56. Rick Croy (Cal Baptist)
0 NCAA Tournaments
In the early days of Croy’s coaching career he was winning a ton of games leading Citrus College at the D2 level. The San Francisco State alum had years of relevant coaching on the West Coast, most notably aiding Randy Bennett at Saint Mary’s for three seasons. Since 2013 he’s been leading Cal Baptist, achieving great success at D2 before their transition to D1 just a few years ago. His Lancers have been prosperous over the years but are now finally WAC Tournament champions and make their debut in March Madness.
55. Speedy Claxton (Hofstra)
0 NCAA Tournaments
The previous trip to the NCAA Tournament for Hofstra came way back in 2001, just one year after Claxton’s own graduation. He was a star point guard for the Pride in the late 90’s and spent nearly a decade in the NBA. After his retirement, Claxton returned to his alma mater as an assistant, spending eight years on the Hofstra bench. In 2021 he was promoted to head coach and has won 20 games in four of his first five seasons. His Pride just won the CAA Tournament and finally ends that long Tourney drought in what’s certainly a sweet moment for Claxton and his program.
54. Brett Reed (Lehigh)
2 NCAA Tournaments (1-2)
It’s been a long time coming for Reed to get back into the NCAA Tournament. The former point guard at Eckerd, a D2 school in Florida, has coached at a few institutions but has been entrenched at Lehigh since 2002. Reed was promoted to the top job five years later and has spent nearly two decades helming this program. His most notably achievement is that memorable upset win over Duke during the 2012 NCAA Tournament. Thanks to their Patriot League Tournament title, he and the Mountain Hawks finally return for the first time since that unforgettable moment.
53. Phil Martelli Jr. (VCU)
1 NCAA Tournament (0-1)
A player under his father at Saint Joseph’s, Martelli got into coaching soon after his graduation in 2003 and spent the next two decades bouncing around the northeast. He had notable work with Niagara, Delaware, and Bryant and became Bryant’s head coach in 2023 initially on an interim basis. After taking the Bulldogs to the Big Dance last season, Martelli attracted national attention and parlayed that success into the VCU opening. Suffice to say they’ve found another young coach on the rise, as Martelli just won the A-10 Tournament title in year one in Richmond.