Our coverage of the upcoming college basketball season just keeps chugging along and today continues our ongoing series. Instead of the usual long piece, we’re breaking down our D1 head coach rankings into each conference, though we’ll be listing each coach by their national rank, not just in conference.
In the A-10, there are some established head coaches and a few younger faces looking to make their name in the years ahead. It’s a fluid list with a number of Top 100 coaches, though we’ll appreciate these coaches remaining at the mid-major level while we can.
271. Mike MacDonald (St. Bonaventure) (Last year: N/A)
Overall record: 108-153
It’s been twenty years since MacDonald worked at the D1 level though he now takes over at St. Bonaventure. He spent nearly two decades with Canisius to start his career, including a few notable years across 9 seasons as head coach. MacDonald then had success with Medaille at the D3 level and Daemen in D2, though we’ll see how he handles life leading these Bonnies years after his shot with the Golden Griffins.
260. Dru Joyce III (Duquesne) (Last year: 305)
Overall record: 31-34
Joyce gained notoriety for his play in Akron where he was a high school teammate of Lebron James before suiting up for the Zips. After many years playing overseas, he started his coaching career on staff at Cleveland State under Dennis Gates before settling in at Duquesne. He was associate head coach and then succeeded Keith Dambrot, his own coach at Akron, and has done solid work in his first two seasons, including an 18-win campaign last season.
231. Matt McKillop (Davidson) (Last year: 250)
Overall record: 68-63
Succeeding a legend is never easy, especially when that legend is your father. McKillop played at Davidson under father Bob and spent 14 years on his coaching staff before assuming the head coaching job back in 2022. The elder McKillop was there and responsible for plenty of success for decades, though the younger is still finding his rhythm. Last year was Davidson’s best with 20 wins, though they settled for an NIT appearance.
209. Chris Caputo (George Washington) (Last year: 212)
Overall record: 71-62
Caputo played collegiately at Westfield State and afterwards caught the eye of Jim Larranaga. He would spend the first twenty years of his coaching career on his staffs at George Mason and Miami, contributing to a Final Four run and plenty of winning before getting his own shot. Caputo took over at George Washington in 2022 and just took the Revolutionaries to the NIT for the first time.
186. Darris Nichols (La Salle) (Last year: 179)
Overall record: 77-86
Previously a point guard at West Virginia, Nichols bounced around as an assistant before spending several years under Mike White at Louisiana Tech and Florida. Nichols got his first head coaching shot across a 4-year span at Radford, winning notable games in the Big South with the Highlanders. He’s still hunting for his first trip to the Big Dance, though year one at La Salle wasn’t a step in that direction, with a 9-23 start that most expected.
154. Steve Donahue (Saint Joseph’s) (Last year: 177)
Overall record: 355-356
It’s been an eventful head coaching career for Donahue, who cut his teeth as a longtime assistant under Fran Dunphy at Penn. In his first head coaching chance, he took Cornell to the Sweet Sixteen to cap off a successful decade before stalling at Boston College. Donahue had mixed results as head coach of Penn before landing at Saint Joseph’s last season. He was unexpectedly thrust into the top job when Billy Lange left the program and was named A-10 Coach of the Year thanks to a 24-12 season.
146. Drew Valentine (Loyola Chicago) (Last year: 109)
Overall record: 92-75
Valentine is still just 35 years old yet already has a half-decade of head coaching experience. A former forward and assistant at Oakland under Greg Kampe, he joined the Ramblers and was an assistant on their Final Four run before succeeding Porter Moser back in 2021. He took Loyola to the NCAA Tournament in his first year, though the results have been mixed since joining the A-10. The Ramblers have made a pair of NIT trips but last season was rough, finishing just 9-24 and tied for last place.
133. Mike Magpayo (Fordham) (Last year: 149)
Overall record: 106-78
Certainly still a rising name in coaching circles, Magpayo spent nearly a decade coaching high school ball and the same amount as a D1 assistant before finally getting his shot. After working under coaches like Kyle Smith and David Patrick, he was promoted to head coach at UC Riverside in 2020 and won 89 games over the next five years. Magpayo jumped to Fordham last offseason and actually impressed, leading the Rams into a tie for 8th place in the A-10.
105. Chris Mooney (Richmond) (Last year: 106)
Overall record: 391-319
Mooney has long been the elder statesmen of A-10 head coaches and keeps chugging along in Richmond. The Philadelphia native got his first head coaching shot at Beaver College but soon after was hired by Air Force. After just one season, featuring 18 wins, Mooney left for Richmond in 2005 and has won three NCAA Tournament games, including that Sweet Sixteen run back in 2011. There have been ups and downs across his two decades, though his team is fresh off another unfortunate finish under .500 last year.
89. Tony Skinn (George Mason) (Last year: 97)
Overall record: 70-31
You could certainly call Skinn another rising name in the coaching world and he’s doing great work at his alma mater. He was a guard when George Mason made that shocking run to the Final Four and did some solid work playing internationally and coaching at other schools, with stints at Seton Hall, Ohio State, and Maryland. The Patriots brought him home in 2023 for his first head coaching run and he’s won 20 games in each season, making a second trip to the NIT last season.
88. Archie Miller (Rhode Island) (Last year: 87)
Overall record: 261-192
A former NC State point guard, Miller spent nearly a decade as a D1 assistant at places Arizona State, Ohio State, and Arizona under his brother. His head coaching start happened at age 32 with Dayton, eventually leading the Flyers to the Elite Eight in 2014. After four straight NCAA Tournament appearances, Miller hasn’t found that same success since moving on, flailing across 4 years at Indiana before landing at Rhode Island in 2022. He’s still looking for his first finish higher than 10th in the A-10.
77. Phil Martelli Jr. (VCU) (Last year: 129)
Overall record: 71-33
After playing for his father at Saint Joseph’s, Martelli has had an astonishing start to his own head coaching career. He gained experience on several college staffs and even spent a year coaching in the G-League. He was thrust into head coaching when Jared Grasso left Bryant in 2023, with Martelli getting those Bulldogs back to the Big Dance in his second year. He landed with the Rams last offseason and had a monumental debut: winning 28 games, the A-10 titles, and a first round game in the NCAA Tournament.
48. Josh Schertz (Saint Louis) (Last year: 113)
Overall record: 114-61
The work that Schertz has done in recent years has been fantastic and he’s finally being recognized for his coaching ability. After fantastic work at the D2 level leading Lincoln Memorial, he jumped onto the scene with that 3-year run at Indiana State, including a 32-win performance and trip to the NIT title game in 2024. Weeks later he bolted for Saint Louis and has been even better, taking the Billikens to the second of the NCAA Tournament last season after tying for the A-10 regular season crown.
40. Anthony Grant (Dayton) (Last year: 42)
Overall record: 390-205
Still the A-10’s most experienced head coach, Grant played for Dayton back in the 80’s and then did great work across the college basketball world, winning a title as an assistant at Florida under Billy Donovan. His head coaching career began with great work at VCU and a decent performance at Alabama, though Grant has settled back into his alma mater since 2017. Grant has built some great teams and took the Flyers to a Tourney win just a few seasons ago, finishing Top 4 in the A-10 in all but two of his seasons.
Add us as a preferred source on Google