NCAA Basketball: Ranking all 68 head coaches in 2024 NCAA Tournament

8. Tony Bennett (Virginia)

11 NCAA Tournaments (16-10)

A former star point guard at Green Bay under father Dick, Bennett actually began his coaching career serving under his father at both Wisconsin and Washington State. He succeeded him with the Cougars in 2006 and took them to the Sweet Sixteen two years later, which was their most recent trip to the Big Dance before this year. More impressively Bennett has built great success over the last 15 years at Virginia, notably taking the Cavaliers to a national championship in 2019. While the Cavaliers have been susceptible to upset, they’re back in the Dance yet again.

7. Dan Hurley (Connecticut)

5 NCAA Tournaments (8-4)

Though he was a point guard at Seton Hall and an assistant at Rutgers, it’s clear that Hurley’s Big East success has come with these Huskies. He was a longtime high school coach who then had success leading both Wagner and Rhode Island, taking the Rams to a pair of Tournament wins. Connecticut hired him in 2018 and saw the fruits of their labor last season, as the Huskies won the national championship. Hurley’s squad dances for a fourth straight year after his first Big East Tournament title.

6. Kelvin Sampson (Houston)

19 NCAA Tournaments (24-19)

Successful throughout a long coaching career, Sampson is a North Carolina native who earned early head coaching experience at Montana Tech and Washington State. Sampson led Oklahoma to the Final Four in 2002 and achieved that same success two decades later with these Cougars. He had recruiting issues at Indiana before spending some time in the NBA, but has been excellent at Houston since 2014. Not only does he have that Final Four, but he’s taken the Cougars to six straight trips to the Big Dance.

5. Scott Drew (Baylor)

11 NCAA Tournaments (19-10)

After being a student manager at Butler, Drew began his coaching career under father Homer at Valparaiso, later succeeding him as head coach in 2002. His time in northern Indiana would end a year later as he accepted the chance to rebuild Baylor. Drew inherited a broken basketball program and completed one of the great turnarounds in this sport, winning Baylor their first national title in 2021. He’s taken the Bears to great success in the Big 12 and a few other deep Tourney runs, with this being Baylor’s fifth straight trip to the Big Dance.