The sport of college basketball is constantly giving us memorable moments and incredible plays and we’re mere days from more of that action. As we quickly head into the start of another season, we continue our look into the head coach rankings. Remember, we always rank all 365 D1 head coaches from top to bottom, though this year we’re breaking it down into conference pieces.
It’s a new era in the sport as the Pac-12 is officially back, reconstructed with seven returning members alongside the two teams left behind in conference realignment. It’s a league that may not have a ton of programs, but it boasts some incredible coaching talent. Even the lower names on today’s list are impressive leaders and recruiters and it’ll be interesting to see how the action plays out in this “new” league in the months ahead.
298. Vance Walberg (Fresno State) (Last year: 309)
Overall record: 33-80
The inventor of the dribble drive offense, Walberg has significant experience coaching basketball across the last half century. He spent several decades as a high school coach and had a 2-year run as head coach at Pepperdine. Alongside significant high school success, Walberg spent a few years on NBA staffs and has been a junior college head coach as well. He landed with Fresno State in 2024 and has made progress each year, but now leads the Bulldogs into the Pac-12.
223. Justin Joyner (Oregon State) (Last year: N/A)
Overall record: 0-0
After previous experience under a few of the sport’s best coaches, Joyner begins his own head coaching career. A former player at UC Santa Barbara, his coaching career began with a 7-year stint under Randy Bennett at Saint Mary’s before joining Dusty May at Michigan. After being part of a national championship with the Wolverines this past season, Joyner now heads back west and takes over Oregon State as the Beavers transition back into the new Pac-12.
175. Terrence Johnson (Texas State) (Last year: 192)
Overall record: 107-81
It’s been anything but a straightforward journey for Johnson, a New Orleans native who started out as a high school coach and has coached AAU ball in Houston. He had a brief run on Samford’s coaching staff before arriving at Texas State back in 2015. After five years on staff, he was promoted to head coach after Danny Kaspar was unceremoniously fired and immediately won a pair of Sun Belt regular season titles. Johnson’s record is solid in his first six years, though we’ll see how life in this Pac-12 goes for the Bobcats.
150. Ali Farokhmanesh (Colorado State) (Last year: 299)
Overall record: 21-13
Known for an incredible shot for Northern Iowa against Kansas in 2010, Farokhmanesh is trying to make himself known on the coaching circuits as well. He gained early experience at Nebraska before working under Niko Medved at Drake and Colorado. After a year as associate head coach, the Rams named him head coach last offseason. Colorado State nabbed 21 wins and a trip to the NIT and he has this program trending in a great direction in their new league.
148. David Riley (Washington State) (Last year: 116)
Overall record: 93-73
Riley was born in Seattle and then played his college basketball under Jim Hayford at Whitworth, a D3 school in Spokane. His coaching career began as a graduate assistant for Hayford at Eastern Washington, where he’d spend over a decade. Riley was named head coach in 2021 after a decade on staff, leading the Eagles to a pair of Big Sky regular season titles in a 3-year span. He jumped to Washington State and won 19 games in year one, though his Cougars were just 12-20 last season.
61. Ben Jacobson (Utah State) (Last year: 68)
Overall record: 397-259
It’s surprising new beginnings for Jacobson at Utah State after a quarter century with Northern Iowa. Long before that he played at North Dakota and was a longtime disciple under Greg McDermott, including following him to Northern Iowa back in 2001. Across his 20 years as head coach of the Panthers, Jacobson won 4 NCAA Tournament games and won a number of MVC titles. Now, Jacobson takes on a brand new challenge inheriting an Aggies squad entering the Pac-12 on a high note.
56. Leon Rice (Boise State) (Last year: 54)
Overall record: 336-189
The early work for Rice came on a few staffs, including stints at Oregon, Northern Colorado, and as a junior college head coach. He joined Mark Few’s new Gonzaga staff back in 1999 and helped him shape for the Bulldogs for over a decade until getting the Boise State gig in 2010. These years with the Broncos have seen five trips to the NCAA Tournament and plenty of notable success, including 20-win campaigns in all but three years. He’ll now be reunited with his mentor in the new Pac-12.
23. Brian Dutcher (San Diego State) (Last year: 20)
Overall record: 220-79
A lot transpired in Dutcher’s career before getting his head coaching start. He was a grad assistant at Illinois, worked at South Dakota State, and then began a long association with Steve Fisher. Together they won a national title at Michigan, brought the Fab Five to Ann Arbor, and built San Diego State basketball. After 18 years as associate head coach, Dutcher succeeded him as head coach in 2017, taking the Aztecs to six NCAA Tournaments including the national title game in 2023 and numerous important wins in the MWC.
4. Mark Few (Gonzaga) (Last year: 4)
Overall record: 773-156
The architect of one of the great program builds of all time, Few has taken Gonzaga to every NCAA Tournament since he rose to head coach back in 1999. He’s transformed the Bulldogs from a Cinderella story to a Blue Blood power, making trips to the national title game in 2017 and 2021 and a lot of other deep Tourney runs. Gonzaga recently made nine straight Sweet Sixteen’s and won a slew of WCC titles and now become the top dogs in the new Pac-12.
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