NCAA Basketball: Ranking all 364 D-I head coaches for 2024-25 season

140. Mike Jones (UNC Greensboro) (Last year: 140)

Overall record: 232-188

Jones picked up experience in his career as a coach under John Beilein, Dennis Felton, and a few other notable coaches. He spent a pair of years on VCU’s staff, during which the Rams made that unforgettable run to the Final Four. Jones then spent a decade in his first head coaching gig at Radford, winning a bevy of games with some postseason success. UNC Greensboro brought him aboard in 2021 and has seen solid results, with a 2nd place finish in the SoCon last year alongside 58 wins to date.

139. Bucky McMillan (Samford) (Last year: 196)

Overall record: 77-41

A native of Birmingham, McMillan attended Birmingham-Southern and later spent more than a decade coaching high school ball in Alabama. After building one of the nation’s best high school programs, McMillan jumped right to college ball, becoming Samford’s head coach in 2020. After a slow start, he’s gotten these Bulldogs into remarkable shape, winning at least 21 games in each of the last three years. This past season featured a trip to the NCAA Tournament and a second-straight regular season crown in the SoCon.

138. Ray Harper (Jacksonville State) (Last year: 137)

Overall record: 235-176

Successful at every stage of his coaching career, Harper spent two decades at Kentucky Wesleyan, winning a pair of D2 title during his nine seasons as head coach. He later won a pair of NAIA championships at Oklahoma City before settling in at Western Kentucky. Harper took the Hilltoppers to a pair of NCAA Tournaments before finding his way to Jacksonville State back in 2016. Like at the other stops, he had immediate success, taking the Gamecocks to the Big Dance in 2017, but he’s been under .500 in back-to-back seasons.

137. Tim Miles (San Jose State) (Last year: 122)

Overall record: 225-262

A lengthy head coaching career has seen Miles helm six different college programs, including D2 and NAIA success. He was the final head coach at North Dakota State before that program joined D1 and later thrived at Colorado State. He took Nebraska to the Big Dance in 2014 before stalling later in his tenure and has since bounced back with San Jose State. The Spartans hired him three years ago and didn’t regret a 21-win effort in year two. However, this past season saw the Spartans last place again in the MWC.

136. Amir Abdur-Rahim (South Florida) (Last year: 179)

Overall record: 70-82

Abdur-Rahim is unquestionably a rising name in the coaching world of college basketball. He gained experience on several coaching staffs, notably working at Texas A&M and Georgia, before getting his head coaching start at Kennesaw State in 2019. After winning just one game in his debut season, he turned the Owls program around, taking them to the NCAA Tournament in his fourth season. Soon after he accepted the South Florida job and exceeded expectations right off the bat, taking the Bulls to an AAC regular season title this past season.

135. Brian Wardle (Bradley (Last year: 150)

Overall record: 253-203

Wardle has made quite the career out of coaching in the Midwest and enters his tenth season at Bradley. A former player and staffer at Marquette, he joined the staff at Green Bay back in 2005 and was named head coach five years later. Wardle averaged 19 wins a year and led the Phoenix to the postseason three straight years before jumping to Bradley in 2015. Inheriting a program in ruin, Wardle has led quite the turnaround, taking the Braves to the Big Dance in 2019 and NIT appearances in each of the last two seasons.

134. Robert Jones (Norfolk State) (Last year: 138)

Overall record: 212-148

Born in Queens, Jones saw success early in his career at smaller colleges and the high school level, but has now been at Norfolk State for nearly two decades. He joined the staff in 2007 and was part of their historic upset over Missouri as an assistant in 2012. One year later he was named interim head coach and later was granted the full-time gig. A model of consistency, his Spartans have finished Top 3 in the MEAC in all 11 seasons, have made a pair of NCAA Tournaments and just won the CIT championship this year.

133. Eric Konkol (Tulsa) (Last year: 145)

Overall record: 174-115

After growing up and attending college in the state of Wisconsin, Konkol’s coaching career has taken him all over the country, though he became known for his work with Jim Larranaga. While he wasn’t on staff during their Final Four run, he was an assistant at George Mason and later Miami before beginning his head coaching career at Louisiana Tech. Konkol won at least 20 games in six of his seven seasons with the Bulldogs before taking the Tulsa gig in 2022. Year one was abhorrent, but last year was an 11-win improvement in a deeper AAC.

132. Tod Kowalczyk (Toledo) (Last year: 147)

Overall record: 414-293

Kowalczyk has had some great days during his long coaching career, though it’s bizarre to say that he’s yet to make the NCAA Tournament as a head coach. A former assistant at Rutgers, Marquette, and several other schools, he took over at Green Bay in 2002 and built a solid Horizon League program. Toledo lured him to the MAC in 2010 and the Rockets have benefited from his leadership. While he hasn’t made that Big Dance, he’s taken Toledo to the NIT five times and has actually won the last four MAC regular season titles.

131. Johnny Jones (Texas Southern) (Last year: 134)

Overall record: 401-324

Known for his long run as player, assistant, and head coach at LSU, Jones has quietly had a pretty solid coaching career. He was interim head coach at Memphis before they hired John Calipari in 2000 and took North Texas to multiple NCAA Tournaments in his first full-time head coaching gig. After ups and downs as LSU’s leader, Jones bounced back when Texas Southern hired him in 2018. He recently took the Tigers on three straight trips to the Big Dance, though this season wasn’t necessarily bad either.

