80. Mark Schmidt (St. Bonaventure) (Last year: 93)
Overall record: 406-328
Many don’t give Schmidt proper acclaim for the work he’s done in his head coaching career, but the former Boston College player has been really solid over the years with St. Bonaventure. Long before then he spent time with Skip Prosser and had a decent stretch leading Robert Morris for his first head coaching job. Schmidt took over a broken St. Bonaventure program in 2007 and turned things around for the Bonnies with several postseason bids over the years. This last season was 22 wins and another trip to the NIT.
79. Johnny Dawkins (UCF) (Last year: 86)
Overall record: 324-235
Another branch of Mike Krzyzewski’s coaching tree, Dawkins starred at Duke in the early 80’s and spent nearly a decade in the NBA before returning to the Duke staff in the late 90’s. After a decade with Coach K, Dawkins took over at Stanford, winning two NIT championships and making a Sweet Sixteen. Dawkins landed on his feet at UCF in 2016 and has several postseason berths to his name. The work has been solid since UCF joined the Big 12 a few seasons ago, including a 20-win campaign last year.
78. Mitch Henderson (Princeton) (Last year: 81)
Overall record: 251-133
A solid athlete and Indiana native, Henderson made his mark as a player at Princeton in the mid-90’s and has made even more of an impression as their head coach. Before that chance, he cut his teeth under his former college coach Bill Carmody, spending 11 years on staff for Northwestern. Since 2011 he’s been the head coach at Princeton and most notably took the Tigers on that magical Sweet Sixteen run back in 2023. Henderson has a pair of trips to the Big Dance and recently won three straight regular season titles in the Ivy League.
77. Bob Richey (Furman) (Last year: 83)
Overall record: 181-80
A native of New Orleans, Richey is far from a household name but has slowly made his mark in his coaching career. After work on staff at Charleston Southern, he joined the Furman staff in 2011 and was promoted to head coach six years later. He took the Paladins to the NCAA Tournament in 2023 and even upset Virginia in a memorable performance. Aside from that, he’s been a winner, averaging nearly 22 wins per season and regularly finishing near the top of the SoCon standings. This past season featured 25 wins and a trip to the NIT.
76. Steve Pikiell (Rutgers) (Last year: 62)
Overall record: 339-296
Pikiell’s roots come from New England, as he played point guard at UConn in the late 80’s and gained coaching experience at several nearby schools. His first full-time head coaching work came in a decade plus at Stony Brook, culminating in a trip to the Big Dance and several postseason bids. Since 2016 he’s done an above average job turning things around at Rutgers, leading the Scarlet Knights to a pair of NCAA Tournaments and relevancy in the Big Ten. Last year was a major disappointment, finishing just 15-17 with a very talented roster.
75. Ritchie McKay (Liberty) (Last year: 96)
Overall record: 413-263
Although he’s been with Liberty for the last decade, McKay has truly bounced around throughout his coaching career. There were several stops as an assistant, including with Bradley and Washington before five consecutive D1 head coaching stops. McKay helmed Portland State, Colorado State, Oregon State, and New Mexico, taking the latter two to the Big Dance before landing at Liberty. He actually left the Flames for a brief stint aiding Tony Bennett at Virginia but has been largely fantastic at Liberty, making three NCAA Tournaments including the most recent one; the Flames’ first CUSA title.
74. Jeff Capel III (Pittsburgh) (Last year: 78)
Overall record: 289-217
Another trust arm of the widespread Krzyzewski coaching tree, Capel played at Duke in the mid-90’s and later got into coaching under his father. He was only 27 years old when VCU handed him their head coaching job in 2002 before later taking Oklahoma to an Elite Eight in 2009. After the Sooners relieved him of his job, Capel spent several years on the Duke staff before taking Pittsburgh’s opening in 2018. There have been ups and downs in his second power conference gig, including a trip to the Big Dance and some 20-win seasons very recently.
73. John Becker (Vermont) (Last year: 73)
Overall record: 329-132
The rise for Becker came in unexpected ways, starting his coaching career at Gallaudet. He was more than a basketball coach there and was then out of the game for several years. After a brief stint with Catholic, his alma mater, Becker joined the Vermont staff in 2006 and has never left. He was promoted to head coach in 2011 and has since led the Catamounts to six NCAA Tournaments and a flurry of postseason bids. Prior to this season, Vermont had won eight consecutive America East regular season titles, though last year’s 21-12 finish wasn’t exactly dire.
72. Fred Hoiberg (Nebraska) (Last year: 77)
Overall record: 199-164
Hoiberg has been a popular name in basketball over the years, dating back to his time as a player at Iowa State in the early 90’s. He spent a decade playing in the NBA and a few more years of front office before taking over as head coach at Iowa State. He won 115 games and made four straight trips to the Big Dance before sojourning back to the Chicago Bulls as their head coach. Hoiberg found his way back to the college game at Nebraska and has turned his hometown team around, getting the Cornhuskers to back-to-back 20-win seasons including this past year’s CBC championship.
71. John Groce (Akron) (Last year: 84)
Overall record: 348-219
With a few other notable stops along the way, Groce has asserted himself as one of the most successful MAC coaches in recent memory. He worked hard under Thad Matta at three different schools, helping coach Ohio State to the Final Four before starting his head coaching career at Ohio. Groce won three NCAA Tournament games in four years before failing to match that success at Illinois. Shedding his shortcomings, he landed on his feet at Akron and has taken the Zips to three of the last four NCAA Tournaments.