The college basketball season is right around the corner and we’re continuing our rankings of the top coaches in the nation. It’s another year of ranking all 365 D1 head coaches, but this time one conference at a time, with today’s focus on the American.
As with all of these pieces, we’re including the total rankings among all head coaches across the nation, and there are a number of American coaches that land in the Top 100. There were a few offseason coaching changes in this league and you can argue the coaching talent only improved.
245. Michael Schwartz (East Carolina) (Last year: 181)
Overall record: 61-69
It took time for Schwartz to land his first head coaching gig, though the longtime assistant isn’t having the best go of it with the Pirates. Before landing here, he worked extensively with coaches like Rick Barnes and Frank Haith, with stretches at Texas, Miami, and most recently Tennessee. East Carolina gave him that first chance in 2022 and the initial results showed promise, though the Pirates were just 11-20 and near the bottom of the American standings this past season.
222. Adam Fisher (Temple) (Last year: 225)
Overall record: 49-51
A Penn State alum now entering year four as a head coach, Fisher is still finding his footing but has quite the experience under his belt. He spent 16 years bouncing between D1 staffs, working under Jay Wright as a grad assistant before working with Boston University, Miami, and his alma mater. Since taking over at Temple in 2023, the Owls have been solid, winning either 16 or 17 games in each of his first three seasons.
214. John Jakus (Florida Atlantic) (Last year: 219)
Overall record: 36-31
In his early coaching days, Jakus did brilliant work both at the high school level and overseas before joining Scott Drew’s staff at Baylor. He spent nearly a decade with Drew and worked also for Gonzaga, playing a notable role in the Bears’ national championship in 2021. Jakus got his collegiate head coaching start with Florida Atlantic in 2024 and hasn’t quite lived up to Dusty May, winning exactly 18 games in each of those first two years.
198. Austin Claunch (UTSA) (Last year: 166)
Overall record: 107-105
A former player at Emory, Claunch actually began his head coaching career very young at Nicholls, becoming their head coach when he was just 28 years old. Claunch won a pair of Southland titles but fell short of the Big Dance in his five years there before taking a sabbatical, spending a season with Nate Oats as an Alabama assistant. He’s been back in the head coaching seat since 2024 with UTSA but is unfortunately coming off a dreadful 5-25 campaign, finishing dead last in the American.
156. Rob Lanier (Rice) (Last year: 147)
Overall record: 167-172
Lanier has bounced around between a long list of D1 schools in his career and begins year three of his fourth D1 head coaching stop. A former assistant at Virginia, Florida, Texas, and Tennessee, Lanier took Siena and Georgia State to the NCAA Tournament as head coach before spending two years with SMU. After a strange coaching move, he found a new home at Rice in 2024, though the initial progress has been slow, sitting just 26-37 while helming the Owls.
147. Daniyal Robinson (North Texas) (Last year: 156)
Overall record: 84-56
There are a number of influences through Robinson’s first two decades of coaching experience, though he played and has coached under Porter Moser at several stops. Robinson notably spent nine years across two stints on the Iowa State bench, leading to his first head coaching job with Cleveland State in 2022. After three 20-win campaigns, Robinson was hired by North Texas last year and nabbed 5th place in the American with an acceptable 19-14 start to his tenure.
101. Wes Miller (Charlotte) (Last year: 83)
Overall record: 285-209
These are new beginnings for Miller as he takes over at Charlotte after things just didn’t work out with Cincinnati. A former college point guard who was part of a national championship at North Carolina, Miller has largely stayed in his home state and was very successful across a decade as head coach at UNC Greensboro. After many wins and postseason trips, Miller just couldn’t lead the Bearcats to the Big Dance in any of his five seasons and will now try to build another successful mid-major program.
98. Paul Mills (Wichita State) (Last year: 121)
Overall record: 164-130
After early days coaching high school ball, Mills really found his coaching wings on the staff of Scott Drew, spending 14 years rebuilding Baylor. His first college head coaching opportunity came at Oral Roberts and led to great success, taking the Golden Eagles to a surprise Sweet Sixteen run in 2021. Mills jumped to Wichita State two seasons later and is coming off his best season with the Shockers. He’s had to settle for two NIT trips thus far, but led Wichita State to 24 wins and 2nd place in the American last year.
95. Eric Konkol (Tulsa) (Last year: 136)
Overall record: 217-143
A native of Wisconsin, Konkol began his coaching career as a student assistant with Tulsa and two decades later is trying to rebuild success with the Golden Hurricane. He spent more than a decade with Jim Larranaga at George Mason and Miami before his own head coaching career began with a ton of wins at Louisiana Tech. Konkol jumped to Tulsa in 2022 and followed three mediocre seasons with a breakthrough, taking the Golden Hurricane to the NIT title game and a 30-win season.
94. Ron Hunter (Tulane) (Last year: 86)
Overall record: 499-378
Now a collegiate head coach for more than three decades, Hunter just keeps trucking along. His start came across a 17-year stretch at IUPUI before several memorable moments leading Georgia State, coaching his son to an NCAA Tournament upset win in 2015. He’s been at Tulane since 2019 and hasn’t exactly achieved his goals, though it’s hard to complain too much about an 18-win season last year.
81. Penny Hardaway (Memphis) (Last year: 57)
Overall record: 175-87
Few have forgotten Hardaway’s pro playing career, as the former lottery pick from Memphis spent 14 years and was an NBA All-Star. Hardaway was a high school coach after his retirement before making the jump to the college game, taking over at Memphis in 2018. He’s brought great talent to the Tigers, won an NIT title, and has made three trips to the NCAA Tournament, though his program has underwhelmed at times, including last season’s abysmal 13-19 record, his only time not winning 20 games.
37. Andy Kennedy (UAB) (Last year: 41)
Overall record: 411-231
A former player for UAB back in the early 90’s, Kennedy has had quite the coaching career, including early work at his alma mater. He was an assistant for Bob Huggins and became interim head coach with Cincinnati before a 12-year run at Ole Miss, taking the Rebels to several postseason bids. After his work there, Kennedy has bounced back nicely since returning to his alma mater as head coach in 2020 and has taken the Blazers twice to the NCAA Tournament in six years.
33. Chris Mack (South Florida) (Last year: 39)
Overall record: 323-153
Mack has suddenly been well traveled as a head coach in recent years, though much of his early work came with Xavier. He played and assisted with the Musketeers before a 9-year stint as head coach, including an Elite Eight and four Sweet Sixteen runs. Mack jumped to Louisville and underwhelmed but just found his footing with Charleston, winning 45 games in two years with the Cougars. He made the move to South Florida this offseason and brings quite the resume to Tampa.
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