You can bet that a lot of attention will be paid to Big 12 basketball this season, but we’re not exactly offering a season preview here. Instead, this is the next piece in our series breaking down the best head coaches in every conference. It’s basically a new take on our yearly ranking of every D1 head coach while we’re even including their national ranks compared to the coaches in other leagues.
The Big 12 has some fantastic coaching talent, with established legends and some names on the rise. The league has three new head coaches all with great experience and a couple of national champions closer to the top of the rankings. With an exciting season ahead, how differently will these rankings look as the year progresses?
217. Alex Jensen (Utah) (Last year: 217)
Overall record: 10-22
A former Utah forward back in the 90’s, Jensen played professional overseas and coached in the NBA but really doesn’t have a ton of collegiate experience. He was on staff under Rick Majerus at Saint Louis over a decade ago before working with the Utah Jazz and Dallas Mavericks. Finishing last place with that rough record in his first year with the Utes isn’t exactly the best first impression, though time will tell if this tenure is a success.
85. Ross Hodge (West Virginia) (Last year: 108)
Overall record: 67-38
The rise for Hodge has been swift in recent years, as he possessed only junior college head coaching experience just three seasons ago. After extensive work on several D1 staffs, including with Grant McCasland at North Texas, Hodge succeeded his boss, winning 46 games across two seasons with the Mean Green. He then accepted the West Virginia job last offseason and took the Mountaineers to the College Basketball Crown title in a decent 24-win debut.
79. Steve Lutz (Oklahoma State) (Last year: 85)
Overall record: 106-68
A winner virtually everywhere he’s gone in his coaching career, Lutz bounced around several D1 programs for more than two decades before finally getting his shot in 2021. From there, Lutz led Texas A&M-Corpus Christi to two NCAA Tournaments in two years before taking Western Kentucky dancing in his lone year helming the Hilltoppers. The same success hasn’t followed in the Big 12 but he does have two NIT bids and got the Cowboys to 20 wins last year.
72. Casey Alexander (Kansas State) (Last year: 93)
Overall record: 303-180
A new face in the Big 12, Alexander has put together quite the coaching career. Much of his early work came under Rick Byrd, playing and assisting at Belmont for 20 years. After gaining head coaching experience at Stetson and Lipscomb, Alexander found his way back to Belmont as Byrd’s successor in 2019. He actually never took the Bruins to the Big Dance but won 166 games across seven years and is hoping to turn things around for the Wildcats.
68. Jerrod Calhoun (Cincinnati) (Last year: 132)
Overall record: 173-121
Seeing as how his coaching career began as a student assistant at Cincinnati, it seems fitting to see Calhoun landing back in Ohio this offseason. A former aide to Bob Huggins, both here and at West Virginia, Calhoun gained his head coaching experienced by establishing cultures at Fairmont State and Youngstown State. His two years at Utah State were outstanding, with 55 total wins and a trip to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, exactly the kind of success that’s been lacking with the Bearcats since the pandemic.
66. Johnny Dawkins (UCF) (Last year: 79)
Overall record: 345-247
After brilliant work playing the point at Duke, Dawkins spent nearly a decade in the NBA, though he’s made his mark back coaching in the college game. He rejoined Coach K on the Blue Devils bench for a decade before getting his own head coaching start with Stanford in 2008. After a Sweet Sixteen run and two NIT titles, Dawkins bounced to UCF in 2016. He won a Tourney game with the Knights early in his tenure but is fresh off one of his best season, tying for 7th in the Big 12 while getting UCF dancing again.
65. Tad Boyle (Colorado) (Last year: 69)
Overall record: 385-286
Early in his career, Boyle was a high school coach without lofty aspirations, but the Colorado native has made a lot of memories in his home state. After several assistant coaching gigs he got his head coaching start with Northern Colorado back in 2006 before jumping to Colorado four years later. His sixteen years leading the Buffaloes have seen six trips to the NCAA Tournament, a number of postseason wins, and two conference changes, though the work since rejoining the Big 12 hasn’t exactly been amazing.
52. Kevin Young (BYU) (Last year: 45)
Overall record: 49-22
Before he was hired by BYU, Young’s experience had mostly come at the professional level, save for a few years early in his career. He’s been a G-league head coach and spent several years on NBA benches, including three seasons as the associate head coach of the Phoenix Suns. BYU brought him aboard in 2024 and he instantly took the Cougars to the Sweet Sixteen. However, an impressively-built team underachieved this past season even though they were back in the Big Dance again.
