40. Bob Richey (Furman)
1 NCAA Tournament (1-1)
Time seems to fly in this sport, as Richey has already been the head coach at Furman for nearly a decade. The New Orleans native had early work on the Charleston Southern staff before joining the Paladins in 2011. After six years on staff, he was promoted to the top job in 2017 and has kept this program in fighting shape in the SoCon. We’re just three years removed from an unforgettable first-round upset over Virginia during the 2023 NCAA Tournament, and Richey has just won another SoCon Tournament title, with hopes of repeating that success.
39. Kevin Young (BYU)
1 NCAA Tournament (2-1)
Nearly all of Young’s coaching experience has come at the professional level but he’s having quite the impact back in the college game. Young spent several years as a G-League head coach and long stints as an NBA assistant before accepting BYU’s head coaching job last season. Despite just two previous seasons as a collegiate assistant, he jumped into a successful situation and led the Cougars to the Sweet Sixteen in his debut and has BYU right back in an enviable position with another Tourney trip.
38. Herb Sendek (Santa Clara)
8 NCAA Tournaments (7-8)
Owning more than four decades of coaching experience, Sendek is an old head in college coaching. He was part of Rick Pitino’s staffs at Providence and Kentucky more than 30 years ago before starting his own head coaching journey at Miami-Ohio. Sendek made several postseason trips during long stints leading both NC State and Arizona State and now has been with Santa Clara since 2016. His work with the Broncos has been fantastic and created NIT appearances, but this is his breakthrough success and his first trip to the Big Dance in twelve years.
37. Ben Jacobson (Northern Iowa)
4 NCAA Tournaments (4-4)
Somehow an entire decade has passed since Jacobson and Northern Iowa were in the Big Dance but this program is ready for their next moment. Jacobson did plenty of early work under Greg McDermott before succeeding him as the Panthers’ head coach way back in 2006. The last two decades have featured a ton of victories and notable moments, including shots by Ali Farokhmanesh and Paul Jesperson. With this year’s MVC Tournament title, the Panthers are dancing again and Jacobson is hoping to add to his impressive record in the Tourney field.