It’s another year of excitement in college basketball even with many new changes to the sport and the universe around it. One thing that hasn’t changed is the importance of head coaches alongside our yearly series ranking them all. By all we mean all 365 D1 head coaches which are completely ranked, though the information is being presented differently.
This piece will look at the Big East head coaches only, and there’s certainly some intrigue among these 11 names. We’re listing them by their national ranks and giving a little bit of information, though many college basketball fans already know these names. The Big East does have three new faces entering the coaching fold but also boast two of the nation’s very best at the top of the league.
275. Ronald Nored (Butler) (Last year: N/A)
Overall record: 0-0
As a player, Nored was a point guard at Butler during their two sensational runs to the national championship game back in 2010 and 2011. After his playing career ended, he gained coaching experience at several levels, coaching high school ball, becoming a G-League head coach, and spending many years on NBA staffs. He comes back to the Bulldogs with the hopes to turning around the recent struggles for his alma mater, though his only collegiate coaching experience came at Northern Kentucky over a decade ago.
96. Alan Huss (Creighton) (Last year: N/A)
Overall record: 56-15
Another former player landing with his alma mater, Huss suited up for Creighton in the late 90’s and early 2000’s before a coaching career that started largely at the high school level. After a few collegiate stops, his first collegiate head coaching stop was sensational, taking High Point to a boatload of wins and the NCAA Tournament in 2025. Huss then jumped back to Omaha as associate head coach and now succeeds long-time coach Greg McDermott, with hopes of maintaining Creighton’s recent success.
83. Shaheen Holloway (Seton Hall) (Last year: 103)
Overall record: 134-119
A brilliant point guard at Seton Hall back in the late 90’s, Holloway is another coach doing work at his alma mater. After his playing career, his coaching experience came under Kevin Willard, including eight years back on the Pirates bench. Holloway’s first shot as a head coach produced quite the results, as he took Saint Peter’s to an unprecedented Elite Eight run in 2022. Soon after he succeeded Willard with the Pirates and has won an NIT title while producing a nice bounce back season with 21 wins this past year.
78. Bryan Hodgson (Providence) (Last year: 128)
Overall record: 70-37
New beginnings for Hodgson bring the native New Yorker into the Big East for the first time. After work at smaller colleges, he caught on under Nate Oats and worked with him at Buffalo and Alabama. In his first opportunities as head coach, Hodgson has really excelled, with two 20-win seasons at Arkansas State before taking South Florida to the Big Dance in his lone year with the Bulls. He’s done great work across the last decade in this sport and hopes to continue that with the Friars.
71. Richard Pitino (Xavier) (Last year: 61)
Overall record: 262-204
Following work on a few prominent D1 staffs, Pitino is working hard at his fourth head coaching gig. That work included time under his father as well as Billy Donovan before a great debut at FIU back in 2012. Pitino then spent 8 years with mixed results leading Minnesota in the Big Ten before a great showing at New Mexico, getting the Lobos to the second round of the Big Dance in 2025. After 88 wins in four years in Albuquerque, Pitino jumped to Xavier last offseason and started slow, winning just 15 games and tying for last in the Big East.
51. Ed Cooley (Georgetown) (Last year: 52)
Overall record: 377-279
Cooley already has two decades of head coaching experience under his belt, coming after a decade learning as a staffer under Al Skinner mostly at Boston College. His initial head coaching work with Fairfield was solid before a 12-year run at Providence that included a Sweet Sixteen and seven trips to the NCAA Tournament. Cooley made the unusual move to Georgetown back in 2023 and is still hunting for his breakthrough, though the Hoyas are at least looking more competent these days.
47. Chris Holtmann (DePaul) (Last year: 55)
Overall record: 281-207
No stranger to the Big East or basketball in the Midwest, Holtmann played at NAIA school Taylor before beginning a coaching career that’s seen quite the rise. His first head coaching gig was a nice turnaround for Gardner-Webb before becoming a beacon for Butler, taking the Bulldogs to four NCAA Tournament win in three seasons. Holtmann then had an eventful stint leading Ohio State to four more appearances in the Big Dance before being fired in 2024. Months later he landed at DePaul and actually has the Blue Demons trending upwards after 16 wins in his second year.
28. Kevin Willard (Villanova) (Last year: 36)
Overall record: 359-258
A head coach with plenty of Big East experience, Willard played under his father at Pittsburgh and was an early assistant under Rick Pitino with the Boston Celtics and at Louisville. After getting his head coaching start at Iona, he spent 12 years turning Seton Hall into a reliable program with five trips to the Big Dance. Willard’s next move came to Maryland and included a Sweet Sixteen run in 2025 before bouncing back to the Big East with Villanova. Last year’s beginnings with the Wildcats saw 24 wins, a 3rd place finish, and their first trip to the NCAA Tournament in four years.
20. Shaka Smart (Marquette) (Last year: 19)
Overall record: 382-203
Last year was not a good year for Smart but that doesn’t take away from an incredible career. A former point guard at Kenyon, a D3 school in Ohio, he worked his way up the coaching ladder before getting his shot running VCU in 2009. Two years later he took the Rams on that incredible Final Four run and followed that up with several more trips. Shockingly Smart couldn’t win an NCAA Tournament during 6 years at Texas but has fared better with Marquette. He produced four straight trips dancing and a Sweet Sixteen berth before a 12-20 finish last season.
6. Rick Pitino (St. John’s) (Last year: 8)
Overall record: 915-318
Pitino’s first gig as a head coach was over half a century ago as interim coach for Hawaii. Since then he’s worked under Jim Boeheim, led two NBA franchises, taken three programs to the Final Four, and been a notable name everywhere he’s been. He won a national title at Kentucky in 1996 and repeated the feat with Louisville in 2013 before it was vacated. He’s been at St. John’s since 2023 and has been heroic, turning the Red Storm finally into a national threat fresh off consecutive 30-win seasons and a trip to the Sweet Sixteen.
1. Dan Hurley (Connecticut) (Last year: 2)
Overall record: 350-180
Our pick for the best head coach in college basketball, Hurley spent nearly a decade as a prominent high school coach in New Jersey before hopping to the college level at Wagner. He had two solid years there before taking Rhode Island to two NCAA Tournament wins across a 6-year span. UConn brought him aboard in 2018 and he’s resurrected the program in an unimaginable way, winning the national championships in 2023 and 2024 before getting the Huskies back to the title game this past season.
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