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

340. Jeremy Luther (Gardner-Webb) (Last year: N/A)

Overall record: 0-0

The perfect choice to take over as head coach, Luther has been a major part of Gardner-Webb basketball in recent years. After playing guard at three different schools, including both Robert Morris and Liberty, Luther has been a collegiate coach for more than two decades, including head coaching stints at Newberry and Armstrong Atlantic. He joined Gardner-Webb as an assistant back in 2013 and ascends to the top job after eleven seasons on staff.

339. Kahil Fennell (UTRGV) (Last year: N/A)

Overall record: 0-0

The last decade has seen quite a meteoric rise for Fennell, who was a high school assistant and later became a full-time assistant at Louisville and BYU. He actually spent four years under Chris Mack with the Cardinals before joining Mark Pope for some incredible work with the Cougars. Now Fennell’s attention turns towards his own program as he inherits a UTRGV team that has just joined the Southland Conference.

338. Marty Richter (USC Upstate) (Last year: N/A)

Overall record: 0-0

A great opportunity in his own career, Richter takes over as the next head coach at USC Upstate after a career in which he’s mostly been an assistant. His lone head coaching experience was at Florida Southwestern State, where he won a ton of games before jumping back to the D1 level as an assistant. He was a big part of the Drake coaching staff the last six years and was also notably on the staff of the Florida Gulf Coast team that made the Sweet Sixteen in 2013.

337. Hank Plona (Western Kentucky) (Last year: N/A)

Overall record: 0-0

A new challenge begins for Plona, who takes over as Western Kentucky’s head coach after serving as an assistant last year. A former graduate assistant at Providence, he has years of experience at lower levels of the sport. He won more than 85% of his games across eight seasons leading Indian Hills CC, though this is clearly his first D1 head coaching gig. Plona helped take these Hilltoppers to the Big Dance as an assistant and hopes to keep them competitive in an ever-changing CUSA.

336. George Halcovage (Buffalo) (Last year: 334)

Overall record: 4-27

After his collegiate career at Babson, a D3 school in Massachusetts, Halcovage landed a spot as a graduate assistant at Villanova. He would spent the next 15 years with the Wildcats in various roles, helping the program claim two national titles while working his way up to associate head coach. His own head coaching journey would begin last season at Buffalo, though there’s still plenty of work ahead. The Bulls remained in the basement of the MAC and 4-win seasons won’t be tolerated regularly.

335. Mike DeGeorge (Cal Poly) (Last year: N/A)

Overall record: 0-0

Since the turn of the century, DeGeorge has been a collegiate head coach but finally gets his shot at the D1 level. His career has seen struggle at Eureka College before decent work at the D3 level at both Cornell College and Rhodes. He joins the Mustangs fresh off six seasons at Colorado Mesa, taking those Mavericks to the Sweet Sixteen of the D2 Tournament in two of his last three years. Cal Poly was one of the worst teams in the nation last year and DeGeorge has quite the rebuild ahead.

334. Gary Manchel (Mercyhurst) (Last year: N/A)

Overall record: 0-0

With over 500 career wins in his coaching career, Manchel is no stranger to this, even if this is his first season as a D1 head coach. The Vermont native previously was an assistant at Yale and Ohio and had a long stint leading UMass Lowell before the River Hawks became a D1 program. Manchel landed at Mercyhurst way back in 2003 and has taken the Lakers to many D2 Tournament appearances in recent years. Whether he can continue his success in the NEC is another issue.

333. Grant Billmeier (NJIT) (Last year: 343)

Overall record: 8-21

Billmeier’s first head coaching season was this past year at NJIT, though he has lengthy experience in the sport. A former center at Seton Hall, he spent over a decade with his alma mater, with much of that experience as a full-time assistant. He actually followed longtime coach Kevin Willard to Maryland before returning to New Jersey last offseason. Year one with the Highlanders wasn’t the best result, but it’s still too early to panic about Billmeier’s future.

332. Dave Smart (Pacific) (Last year: N/A)

Overall record: 0-0

Pacific certainly made an outside-the-box hire by bringing Smart to town this offseason. Born in Ontario, Smart has spent most of his life playing and coaching basketball in Canada. He spent nearly two decades as head coach at Carleton, one of the most successful collegiate programs in Canada, wining several league titles. Smart was actually an assistant at Texas Tech last season, his first American college basketball experience, and now inherits a Pacific team that hasn’t been very competitive in the WCC.

331. Shane Heirman (Incarnate Word) (Last year: 354)

Overall record: 8-23

Last year marked the start of Heirman’s collegiate head coaching career. The former reserve at Tulsa was a great high school coach before coaching stints with both DePaul and Central Michigan. Incarnate Word brought him to town last season, certainly seeing value in his experience working in the Big East. Winning eight games in his first season wasn’t awful, marking a step forward, though Heirman and these Cardinals still certainly have room for growth.

