NCAA Basketball: Picking each league’s Coach of the Year for 2023-24 season

MAC: Tony Barbee (Central Michigan)

There have always been great coaches in the MAC and solid programs, but one in particular has stood out in 2024. Barbee had success as head coach at UTEP before failing at Auburn, leading him to a long stint as John Calipari’s aide at Kentucky. Barbee arrived at Central Michigan in 2021 to restart his head coaching career and has seen monumental success in year three.

Central Michigan was an utter afterthought in the MAC coming into the season, picked dead last in the preseason polls. The Chippewas ignored those prognostications and sit 10-3 in league play in 3rd place, just a game behind Akron and Toledo (who they’ve beaten). They’ve gotten here with several overtime wins and dramatic performances and it hasn’t always been pretty, but the work Barbee has done clearly deserves this honor.

MEAC: Robert Jones (Norfolk State)

There isn’t a lot of variance in the MEAC this season. More than half the league is actually tied at 5-4 in second place, so naturally our attention turns towards the league’s current leader. Jones and his Spartans are no strangers to success and winning this league and it’s hard to argue against giving the award to what appears to be the best program and best coach.

Norfolk State is 7-2 in the league and their 17-9 record outclasses the rest of the conference. Things haven’t always been pretty for the Spartans, but they’ve done enough to sit atop the league standings and are a couple wins away from securing another conference title. It would be a nice bounce back after a third place finish last season for Jones and his team, even if their success was expected this season.