We’re going to have a lot of exciting basketball in the months ahead in this sport. As part of our continuing preview, we’re pressing on with our series ranking all 365 D1 head coaches in college basketball. While we’re still giving national rankings to these coaches, we’re presenting the information differently this time around by focusing on just one conference at a time.
Today that means a look at the best and brightest in the MVC and it’s a conference with plenty of intrigue and new faces in recent years. The MVC has seen some brilliant head coaches plucked away by bigger schools, but still some impressive names on the rise. There are also still experienced heads in this league, so let’s see where they all land on our rankings.
305. Kyle Green (Northern Iowa) (Last year: N/A)
Overall record: 0-0
His shot has finally come this year, but it’s not Green’s first head coaching opportunity. Green previously was a D2 head coach at Western State and Lewis and a D3 head coach at Wisconsin-Eau Claire, though he spent just four years combined in those posts. Much of his D1 experience actually came with Northern Iowa, spending 16 years across three stints before his recent work at Iowa State. After five years with the Cyclones, he’s back in Cedar Falls as the Panthers’ first new head coach in two decades.
304. Evan Bradds (Belmont) (Last year: N/A)
Overall record: 0-0
A major opportunity arises for the former Belmont star. Bradds was a 2-time OVC Player of the Year and a 2-time Honorable Mention All-American while doing fantastic work for the Bruins from 2013 to 2017. The 32-year old was G-League and NBA assistant for several years before spending this past season on the Duke bench. He’s young and has limited collegiate coaching inexperience, but Bradds has been around professionals and some fantastic coaches and is ready to make his mark with the Bruins.
294. David Ragland (Evansville) (Last year: 291)
Overall record: 40-91
A lot of Ragland’s work has come in his home state of Indiana, with the Evansville native formerly head coach at Vincennes, a junior college school. After stints with Indiana State, Valparaiso, Utah State, and Butler, he arrived at Evansville in 2022 for his first D1 head coaching gig. The results have not exactly been eye popping, leading the Purple Aces to the CBI quarterfinals in year two but finishing at least 10 games under .500 in each of the other four years.
272. Matthew Graves (Indiana State) (Last year: 256)
Overall record: 90-135
Earlier in his career, Graves was synonymous with an era of success at Butler. He was a guard under Barry Collier in the late 90’s and later an assistant under several coaches, helping the Bulldogs to those national title runs on Brad Stevens’ bench. His first experience as a head coach was a rocky 5-year stretch with South Alabama, though he’s hoping this is a bounce back effort with Indiana State. Promoted to the top job in 2024 after three years as associate head coach, Graves is just 25-39 and finished 10th in the MVC last year.
270. Roger Powell Jr. (Valparaiso) (Last year: 306)
Overall record: 40-59
No stranger to success, Powell played in the national championship game on a really talented Illinois team in 2005. He later coached in the title game 16 years later on the Gonzaga staff. Between those appearances, he played professional ball and spent 8 years under Bryce Drew, assisting at Valparaiso and Vanderbilt. Powell got the call to return to Valparaiso in 2023 as their new head coach and has steadily improved in each year, including an 18-15 mark last year.
250. Ryan Pedon (Illinois State) (Last year: 264)
Overall record: 71-65
Pedon bounced around several coaching jobs in the Midwest, with a bulk of his early work in the MAC. He was a staffer under John Groce at Illinois and then worked with Chris Holtmann at Butler and Ohio State for seven years. His first head coaching shot has come here with Illinois State, taking that job back in 2022. After a slow start, he took the Redbirds to the CBI title in 2025 and is fresh off a 23-win campaign that included a trip to the NIT semifinals.
230. Ryan Miller (Murray State) (Last year: 334)
Overall record: 20-13
Long before his head coaching shot, Miller picked up quite the experience on a number of coaching staffs. He spent more than two decades at schools like Memphis, Auburn, TCU, and Creighton, working under John Calipari, Steve Alford, and most recently Greg McDermott. Miller’s head coaching debut came last season at Murray State and the South Dakota native was pretty solid with those 20 wins, a tie for 3rd in the MVC, and a trip to the NIT.
142. Robert Ehsan (UIC) (Last year: 160)
Overall record: 112-87
We’re seeing Ehsan in his second head coaching gig and wondering how his work will compare. A former Maryland assistant early in his career, he spent several years with Jerod Haase at UAB before succeeding him as head coach, though the Blazers dismissed him despite 76 wins in 4 seasons as he missed out on the Big Dance. After time again with Haase at Stanford, Ehsan took the UIC opening in 2024 and has been above .500 in both years, including 19 wins and the NIT last year.
111. Brian Wardle (Bradley) (Last year: 117)
Overall record: 302-225
Suddenly the most familiar name in the MVC, Wardle played his college ball at Marquette and got quite the coaching start in the state. He spent a decade at Green Bay, including a 5-year stretch as head coach where the Phoenix won 95 games and twice made the NIT from the Horizon League. Wardle jumped to Bradley in 2015 and has put the Braves into yearly conversations in this league. He won a pair of MVC Tournament titles early and has now led Bradley to 4-straight trips to the NIT and 4-straight Top 3 finishes in conference play.
106. Eric Henderson (Drake) (Last year: 90)
Overall record: 143-80
Henderson stepped into some big shoes at Drake this past offseason. A former high school coach in Nebraska and Wisconsin, he got his collegiate head coaching start at South Dakota State, winning 4 Summit League titles and making a pair of trips to the NCAA Tournament in six years. Henderson jumped to the Bulldogs and was just 14-20 in his debut, a steep fall-off after recent success under Darian DeVries and Ben McCollum.
84. Scott Nagy (Southern Illinois) (Last year: 84)
Overall record: 364-225
Certainly this conference’s most experienced head coach, Nagy got his coaching start on the Illinois bench way back in 1988. His first head coaching job came just a few years later, beginning a 21-year run at South Dakota State that saw them win a slew of D2 games before 3 trips to the NCAA Tournament. Nagy took on a new challenge at Wright State and quickly broke through with the Raiders, with three Horizon League titles and two more Tourney trips. Southern Illinois brought him aboard in 2024 and has produced average results, with a pair of 8th place finishes in the MVC.
Add us as a preferred source on Google