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

220. Jay Ladner (Southern Miss) (Last year: 217)

Overall record: 141-177

After winning a boatload of games as a longtime high school head coach, Ladner has coached collegiate ball at the D1 level for the last decade. He first spent five seasons at Southeastern Louisiana, winning a Southland title and making the NIT title in 2018 with those Lions. Ladner jumped to Southern Miss in 2019 and it hasn’t been quite as easy. His program struggled in his first three years before winning the Sun Belt regular season crown in their first year in that league. This past season was a step back towards reality with a 16-16 finish.

219. Kevin Broadus (Morgan State) (Last year: 207)

Overall record: 105-100

Broadus has extensive coaching experience and is doing a decent job in his second shot as a D1 had coach. A former assistant at several schools, notably with Georgetown, he spent two seasons as head coach at Binghamton and led the Bearcats to the Big Dance in 2009 before being dismissed due to violations. After several more years as an assistant at Georgetown and Maryland, his second head coaching stint has come with Morgan State, taking the Bears to mediocre results across the last half decade.

218. Bryan Hodgson (Arkansas State) (Last year: 316)

Overall record: 20-17

This past season was the beginning of Hodgson’s head coaching career and it’s certainly off to a decent start. A former junior college player, his most significant coaching experience came under Nate Oats, spending 4 years apiece on his staffs at both Buffalo and Alabama. He was named the new head coach at Arkansas State this past season and those 20 wins could be an indication of good things to come. Hodgson led the Red Wolves to 4th place in the Sun Belt and a deep run into the CBI.

217. Stan Johnson (Loyola Marymount) (Last year: 210)

Overall record: 55-58

Johnson was a D1 assistant coach for thirteen years before Loyola Marymount brought him to town back in 2020. After previous experience that included Utah, Arizona State, and Marquette, the Lions handed Johnson the first head coaching chance of his career. Things have gone decently at times, and he has a pair of Top 4 finishes in a top-heavy WCC, but Loyola Marymount was just 12-19 this past season and hasn’t really been on a similar level with the league’s two powerhouses.

216. Sundance Wicks (Wyoming) (Last year: 349)

Overall record: 18-14

Suddenly a hot commodity in the coaching world, Wicks is coming off a fantastic beginning to his D1 career. He spent several years assisting at a number of schools like Colorado and San Francisco and was even head coach at Missouri Western for two years. After that brief D2 gig, he assisted Jeff Linder at Wyoming for three years before taking over at Green Bay. Inheriting a program in utter dismay, Wicks had a fantastic season with the Phoenix, winning Horizon League Coach of the Year before bolting back to Wyoming this offseason.

215. Aaron Fearne (Charlotte) (Last year: 352)

Overall record: 19-12

Fearne was born in Sydney and spent most of his playing and coaching career in Australia, aside from his collegiate playing days. He worked for a pair of basketball institutions in Cairns before returning stateside as an assistant at Charlotte. Fearne spent five seasons as an assistant on Ron Sanchez’s staff before being named interim head coach last offseason. His 19-win campaign as a rookie head coach was more than enough for the 49ers to grant him the full-time gig, grabbing 3rd place in the program’s first year in the AAC.

214. Tom Pecora (Quinnipiac) (Last year: 245)

Overall record: 223-242

Possessing plenty of coaching experience, Pecora just finished his first year leading Quinnipiac and it was a pretty solid first year. A former assistant under Jerry Tarkanian and Jay Wright, Pecora’s head coaching career included long D1 stints at Hofstra and Fordham, though his time with the Rams was very unsuccessful. He’d spent six years on Quinnipiac’s bench before getting promoted to the head coaching job and won the MAAC regular season title right off the bat, leading the Bobcats to a 24-10 season.

213. Pat Duquette (UMass Lowell) (Last year: 223)

Overall record: 158-173

Much of Duquette’s early coaching experience came during a long stint under Al Skinner at Boston College, back when that program was still prosperous. He was a collegiate assistant for two decades before UMass Lowell gave him his first shot at head coaching in 2013. Duquette helped lead the River Hawks as they transitioned to D1 and remains with the program. These last two years have been his best with the program, earning a pair of 2nd place finishes in the America East and 48 total wins.

212. Scott Davenport (Bellarmine) (Last year: 197)

Overall record: 57-62

Renowned for coaching basketball in his hometown of Louisville, Davenport played for the Cardinals and was an assistant under both Denny Crum and Rick Pitino. He was a longtime high school coach in the city and has been head coach at Bellarmine since 2005. Davenport turned the Knights into a D2 power, winning the D2 title back in 2011 alongside a number of postseason bids. His program made the move to D1 four seasons ago and hasn’t fared as well in the ASUN, finishing just 8-23 last season.

211. Dedrique Taylor (Cal State Fullerton) (Last year: 201)

Overall record: 155-179

Taylor’s record doesn’t say it, but he’s done a solid job in over a decade out at Cal State Fullerton. He had significant coaching experience before landing that position, including seven years with Herb Sendek at Arizona State. The Titans brought him aboard in 2013 and he’s led the program to a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances, most recently winning the Big West in 2022. That success pairs nicely with a few other postseason bids, though last year’s 10th place finish was his worst conference finish.

