Life is ever difficult in the world of college basketball and these recent changes in the sport haven’t made things any easier on the coaches. With that in mind, we’re continuing this year’s edition ranking all 365 D1 head coaches, though with a twist. We’re breaking them down by conference, albeit with national rankings, and today that brings our attention to the Big West.
This conference has undergone some changes this offseason and there are a few new faces among the head coaches alongside some newcomers. You aren’t exactly finding the elite in the Big West, but this league does have coaches with significant experience and NCAA Tournament success, so let’s run quickly through them and where they stand.
357. Kyle Getter (Cal Baptist) (Last year: N/A)
Overall record: 0-0
Much of the last quarter century has seen Getter bouncing around between assistant jobs, though his moment has finaly come at Cal Baptist. He was on the VCU staff that made the Final Four in 2011 and assisted at a number of schools, including a 5-year run under Tony Bennett at Virginia. After three years as Notre Dame’s associate head coach, Getter gets his first chance and hopes to continue the recent momentum for the Lancers.
339. Chris Acker (Long Beach State) (Last year: 346)
Overall record: 17-47
While he previously had junior college head coaching experience at West Los Angeles, Acker is more known for his work at the D1 level. He did great things on staff with Hawaii, Boise State, and San Diego State and was an assistant for the Aztecs’ run to the national title game. Long Beach State brought him aboard in 2024, though the early results have underwhelmed. Still, year two was a step in the right direction with 10 wins, though the Beach certainly want to finish higher than 9th in conference play.
332. Gus Argenal (UC Riverside) (Last year: 328)
Overall record: 10-22
A player once at UC Davis, Argenal has really bounced around, largely coaching on the west coast. He had multiple stints at his alma mater and was an assistant for Eric Musselman at both Nevada and Arkansas. Mixed in there were two D2 head coaching stints, struggling at Cal State East Bay before great figures with Cal State San Bernardino. Argenal began his D1 head coaching career with UC Riverside last season and struggled to a 10th place finish in the Big West out of the gate.
322. Mike Bibby (Sacramento State) (Last year: 349)
Overall record: 10-21
Before last offseason, all of Bibby’s coaching work had come at the high school level. A former national champion player at Arizona, he was a point guard in the NBA across 14 seasons, a major reason why Sacramento State brought him aboard in 2025. The record isn’t exactly eye-popping, but 8th place in the Big Sky was a decent enough start with the Hornets, though Bibby and company now transition to life in the Big West.
258. Mike DeGeorge (Cal Poly) (Last year: 252)
Overall record: 30-38
DeGeorge has been in collegiate head coaching for more than a quarter century. After a slow start at D3 Eureka, he had better success leading Cornell and Rhodes before a ton of D2 success as head coach at Colorado Mesa. DeGeorge won 141 games in six years and made two D2 Sweet Sixteen’s before jumping to Cal Poly in 2024. Two mediocre seasons have followed, though the Mustangs are definitely in better shape than before his arrival.
233. Clint Allard (UC San Diego) (Last year: 362)
Overall record: 23-11
All but two years of Allard’s collegiate career has come at UC San Diego, dating back to his time as a player in the mid-2000’s. He was on staff for 15 years, including a long stint as associate head coach as the Tritons transitioned to the D1 level. After his work during that recent breakthrough, Allard was promoted to the top job and proceeded to maintain that momentum, getting UC San Diego to 3rd place in the Big West.
221. Dedrique Taylor (Cal State Fullerton) (Last year: 234)
Overall record: 179-221
After 13 years as a D1 assistant, Taylor has now spent 13 years leading Cal State Fullerton, his first head coaching assignment. That early work included time at UC Davis, his alma mater, Nevada, and Arizona State before the Titans brought him in back in 2013. Taylor has taken this program dancing in 2018 and 2022 and been decently successful, including an 18-16 mark in a great bounce back season after two rough years.
213. Todd Lee (Cal State Bakersfield) (Last year: N/A)
Overall record: 66-52
He’s bounced around a ton in his career, but Lee now begins his third head coaching stop. He did very solid work at Kentucky Wesleyan at the D2 level before being fired despite a winning record in 4 years with South Dakota. Since then, Lee spent four years on staff with Eric Musselman at USC and Arkansas and has worked under many coaches over the years. He’ll take over a Cal State Bakersfield program looking for stability, hoping to get the Roadrunners trending in the right direction again.
177. Todd Phillips (Utah Valley) (Last year: 195)
Overall record: 66-34
Phillips did some really solid work at the junior college level as head coach at Salt Lake, but his work at Utah Valley has been just as impressive. He’s been with the Wolverines since 2019, serving as an assistant under Mark Madsen before succeeding him four years later. After showing strides in his debut, Phillips have taken Utah Valley to twin 25-win seasons and WAC regular season crowns, though he’s hoping he can finally get this program over the top in the Big West.
174. Andy Newman (Cal State Northridge) (Last year: 201)
Overall record: 75-58
Another west coaster who has done great work at multiple schools, Newman’s first experience came at Cal State Fullerton, becoming their interim head coach after a near decade on staff. He then spent five years apiece at the D2 level with UT Permian Basin and Cal State San Bernardino, taking the former to the Sweet Sixteen and the later to a Final Four. He’s hoping for his D1 breakthrough since landing in Northridge in 2023 fresh off a second straight 20-win season and 3rd place finish in the Big West.
131. Joe Pasternack (UC Santa Barbara) (Last year: 120)
Overall record: 225-149
A former student manager under Bob Knight at Indiana, Pasternack has done his work largely on the West Coast, including stints as an assistant at California and Arizona. He had mixed results in his first head coaching stint at New Orleans in his home state, but has now been entrenched at UC Santa Barbara since 2017. What’s resulted has been nearly 190 wins in nine seasons, including two trips to the Big Dance while keeping the Gauchos as regular competitors in this conference.
97. Russ Turner (UC Irvine) (Last year: 99)
Overall record: 344-199
The standout coach of the Big West, Turner spent early years in his coaching careers on the staffs of Wake Forest and Stanford when those two programs were contenders. He aided Mike Montgomery with the Cardinal at the beginning of his time with the Golden State Warriors before taking UC Irvine’s opening in 2010. His first head coaching stint has gone well, with a flurry of conference titles and a first-round upset during the 2019 NCAA Tournament.
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