130. Dave Richman (North Dakota State) (Last year: 125)

Overall record: 190-131

Nearly all of Richman’s collegiate experience has come at North Dakota State, and it’s definitely all come in his home state of North Dakota. He only briefly played collegiately and later caught on as a graduate assistant for NDSU back in 2003. After eleven years on staff, he was chosen as the next head coach and just completed his tenth season leading the Bison. He has notably won a pair of NCAA Tournament games, leading the Bison to a major upset over Oklahoma in 2015 and a First Four game several years later, though his program has been under .500 in back-to-back campaigns.

129. Jake Diebler (Ohio State) (Last year: N/A)

Overall record: 8-3

A former guard at Valparaiso, Diebler began his coaching career on Homer Drew’s staff at his alma mater. Diebler worked both there and at Vanderbilt under Bryce Drew and served multiple stints on the Ohio State coaching staff. After being Thad Matta’s video coordinator, Chris Holtmann brought him aboard full-time in 2019. Diebler was promoted to interim head coach this past February and was instrumental in a late season run for the Buckeyes. As a result, the program is now in his hands.

128. Drew Valentine (Loyola Chicago) (Last year: 154)

Overall record: 58-39

Valentine played forward at Oakland under Greg Kampe before joining Tom Izzo’s Michigan State staff, where brother Denzel was one of the stars. After a brief stint back at Oakland, Valentine joined Porter Moser’s staff at Loyola Chicago and helped lead the Ramblers to the Final Four in his very first season. When Moser departed in 2021, Valentine was named head coach when he was just 29 years old. His eventful three-year stint has seen an NCAA Tournament in year one, a transition to the A-10, and an NIT bid this past year.

127. Joe Pasternack (UC Santa Barbara) (Last year: 120)

Overall record: 186-122

Pasternack was a student manager for Bob Knight at Indiana, so it’s fair to say he’s learned from some of the best in the game. He’d become an assistant at California before beginning his head coaching career with a 4-year stint at New Orleans. After several seasons under Sean Miller at Arizona, Pasternack accepted the UC Santa Barbara job in 2017. He’s won 20 games in five of his first seven seasons, and has taken the Gauchos to two of the last four NCAA Tournaments. However, this last year was his worst season yet in Santa Barbara, tying for 7th place in the Big West.

126. Jason Hooten (New Mexico State) (Last year: 131)

Overall record: 274-188

There hasn’t been much movement in Hooten’s coaching career, but he’s had fortune everywhere he’s been. He played and coached at Tarleton State for over a decade before joining the Sam Houston Staff in 2004. Six years later he was named head coach of the Bearkats, and it’s fair to say his first head coaching gig went decently well. He led the Bearkats to numerous postseason appearances and a successful conference transition before leaping to New Mexico State last offseason. Year one with the Aggies wasn’t spectacular, though they did tie for 4th place as new members of the CUSA.

125. Travis DeCuire (Montana) (Last year: 133)

Overall record: 201-124

After playing at Montana back in the early 90’s, DeCuire has been the Grizzlies’ head coach for the last ten seasons. He had been a head coach at the high school and junior college levels and been a Pac-12 assistant with California, but this remains his first D1 head coaching stop. Things started well, with multiple Big Sky titles and NCAA Tournament appearances in 2018 and 2019. The Grizzlies have been less competitive in recent years, though this year’s 24 wins and CBI run were a step back towards greatness.

124. Speedy Claxton (Hofstra) (Last year: 143)

Overall record: 66-34

Following an incredible career at Hofstra in the late 90’s, Claxton became a 1st round draft pick in 2000 and spent nearly a decade in the NBA. Later an NBA champion with the San Antonio Spurs, the former point guard returned to his alma mater as an assistant in 2013. Eight seasons later, Claxton was promoted to head coach and has won at least 20 games in each of his first three seasons. He led the Pride to a regular season title in his second year and is coming off another solid campaign in year three.

123. Marvin Menzies (Kansas City) (Last year: 135)

Overall record: 273-196

Menzies has had quite the coaching career, working at nearly a dozen schools across 40 years. Originally a high school and junior college coach, he served on the staffs of schools like San Diego State, USC, and Louisville before getting his D1 head coaching start with New Mexico State. He led those Aggies to five NCAA Tournaments before a mediocre stretch leading UNLV. He took the Kansas City job in 2022 and has bounced back nicely, leading the Roos to 2nd place in the Summit League.

122. Paul Mills (Wichita State) (Last year: 118)

Overall record: 121-103

After spending his early years as a high school head coach in Texas, Mills joined Scott Drew’s rebuild at Baylor. He spent 14 years helping Drew build success from the ground up in Waco before beginning his own head coaching career. Mills was tapped as the new leader at Oral Roberts in 2017 and took the program to that unforgettable Sweet Sixteen as a 15-seed in 2021. Two years later he was hired at Wichita State and still has work ahead in making the Shockers a consistent team in the AAC.

121. Earl Grant (Boston College) (Last year: 132)

Overall record: 176-142

Working what’s certainly not one of the easiest jobs in the country, Grant has had experience in his career, learning under Gregg Marshall and Brad Brownell before his head coaching career. He assumed the head coaching position at the College of Charleston in 2014 and led the Cougars to the Big Dance once in his seven years. Boston College brought him aboard after that, with Grant still working one of the ACC’s toughest jobs. This past season marked definite progress, as the Eagles won 20 games and made the NIT.