25. Grant McCasland (Texas Tech) (Last year: 27)
Overall record: 229-108
McCasland is a former Baylor point guard who was a head coach at the junior college and D2 level before joining Scott Drew’s staff at his alma mater. After nice work with the Bears, McCasland has been a great leader at the D1 level, winning games at Arkansas State and North Texas, including a first-round Tourney win back in 2021. Right after winning the NIT with the Mean Green, McCasland was scooped up by Texas Tech and has 74 wins in three years, including three Top 3 finishes in the Big 12 and an Elite Eight run in 2025.
24. T. J. Otzelberger (Iowa State) (Last year: 31)
Overall record: 223-116
After flying under the radar very early in his career, Otzelberger has become quite the icon at Iowa State. He had multiple stints on the staffs of three different head coaches with the Cyclones before early head coaching jobs with South Dakota State and UNLV. Iowa State brought him back home as their new head coach in 2021 and have reaped the benefits with five straight trips to the Big Dance. Otzelberger’s success includes a Big 12 crown as well as last season being their third Sweet Sixteen run under his direction.
19. Randy Bennett (Arizona State) (Last year: 28)
Overall record: 589-228
One of the more shocking moves of the offseason was Bennett finding his way to Arizona State. He had worked many years on the west coast on staffs like San Diego and Pepperdine before Saint Mary’s gave him their head coaching job in 2001. His first head coaching assignment lasted a quarter century, turning the Gaels into a mid-major power while making twelve trips to the NCAA Tournament. Fresh off a fifth straight trip to the Big Dance, Bennett takes over a Sun Devils program looking for consistency and a new direction.
18. Jamie Dixon (TCU) (Last year: 22)
Overall record: 527-261
A former 7th round draft pick of the Washington Bullets, Dixon was a great player at TCU in the mid-80’s who has since become one of the program’s best coaches. Before that, he did solid work under Ben Howland and succeeding him at Pittsburgh for his first head coaching gig. Dixon’s 13 years with the Panthers included an Elite Eight, a few Sweet Sixteen’s, and a couple of Big East titles among great success. He surprised many by jumping to his alma mater in 2016 and just won another NCAA Tournament game this past year with the Horned Frogs.
13. Tommy Lloyd (Arizona) (Last year: 23)
Overall record: 148-36
Prior to this current success at Arizona, Lloyd’s only coaching experience came under Mark Few at Gonzaga. He was of massive importance to the Bulldogs’ success as an international recruiter and was an important piece of two trips to the national title game. Lloyd took the big jump to Arizona in 2021 and has been even more impressive. The win total across five years is gaudy, but he’s already won both Pac-12 and Big 12 championships and is fresh off his first Final Four run as a head coach last season.
11. Scott Drew (Baylor) (Last year: 10)
Overall record: 501-287
The early work for Drew came under father Homer as an assistant at Valparaiso before succeeding him back in 2002. After just one season, a major opportunity came at a Baylor program bludgeoned by scandal. Fighting major sanctions, Drew slowly turned the Bears from a disaster to a national power. His Baylor teams had some nice Tourney runs but then everything came together with that national championship in 2021. Drew hasn’t reached the Sweet Sixteen since then while last year’s team underachieved with a 13th place finish in the Big 12.
7. Kelvin Sampson (Houston) (Last year: 5)
Overall record: 754-318
One of the established legends in this sport, Sampson has been coaching basketball for nearly half a century since his playing days at Pembroke State. He was head coach at Montana Tech, Washington State, Oklahoma, and Indiana, taking the Sooners to the Final Four before issues with the Hoosiers. Since heading to Houston in 2014, Sampson has been a revelation, transforming the Cougars into a national power in the Big 12. This past season wasn’t another trip to the title game but Houston was in the Sweet Sixteen for a seventh straight Tournament.
2. Bill Self (Kansas) (Last year: 1)
Overall record: 855-272
Another living legend of college basketball, Self has done it all across more than 30 years as a D1 head coach. After nice work helming Oral Roberts, Tulsa, and Illinois, with Elite Eight runs at the last two, Self took over at Kansas in 2003. What’s followed has been a boatload of victories, Big 12 championships, and postseason success. Self led the Jayhawks to national titles in 2008 and 2012, has made four Final Fours and is responsible for bringing fantastic talent to Lawrence across this tenure.
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