There will be basketball games played very soon (or perhaps while) you’re reading this piece and a new season always brings plenty of excitement and anticipation. In preparation for that, we’re continuing to unveil our head coach rankings with this new approach focusing on one conference at a time. These are still national rankings, but this piece is only looking at the OVC.
We have an intriguing mix of talent among the coaches in the OVC, though no new faces in the league this offseason. These coaches may differ in their experience or success but they know each other. With that being said, we’ll just dive right into these rankings, looking at the names that’ll try to capture the next title in this conference.
329. Chad Boudreau (Western Illinois) (Last year: 276)
Overall record: 38-57
Boudreau is a former junior college head coach who has worked at some smaller schools but also has spent a bulk of his career with Rob Jeter. He was Jeter’s assistant for 11 years during success at Milwaukee and also joined his staff at Western Michigan in 2020. Boudreau was promoted to the top job when Jeter departed and started hot with 21 wins, but last year was a really bad 5-26 finish and last place finish in the OVC.
307. Stan Gouard (Southern Indiana) (Last year: 301)
Overall record: 41-84
An Illinois native who’s spent his whole coaching career in Indiana, Gouard has been a prominent head coach at the D2 level after winning a D2 national title as a player at Southern Indiana. He had 12 years and many postseason trips at Indianapolis before returning to his alma mater in 2020. After an immediate Tourney trip, he led the Screaming Eagles on their D1 transition, making the CBI in that first season. Since then, he’s had real struggles, including just 7 wins last season.
296. Kyle Gerdeman (Lindenwood) (Last year: 315)
Overall record: 54-75
Before getting this shot, Gerdeman bounced around at several schools and actually was a junior college head coach nearly two decades ago. After extensive work on staff at Central Michigan, he took the Lindenwood job in 2019 and guided the St. Louis-area school into D1 three years later. He’s coming off his best season yet with the Lions, finishing 18-15 while in 6th place in the OVC.
267. Jeremy Shulman (UT Martin) (Last year: 324)
Overall record: 36-30
Shulman has spent the bulk of his career at the junior college level. He won nearly 350 games across 14 seasons leading Eastern Florida State College before making the notable jump to UT Martin and D1 athletics back in 2024. His first year was a decent showing, but year two was really promising, with the Skyhawks finishing 22-11 and in 4th in the OVC this past year, making a considerable step forward as a program.
254. Jonathan Mattox (Morehead State) (Last year: 269)
Overall record: 35-30
After playing collegiately at D2 Anderson and NAIA Emmanuel, Mattox did early work at the latter before joining the Morehead State staff. He served a number of roles over the next 9 years under multiple head coaches, rising from graduate assistant to associate head coach. After a few years away on the Murray State bench, Morehead State brought him back as head coach in 2024. This past season, his second helming the Eagles, saw 20 wins and a tie for the regular season crown in the OVC.
247. Marty Simmons (Eastern Illinois) (Last year: 240)
Overall record: 237-280
The most experienced coaching name in the OVC, Simmons played his college ball at Indiana and later Evansville back in the 80’s and has been head coach at four schools. He spent a single year at D3 Wartburg before taking SIU Edwardsville to a D2 Elite Eight. Simmons would spend 11 years at Evansville, winning a CIT title and producing some solid players and has been with Eastern Illinois since 2021. The results just haven’t been there with a Panthers program that’s 53-104 under his leadership.
208. Brad Korn (Southeast Missouri State) (Last year: 210)
Overall record: 94-98
It’s been a steady rise for Korn throughout his basketball career. He played for Bruce Weber and Matt Painter at Southern Illinois and stayed on staff after graduation under Chris Lowery. Further coaching stops included a reunion with Weber at Kansas State before getting Southeast Missouri State’s head coaching job in 2020. His first head coaching job has gone well, taking the Redhawks to the NCAA Tournament in 2023, and OVC regular season crown in 2025, and another 20-win campaign last year.
196. Brian Barone (SIU Edwardsville) (Last year: 196)
Overall record: 105-116
A guard with Texas A&M and Marquette, Barone assisted some great coaches in Tom Crean, Porter Moser, and Brian Wardle earlier in his coaching career. He very briefly was a junior college head coach but has really broken through at SIU Edwardsville. Since he was promoted to head coach in 2019, he’s slowly turned the Cougars around, including their first ever trip to the NCAA Tournament in 2025.
163. Nolan Smith (Tennessee State) (Last year: 350)
Overall record: 23-10
Smith was a point guard for Duke, winning a national championship as junior back in 2010. A 1st round draft pick the following year, he spent a few years playing professional ball before becoming a collegiate assistant. He spent six years on Coach K’s bench with the Blue Devils and also gained experience with Louisville and Memphis. Tennessee State handed him his first head coaching gig last offseason and he immediately took the Tigers to the NCAA Tournament and it’s really hard to top that for a debut.
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