The sport of college basketball is the gift that just keeps giving and it’s about to present us with another new season. As we head into that season, we’re nearing the end of our series ranking all 365 D1 head coaches. It’s a project we’ve accomplished for nine straight years now, though this is the first year these national rankings are being presented one conference at a time.
What that means today is that we’re only looking at the current head coaches in the Southland Conference. It’s a league that can be forgotten by the average fan of the sport, but it has produced both great players and coaches over the years. We’re introducing three brand new head coaches alongside some veterans and a few second-year coaches looking to make even bigger jumps.
362. Brandon Chambers (UTRGV) (Last year: N/A)
Overall record: 0-0
Another head coaching debut is being made by Chambers, whose basketball journey truly got started as a student manager on VCU’s wild run to the Final Four. He bounced around a long list of schools over the last 15 years, including work under Will Wade at three different programs in LSU, McNeese, and last year with NC State. He’ll now take over things with the Vaqueros and try to kick start his own success.
360. Darion Brown (Nicholls) (Last year: N/A)
Overall record: 0-0
A young name in coaching, Brown was still in school at Our Lady of the Lake less than a decade ago and now takes over a D1 program with Nicholls. He’s a previous assistant with the program before spending his last two seasons as head coach at Texas A&M Texarkana. That NAIA experience may or may not be significant as he hopes to get the Colonels back in a good place.
351. Jordan Fee (Lamar) (Last year: N/A)
Overall record: 0-0
Previously a player at Detroit Mercy and West Liberty in the early 2010’s, Fee makes a big jump this season to begin his D1 head coaching career. The former longtime assistant at Nova Southeastern has head coaching experiencing, taking Gannon to the D2 Elite Eight in his lone previous season. After two years on the Florida Atlantic bench, Fee begins with Lamar and has his eyes on success in the Southland.
326. Jaret von Rosenberg (East Texas A&M) (Last year: 321)
Overall record: 42-87
He may be just 39 years old but von Rosenberg nearly has a decade of head coaching experience already. A former player at Harford, he was an assistant at several schools, including a stint with these Lions before arriving as head coach in 2017. Taking over then-named Texas A&M-Commerce, he had solid D2 success before leading their transition to D1 in recent years. Unfortunately, East Texas A&M has had a slow adjustment, coming off another 11th place finish in the Southland.
317. Craig Doty (Houston Christian) (Last year: 311)
Overall record: 24-40
Now at his fourth head coaching gig, Doty has been rising through the ranks and is just a few years into his D1 coaching career. He won multiple junior college titles leading Rock Valley, led Graceland to an NAIA championship, and made progress with Emporia State at the D2 level. Doty took over at Houston Christian in 2024 and has produced a pair of 12-20 seasons with the Huskies, but success doesn’t come instantly at this level.
313. Shane Heirman (Incarnate Word) (Last year: 271)
Overall record: 39-59
A former high school coach near his hometown in Indiana, Heirman played at Tulsa and found more recent success at the collegiate level. After brilliant work in high school ball, he was an assistant at DePaul and associate head coach at Central Michigan before Incarnate Word hired him in 2023. His first collegiate head coaching position has had ups and downs, with a trip to the CBI semifinals in his second season, but a step back at just 12-19 last year.
309. Stacy Hollowell (LSU New Orleans) (Last year: 357)
Overall record: 19-45
A native of Shreveport, Hollowell has done great coaching work in his home state, but also coached several international squads earlier in his career. His first collegiate head coaching job saw him with plenty of NAIA success at Loyola (Louisiana), though he’s now been with the Privateers since 2024. After an abysmal debut season, Hollowell led New Orleans to 5th place in the conference and hopes for even better, with the school now sporting a new name.
302. Rick Cabrera (Northwestern State) (Last year: 285)
Overall record: 35-61
Prior to his D1 chance, Cabrera had spent a few years as a junior college head coach and also spent over a decade on several D1 staffs. After work at places like Chattanooga, Tennessee Tech, and Arkansas State, Northwestern State brought him aboard in the top job in 2023. Year two was his best effort to date with 16 wins, as his Demons finished just 10-22 last year and are again trending in the wrong direction.
279. David Kiefer (Southeastern Louisiana) (Last year: 265)
Overall record: 95-123
The earliest days in the sport for Kiefer involved time as a student manager for Bob Huggins before work at the high school level. He was a junior college assistant, a video coordinator at South Carolina, and then joined Southeastern Louisiana in 2015. After four years on staff, Kiefer was promoted to the top job and has had some moments with the Lions. He took them to the postseason in the TBC in his third year and previously finished Top 5 in the Southland for four straight years, though this past season was just 9-22.
225. Jim Shaw (Texas A&M-Corpus Christi) (Last year: 226)
Overall record: 59-41
Shaw’s coaching career has been the epitome of rising through the ranks, as the former Grinnell guard started off as a grad assistant and admin at UTEP. He’s worked under Billy Gillespie, Doc Sadler, and a few other notable names and joined the Islanders originally back in 2021. After two years as an assistant, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi gave him the top job in 2023, leading to two quick 20-win campaigns and another acceptable 4th place finish in league play last year.
202. Matt Braeuer (Stephen F. Austin) (Last year: 344)
Overall record: 28-6
Year one of Braeuer’s head coaching voyage went about as well as humanly possible. The Austin native played and coached at Wichita State then bounced around between several schools, including a recent 7-year stretch with Grant McCasland with North Texas and Texas Tech. This past offseason brought him to Stephen F. Austin and the results were instantaneous, winning the Southland regular season title, taking the Lumberjacks to the NIT, and doubling the program’s win total from the year before.
194. Bill Armstrong (McNeese) (Last year: 338)
Overall record: 28-6
But wait there’s more, as Armstrong himself had an even more impressive rookie year as a collegiate head coach. A former player at UAB, he served several staffs over the years, including a decade at Ole Miss and some key years under Will Wade at LSU. After brilliance at the high school level and on the Baylor bench, Armstrong was penned to succeed Wade at McNeese, which is quite a tough act to follow. He promptly won 28 games and took the Cowboys back to the NCAA Tournament again.
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