NCAA Basketball: Picking each league’s Coach of the Year for 2023-24 season
By Joey Loose
WCC: Randy Bennett (Saint Mary’s)
Before the season began, it was quite a surprise to see that Saint Mary’s had actually been picked to win the WCC in the preseason polls. Fast forward four months and it’s not so much a shocker, as the Gaels sit more than two games ahead of Gonzaga for the conference lead. Bennett has been the head coach in Moraga since 2001 and has won a ton of games but this may be one of his finest efforts.
Saint Mary’s is a flawless 13-0 in league play, including a win at Spokane over Gonzaga last month. It was actually a really rough start to the season for the Gaels, who were 3-5 at one point, but have since caught fire and are winners of fourteen games in a row. While there have been some close calls, the Gaels are undefeated and look like the class of the WCC. Anytime this league doesn’t have Gonzaga at the top you almost have to throw all the honors their way.
WAC: Joseph Jones (Tarleton State)
Grand Canyon is 24-3 and will likely win the WAC again, but it’s not Bryce Drew that grabbed our attention. Instead you have to dive deeper into this league and look at what’s happening at Tarleton State. Jones was named the acting head coach back in December when Billy Gillispie stepped aside for medical reasons, though he’s actually led these Texans for most of the season.
Picked to finish 6th in the WAC, Tarleton State is 12-3 in league play and very comfortable in second place. The Texans are fresh off an upset win against Grand Canyon and have now won 7 games in a row to put themselves in this position. They’ve had some rough stretches this year but this team is starting to play inspired basketball under Jones’ leadership. Drew might get the actual honor based on the Antelopes’ success, but the job Jones is doing is otherworldly.
These were our current picks for coach of the year in each of the 32 conferences, but did we get it right? Do you agree with the coaches we selected in each of these leagues or were other coaches more deserving of the honor?