210. Zach Spiker (Drexel) (Last year: 222)

Overall record: 215-242

Early in his career, Spiker was a staffer under Gregg Marshall at Winthrop and John Beilein with West Virginia and seems to have learned a lot from those mentors. He spent seven years as the head coach at Army and did decent overall work with the Black Knights. In 2016, Spiker accepted the Drexel job, getting those Dragons to the NCAA Tournament in his fifth season. Last season, Drexel won 20 games and finished 2nd in the CAA, the best performances in both regards under Spiker’s leadership.

209. Donte Jackson (Grambling State) (Last year: 232)

Overall record: 120-102

Jackson arrived at Central State as a redshirt sophomore back in 1998 and would spent more than a decade with the school as player, assistant, and head coach. That marked a brilliant start for a head coaching career that would also see success at Stillman, another D2 school. Grambling State brought him to town in 2017 and he’s been immensely successful at a recently dormant Bulldogs program. This season saw him finally take Grambling to the NCAA Tournament after his second-straight 20-win campaign and third regular season title in the SWAC>

208. Dan Earl (Chattanooga) (Last year: 240)

Overall record: 112-168

A former point guard at Penn State, Earl showed plenty of promise as a player and has been solid in his own coaching journey. That journey started as an assistant with the Nittany Lions before following coach Ed DeChellis to Navy. He was named VMI’s head coach back in 2015 and helped manufacture success by the end of his tenure with the Keydets. Earl made the in-conference jump to Chattanooga two seasons ago and is fresh off a 21-win season, taking the Mocs to a tie for 2nd in the SoCon.

207. Kevin Young (BYU) (Last year: N/A)

Overall record: 0-0

Young has never been a collegiate head coach, but his extensive basketball experience has readied him for this moment. He coached briefly at the college level, including as an assistant at Utah Valley, before becoming head coach for three different G-League programs. Young later spent several seasons on NBA benches and had been the associate head coach of the Phoenix Suns since 2021. Now he’ll transition to BYU, taking over a Big 12 program that was in markedly better shape last season with plans to continue that momentum.

206. Kevin Baggett (Rider) (Last year: 203)

Overall record: 192-183

Earlier in his career, Baggett jumped between brief coaching stops at a long list of D1 schools, but he really found his home with Rider. He initially joined the Broncs as an assistant in 2006 and was named head coach six seasons later. While he’s yet to lead Rider to an NCAA Tournament appearance, he’s won several games, including an MAAC title back in 2018. Though his Broncs finished below .500 this past season, they did end up tied for 3rd place in the league.

205. Matthew Driscoll (North Florida) (Last year: 215)

Overall record: 233-247

A former high school and junior college coach, Driscoll’s career really got started with coaching stints at Clemson and Baylor. He was there in Waco on Scott Drew’s staff for the early days of that rebuild before getting his own opportunity leading North Florida. Driscoll has led the Ospreys since 2009, notably reaching the program’s first NCAA Tournament back in 2015. There hasn’t been a ton of highs in recent years, though North Florida was better last season, reaching .500 once again.

204. John Pelphrey (Tennessee Tech) (Last year: 200)

Overall record: 200-229

A Kentucky forward back in the early 90’s under Rick Pitino, Pelphrey has had himself quite the coaching career of his own. He aided Billy Donovan at Marshall and Florida before varying levels of success as a D1 head coach at South Alabama and Arkansas. He was great with the Jaguars before faltering as an SEC head coach. Pelphrey got back in that chair when Tennessee Tech hired him in 2019. There have been some rough stretches as he tries to build success for the Golden Eagles, including just a 5-13 mark in OVC play this season.

203. Joe Jones (Boston University) (Last year: 212)

Overall record: 304-299

Jones is another collegiate point guard turned solid head coach, though his playing days came at Oswego, a D3 school in New York. His coaching career began under Jay Wright at Hofstra before later working under him at Villanova. Jones was head coach at Columbia for seven decent seasons before eventually taking over Boston University in 2011. His Eagles won the Patriot League Tournament in 2020 before the pandemic, but haven’t yet reached the Big Dance. Despite a disappointing record, they did grab a hold of 2nd place in the league last season.

202. Alan Huss (High Point) (Last year: 329)

Overall record: 27-9

Responsible for one of the nation’s most significant turnarounds last season, Huss began his collegiate head coaching career at High Point in style. A former high school coach in Indiana, Huss was on staff at New Mexico and Creighton, his alma mater, before getting the call to join these Panthers. That record alone speaks to his efforts right off the bat, winning all those games and a regular season title in the Big South after inheriting a 14-win program. Sadly, High Point settled for a deep CBI run after faltering in their conference tournament.

201. King Rice (Monmouth) (Last year: 224)

Overall record: 207-208

A North Carolina point guard from the late 80’s, Rice led the Bahamas national team and was an assistant at several schools before taking over at Monmouth in 2011. The former Oregon, Providence, and Vanderbilt assistant has had his moments with Monmouth, including three regular season titles in the MAAC. Unfortunately, his Hawks have yet to reach the Big Dance. However, last year’s 18-15 mark was an 11-win improvement in the program’s second season in the CAA.