knight at Indiana. He gained more experience on staffs at California and Arizona, sandwiching an early head coaching gig with New Orleans. While he produced mixed results leading the Privateers, the news has mostly been good since landing at UC Santa Barbara in 2017. Pasternack has a pair of trips to the NCAA Tournament and is averaging more than 20 wins a season, with plenty of success in the Big West.
119. Jeff Boals (Ohio) (Last year: 112)
Overall record: 169-118
Many great moments were had when Boals played at Ohio in the early 90’s but he’s matched that experience as their head coach in recent years. Between then he bounced around on several coaching staffs, including a long stint for Thad Matta at Ohio State. Boals built a few winning seasons with Stony Brook, his first head coaching job, before returning to the Bobcats in 2019. In just his second season at the helm, Boals led this program to the second round of the NCAA Tournament with an upset over Virginia, though Ohio finished just .500 last year.
118. Ray Harper (Jacksonville State) (Last year: 138)
Overall record: 258-189
Not enough people realize what Harper has accomplished across a length head coaching career. He was massively successful at Kentucky Wesleyan, winning two D2 titles and coming close to several more, before winning a pair of NAIA championship at Oklahoma City. As a D1 head coach, he immediately took both Western Kentucky and Jacksonville State to the Big Dance and has now been entrenched at the latter since 2016. Harper has two trips to the NCAA Tournament with the Gamecocks and is coming off a 23-win season and his first appearance in the NIT.
117. Brian Wardle (Bradley) (Last year: 135)
Overall record: 281-212
A former player and staff member at Marquette, Wardle has carved out quite the success for himself in recent years. He spent a decade at Green Bay, including five seasons as head coach of the Phoenix, with a pair of 24-win campaigns and NIT trips. The breakthrough came since jumping to Bradley in 2015, turning that program around and getting them to the NCAA Tournament in just his fourth season. He’s built a winning culture with the Braves and has been in the last three NIT’s, including after last year’s 28-9 campaign.
116. David Riley (Washington State) (Last year: 120)
Overall record: 81-53
Whether or not Riley is a lifer in his home state, the Seattle native has done pretty solid work in the state of Washington. A former player at Whitworth under Jim Hayford, he followed his coach to Eastern Washington and was with the Eagles for a decade before becoming their head coach in 2021. Riley produced a pair of Big Sky regular season titles and won a boatload of games with Eastern Washington before jumping to Washington State this past offseason. He produced a steady 19-win season to kick start his run with the Cougars, a program that will be back in the Pac-12 next year.
115. Scott Cross (Troy) (Last year: 144)
Overall record: 328-248
For more than two decades Cross lived and breathed basketball at UT Arlington, including a 12-year stretch as head coach. That wasn’t enough after several postseason appearances and three straight 20-win campaigns, but he’s more than bounced back at Troy. The Trojans brought him to town in 2019 and are more than reaping the benefits. Cross not only produced a fourth straight 20-win season but just led the Trojans to the NCAA Tournament and has been largely successful in the Sun Belt in recent years.
114. Pat Chambers (Florida Gulf Coast) (Last year: 118)
Overall record: 240-226
The road has been rocky at times but Chambers continues his coaching career. A former Villanova aide under Jay Wright, his head coaching journey included at trip to the Big Dance at Boston University and an NIT championship with Penn State. His time with the Nittany Lions ended unceremoniously in 2020, though Chambers has bounced back with Florida Gulf Coast. He’s helmed the Eagles since 2022 and is coming off his best season yet, winning 19 games and getting the program into the CBI after finishing 3rd in the ASUN.
113. Josh Schertz (Saint Louis) (Last year: 113)
Overall record: 85-55
The rise for Schertz in recent years has been impressive. A graduate of Florida Atlantic, he cut his teeth assisting Bart Lundy mostly at High Point before starting his head coaching career at Lincoln Memorial. After 13 years and plenty of success, including three D2 Final Fours, Schertz took the Indiana State job and led a historical campaign in his third year, taking the Sycamores to 32 wins and the finals of the NIT. Last year was his first since jumping to Saint Louis, making decent progress with 19 wins in year one.
112. Jason Hooten (New Mexico State) (Last year: 126)
Overall record: 291-203
Hooten really hasn’t moved around much in his career. He played at Tarleton State and assisted the Texans for more than a decade before a 19-year stint with Sam Houston State. That stretch with the Bearkats included 13 years as head coach, taking the program to many wins and trips to the postseason in both the Southland and WAC. Hooten took on his next big challenge at New Mexico State, accepting that job in 2023 and producing 30 wins in his first two years turning that program back around.
111. Cuonzo Martin (Missouri State) (Last year: 107)
Overall record: 273-221
While Martin’s early work came as a player and assistant at Purdue, in a manner of speaking he’s right back where he started. The former NBA draft pick began his head coaching career at Missouri State way back in 2008 and returned back to Springfield last offseason for a second tenure. In between those stints, he had mixed results while leading Tennessee, California, and Missouri each to the Big Dance, including a Sweet Sixteen with the Volunteers. Expectations weren’t major right off the bat, as his Tigers were just 9-23 and dead last in the MVC last season.