330. Rick Cabrera (Northwestern State) (Last year: 355)

Overall record: 9-23

With more than 25 years of coaching under his belt, Cabrera has had quite the diverse career already, but last year marked the beginning of his D1 head coaching journey. He had coached a pair of junior colleges, including a recent stint at Tallahassee CC, but Northwestern State offered him that first chance at the D1 level. A former assistant at Chattanooga, Tennessee Tech, and a few other schools, Cabrera had a decent debut with the Demons, winning 9 games in what was certainly a rebuilding effort.

329. Chris Kraus (Stonehill) (Last year: 318)

Overall record: 18-44

A native Canadian, Kraus has spent much of his career at Stonehill, where he had great success as a player nearly two decades ago. After brief coaching stints at a few other schools, he joined Stonehill as an assistant way back in 2010. Three seasons later he was made head coach and has led the Saints to a few D2 Tournament appearances. Kraus led Stonehill to the D1 level just two seasons ago but last year’s 4-27 mark was clearly a major disappointment.

328. Kevin Kuwik (Army) (Last year: 338)

Overall record: 10-22

It was only a matter of time for Kuwik to catch on somewhere as a head coach, with the New York native finding his first shot with Army last year. He picked up extensive D1 experience on the staffs of Ohio, Butler, Ohio State, Dayton, and Davidson, working under coaches like Thad Matta, Archie Miller, and Brad Stevens over the years. His own head coaching career began with a 10-win season; a decent first effort but not something that jumped off the page.

327. Roger Powell Jr. (Valparaiso) (Last year: 331)

Overall record: 7-25

As a player, Powell was a major part of Illinois’s run to the national championship game in 2005. After an international playing career, his coaching career actually began at Valparaiso before more high-profile stints with Vanderbilt and Gonzaga. Powell was part of another championship game as an assistant for the Bulldogs, but returned to Valparaiso last offseason. Powell’s head coaching career has only just begun and it was an underwhelming first season, though the jury is far from out on his coaching potential.

326. Alex Pribble (Idaho) (Last year: 359)

Overall record: 11-21

Pribble played college ball and was later a graduate assistant at California to begin his coaching career. As a head coach, he did solid work at a high school in San Francisco before taking Saint Martin’s to the Sweet Sixteen of the D2 Tournament. Pribble was actually a D1 assistant for Eastern Washington and for the last four years at Seattle before Idaho gave him their top job. His 11 wins in his first season actually marked notable progress, though we’ll have to see what the future holds for the Vandals under his leadership.

325. David McLaughlin (Dartmouth) (Last year: 317)

Overall record: 62-131

McLaughlin has spent nearly two decades as a collegiate head coach and just keeps going at Dartmouth. A longtime New Englander, his head coaching start was at Stonehill back when that program was still D2. After a number of D2 Tournament appearances, he would eventually find a new gig at Dartmouth, landing there in 2016. Unfortunately, the Big Green haven’t quite contended in the Ivy League over the years and last season’s 6-21 mark was the worst of his career.

324. Eric Peterson (South Dakota) (Last year: 320)

Overall record: 24-39

Peterson’s coaching career has taken multiple stages, including as a junior college head coach at Williston State. The Wisconsin native had coached in his home state and Minnesota before joining Craig Smith’s staffs at South Dakota, Utah State, and Utah. Two seasons ago, Peterson returned to South Dakota in taking over as the Coyotes head coach. A pair of mediocre 12-win seasons has followed, with his Coyotes finishing at the bottom of last year’s Summit League standings.

323. Dwayne Stephens (Western Michigan) (Last year: 327)

Overall record: 20-43

After playing for Jud Heathcote for Michigan State back in the early 90’s, Stephens would later return to his alma mater for a long stint as an assistant. He was back at Michigan State after working for Greg Kampe at Oakland and Tom Crean at Marquette. Throughout more than two decades as a collegiate assistant, Stephens has seen several Final Fours and plenty of on-court success. He’s now two years into his head coaching career, with his Broncos showing growth after a 12-win season and 6th place conference finish.

322. Jaret von Rosenberg (Texas A&M Commerce) (Last year: 322)

Overall record: 26-39

A native of Texas, von Rosenberg has found success since joining Texas A&M-Commerce. A former guard at Hartford, he spent nearly a decade as a collegiate assistant, with stints at both of those schools before Commerce brought him back to town as head coach in 2017. Initially, the Lions were still a D2 program, with van Rosenberg leading them to three D2 Tournament bids. The program then transitioned up and hasn’t fared as well in the Southland, with a pair of 13-win seasons.

321. Nate Champion (Le Moyne) (Last year: 360)

Overall record: 15-17

Still a very young head coach in this game, Champion has already been head coach at Le Moyne for five years. He played college ball for the school in the early 2010’s and had brief coaching stints elsewhere before taking over the Dolphins back in 2019. After an NE-10 conference title at the D2 level in his first season, he’s trying to replicate that success at the D1 level, with Le Moyne making that transition last offseason. Tying for fourth place in the NEC in year one was certainly an acceptable first step.