The college basketball season is now officially underway, though we’re still putting the finishing touches on one of our final projects. We’ve endured the painstaking process once again of ranking all 365 D1 head coaches and the results have been very interesting. Instead of one big article, it’s been a conference breakdown for these coaches and that work takes us to the Sun Belt.
An interesting conference with both young and experienced coaching talent, there are 3 brand new head coaches in the Sun Belt and also a few names looking to really take off in their careers. It’s a league that had a crazy conference tournament and a really tight conference race before that and it’ll be exciting to see just which of these coaches stands out this year and in the near future.
355. Ryan Cross (Louisiana-Monroe) (Last year: N/A)
Overall record: 0-0
With previous head coaching work at multiple levels, Cross gets his first shot at the D1 level and it’s a familiar stop for him. He’s led high school and junior college programs, including a 4-year run with Chipola before eight years as an assistant with Louisiana-Monroe. After spending six years on Andy Kennedy’s bench at UAB, Cross heads back and takes over the Warhawks, though he did technically win a game with the Blazers as interim head coach last year.
353. Adam Howard (Troy) (Last year: N/A)
Overall record: 0-0
Howard played point guard at Western Kentucky in the mid-2000’s and has spent several years in D1 coaching. He aided Donnie Tyndall at Morehead State, Southern Miss, and Tennessee before bouncing back with stops at South Alabama, Nebraska, and NC State more recently. Howard had actually been an assistant at Troy nearly a decade ago and now returns after his recent work in the Big Ten and ACC.
347. Jon Cremins (Georgia State) (Last year: N/A)
Overall record: 0-0
Cremins is another new hire who has had many stops along his coaching career. A former player at Valdosta State, he won a ton of games at the NAIA level as head coach at Spartanburg Methodist. More recently his work has come under Mark Byington, aiding his staffs at Georgia Southern, James Madison, and Vanderbilt before getting his own opportunity to turn things around for the Panthers.
315. Qannas White (Louisiana) (Last year: 331)
Overall record: 11-22
Before getting his head coaching career going last season, White did much of his work as a D1 assistant, though he was also an AAU coach in Louisiana for nearly a decade. He was most notably on Kelvin Sampson’s Houston staff during a pair of Final Four runs and other profound success with the Cougars before Louisiana hired him in 2025. Year one didn’t exactly stand out with those 11 wins but he’s just getting started with the Ragin’ Cajuns.
285. Mike Jones (Old Dominion) (Last year: 274)
Overall record: 27-41
A revered high school coach much earlier in his career, Jones played at Old Dominion in the early 90’s and now finds himself entering year three as the Monarchs’ head coach. After that remarkable run with DeMatha Catholic, he had stints on staff at Virginia Tech and Maryland before his collegiate head coaching career began in 2024. Jones hasn’t yet his stride at this level, coming off an 11th place finish in the Sun Belt last season.
261. Charlie Henry (Georgia Southern) (Last year: 267)
Overall record: 47-56
The early coaching work for Henry took him to several levels, with work on high school, collegiate, and NBA staffs. He aided Fred Hoiberg in several posts and was a G-League head coach before a 4-year run on Nate Oats’ bench at Alabama. Henry took his first collegiate head coaching job with Georgia Southern in 2023 and has steadily improved in each year, taking the Eagles to 21 wins this past year, including that wild run that fell just short in the Sun Belt Tournament.
251. Jay Ladner (Southern Miss) (Last year: 247)
Overall record: 171-215
A long head coaching career has brought Ladner to this point, as the Southern Miss alum heads into year eight helming the Golden Eagles. He spent 20 years as a high school coach and did great work at the junior college level before landing at Southeastern Louisiana, his first D1 gig. After five years with the Lions, including an NIT bid, he landed back at Southern Miss in 2019. The results have been mixed and include a Sun Belt regular season crown and last year’s 19-win campaign, his second-most wins in a season to date.
239. Ryan Pannone (Arkansas State) (Last year: 342)
Overall record: 20-12
An eventful coaching career has led Pannone to this point, fresh off his first D1 head coaching experience. The South Florida album began at the junior college level, and has also coached squads in Germany, Israel, and China. He spent a few seasons as a G-League head coach and NBA assistant and was on staff at Alabama before Arkansas State brought him aboard last offseason. It’s hard to complain about a 20-win debut, even if his Red Wolves fell short in the postseason.
234. Justin Gray (Coastal Carolina) (Last year: 249)
Overall record: 80-82
A Wake Forest shooting guard back in the early 2000’s, Gray was part of some successful basketball throughout his career. After that work with the Demon Deacons, he played overseas for more than a decade before joining Pat Kelsey’s bench at Winthrop. It didn’t take long for Gray to become a head coach, leading a turnaround at Western Carolina before landing at Coastal Carolina in 2024. Another turnaround is in the works, leading the Chanticleers to a 19-win season which marks a 9-win improvement from his first year in Conway.
184. Cornelius Jackson (Marshall) (Last year: 224)
Overall record: 39-26
Jackson was a guard at Marshall a quarter century ago and now he’s been making his mark from the bench. He had a few coaching stints at other schools, including stops at UT Martin and Cleveland State before returning to Marshall in 2017. After seven years on staff, Jackson was promoted to the top job in 2024 and has produced seasons with 20 and 19 wins respectively, a solid start for the Thundering Herd.
178. Talvin Hester (Louisiana Tech) (Last year: 183)
Overall record: 77-54
Another well-traveled assistant who finally got his shot, Hester spent time at nearly a dozen colleges over two decades in coaching. He most notably aided Houston, Louisiana Tech, and Texas Tech before returning to these Bulldogs as head coach in 2022. He had been an assistant for 3 years under predecessor Eric Konkol and has now produced three consecutive 20-win seasons, though he’s still waiting for that first postseason trip at Louisiana Tech.
143. Preston Spradlin (James Madison) (Last year: 122)
Overall record: 178-136
While not super notable as a player at Alice Lloyd College, Spradlin became a grad assistant under John Calipari right away and has slowly risen through the coaching ranks. After that work with the Wildcats, winning a title as their director of operations, he’d spend a decade at Morehead State, including nearly 8 years as head coach. After two trips to the Big Dance with the Eagles, Spradlin arrived at James Madison in 2024 and immediately won a Sun Belt title, though he’s yet to break into the NCAA Tournament with the Dukes.
138. Dustin Kerns (Appalachian State) (Last year: 152)
Overall record: 164-129
While his coaching career did start as a graduate assistant at Tennessee, Kerns has done his best work at a few mid-major programs. He spent several years on staff for Santa Clara and Wofford before a nice 2-year head coaching debut at Presbyterian. Appalachian State hired him in 2019 and were rewarded with a trip to the Big Dance just two seasons later. Since then, he’s racked up plenty of wins with the Mountaineers, including a Sun Belt title in 2024 and a 19-win campaign last year.
127. Richie Riley (South Alabama) (Last year: 134)
Overall record: 187-134
Before getting his shot in the head coach’s chair, Riley picked up valuable experience under coaches such as Cliff Ellis, Jerod Haase, and Brad Brownell, notably spending two years as a Clemson assistant. Riley’s first head coaching stint saw a Southland title at Nicholls State before heading to South Alabama back in 2018. He hasn’t quite gotten over the hump but has created a winning culture again for the Jaguars, with an NIT trip this past year and two-straight 21-win campaigns.
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