110. Robert Jones (Norfolk State) (Last year: 134)
Overall record: 236-159
A native of Queens, Jones played and coached at New Paltz in his home state and also did solid work at the high school level. He really caught on at Norfolk State, first as an assistant to Anthony Evans before later making the program his own. Jones has been the Spartans’ head coach since 2013 and has led the program to a Top 3 finish in the MEAC for twelve straight years. Since the pandemic, Jones has taken Norfolk State to three NCAA Tournaments, including another trip this past season.
109. Drew Valentine (Loyola Chicago) (Last year: 128)
Overall record: 83-51
Formerly an Oakland forward and assistant under Greg Kampe, Valentine has really made his mark at Loyola Chicago. He originally joined Porter Moser’s staff in 2017 and was part of that shocking Final Four in his very first year in town. When Moser departed for Oklahoma, Valentine was named head coach in 2021. He led the Ramblers back to the Big Dance in his first season and has had decent success since the program joined the A-10, including a regular season title in 2024 and a 25-win season last year.
108. Ross Hodge (West Virginia) (Last year: 257)
Overall record: 46-24
It’s been a rapid rise in recent years for Hodge who now takes over a Big 12 program. He was a junior college head coach less than two decades ago before gaining experience at schools like Colorado State and North Texas. On staff with the Mean Green for several years under Grant McCasland, Hodge was promoted to head coach in 2023 and is coming off a 27-win campaign where he took North Texas to the semifinals of the NIT. Now the faithful in West Virginia will hope he can bring stability to Morgantown and build a contender in the Big 12.
107. Greg Kampe (Oakland) (Last year: 114)
Overall record: 453-391
The longest tenured D1 head coach in the country, Kampe enters his 42nd season at the helm in Oakland. He played collegiately at Bowling Green and was on staff for a few years at Toledo, but the Golden Grizzlies are all he’s known since 1984. He had a whole host of D2 success before leading Oakland into D1 in the late 90’s. After solid work in the Summit League, Kampe has kept Oakland afloat in the Horizon League and is just a year removed from that crazy NCAA Tournament win over Kentucky.
106. Chris Mooney (Richmond) (Last year: 97)
Overall record: 376-302
Another head coach entrenched at his current school, Mooney played collegiately at Princeton and gained experience on the west coast, but has been with Richmond for two decades. Following brief head coaching stints at Beaver College and Air Force, Mooney hopped over to Richmond and has helmed the Spiders since 2005. The Philadelphia native has had mixed results, notably taking the program to the Sweet Sixteen in 2011 and another Tourney upset just a few years ago. After 2024’s regular season crown in the A-10, Richmond won just 10 games and tied for 13th place this past year.
105. Wayne Tinkle (Oregon State) (Last year: 115)
Overall record: 318-281
Formerly a center at Montana in the late 80’s, Tinkle played professional basketball for more than a decade before joining his alma mater’s coaching staff in 2001. He spent five years as an assistant and eight more as head coach of the Grizzlies, taking Montana to three NCAA Tournaments during that stretch. Oregon State brought him aboard in 2014 and he broke a long Tourney drought in just his second season. The big highlight came with that wild run to the Elite Eight in 2021, and while there have been some tough campaigns, his Beavers did top 20 wins against last year.
104. Travis DeCuire (Montana) (Last year: 125)
Overall record: 226-134
DeCuire is a Seattle native and former Montana player who gained early coaching experience near his hometown in high school and junior college ball. DeCuire then had solid stints on staff at Old Dominion and California under a pair of former Montana head coaches before getting the Grizzlies’ head coaching gig for himself in 2014. He produced back-to-back Big Sky titles early in his tenure and after a rougher stretch just got Montana back to the Big Dance again this past season.
103. Shaheen Holloway (Seton Hall) (Last year: 70)
Overall record: 113-107
The work Holloway did as a point guard at Seton Hall was solid in the late 90’s before several years of professional ball, but he’s trying to make his mark felt even more in his coaching career. He spent more than a decade under Kevin Willard, including eight years on staff with the Pirates before his head coaching journey began at Saint Peter’s. Holloway did the unthinkable by taking the Peacocks to the Elite Eight as a 15-seed in 2022 before accepting the top job at Seton Hall. He just won the NIT in year two at Seton Hall but last year was dire, finishing just 7-25 and dead last in the Big East.
102. Lamont Paris (South Carolina) (Last year: 72)
Overall record: 136-121
You could consider Paris another rising name in coaching circles even with three years of SEC head coaching experience now under his belt. The former Wooster star caught on in coaching with assistant coaching stops at several schools, including Akron and Wisconsin. After that pair of Final Fours with the Badgers, he started his own head coaching success with Chattanooga, taking the Mocs to the 2022 NCAA Tournament before heading to South Carolina. Year two with the Gamecocks was stellar with 26 wins and a trip to the Big Dance, but this year was a step back, finishing in the cellar of the SEC.
101. Matt Langel (Colgate) (Last year: 98)
Overall record: 241-203
The learning for Langel came under the tutelage of Fran Dunphy, his college coach at Penn. At the end of his playing career, Langel’s earliest coaching work came on Dunphy’s staffs with both Penn and Temple before Colgate offered him his first head coaching chance. Langel has been entrenched at Colgate since 2011 and has turned the Raiders from an afterthought to the premier Patriot League program. He recently took the program to five straight NCAA Tournament appearances and a ton of conference success before a rare struggle this past season.