We have finally reached the end of the wait and the college basketball season has begun. We have also finally reached the end of our coaches series as we’ve ranked every D1 head coach in the nation. This series has been done by conferences, meaning we’re looking at the final league alphabetically in the WCC, though the talent in this conference is far from the weakest.
It’s a very different WCC however with its two most prestigious head coaches suddenly out of the mix. The exodus of Gonzaga to the Pac-12 and Randy Bennett to Arizona State means there just might be a new crop of WCC coaches standing out this year, especially with three head coaching changes and a new program added into the mix.
334. JR Blount (San Diego) (Last year: N/A)
Overall record: 0-0
A new addition to the head coaching ranks, Blount is a Loyola Chicago album who played for the Ramblers in the late 2000’s. His coaching career saw several years with Niko Medved at Drake and Colorado State before helping TJ Otzelberger build some special teams during half a decade at Iowa State. Blount begins his head coaching career out west at San Diego, hoping to spark some energy into the Toreros program.
324. Mickey McConnell (Saint Mary’s) (Last year: N/A)
Overall record: 0-0
A star point guard at Saint Mary’s in the late 2000’s and early 2010’s, McConnell played professional ball for several years before rejoining the Gaels as an assistant back in 2019. He worked his way up the staff and was Randy Bennett’s associate head coach for 4 years before the shocking change this offseason. With Bennett off to the Big 12, the program is now in McConnell’s hands, though he has zero collegiate experience outside of that time in Moraga.
269. Tim Bergstraser (Denver) (Last year: 320)
Overall record: 15-17
After his playing career at St. Cloud State came to an end, Bergstraser was a student assistant there before bouncing around at other smaller schools. His head coaching start came at MSU-Moorehead, leading that Minnesota school to the D3 Tourney in all three years, including the Sweet Sixteen in 2025. Right after that, he got his D1 shot at Denver and is fresh off a solid start, taking the Pioneers to 4th place in the Summit League, though a new challenge awaits in the WCC.
266. Dave Smart (Pacific) (Last year: 319)
Overall record: 27-39
Smart is an Ontario native who was profoundly successful as head coach at Carleton, winning a ton of Canadian titles and other notoriety. His first taste of college basketball here came on Grant McCasland’s staff at Texas Tech before taking the Pacific job in 2024. After a 591-48 mark with Carleton, he’s not quite having that same splash with the Tigers, though he’s coming off an 18-win season that saw their win total double from his first year.
216. Stan Johnson (Loyola Marymount) (Last year: 214)
Overall record: 87-90
The early days of Johnson’s coaching career saw him bouncing around as an assistant, from early work at alma mater Bemidji State to work with Utah, Arizona State, and Marquette. After that work with the Golden Eagles, Loyola Marymount handed him his first head coaching gig in 2020. His six years with the Lions have largely been a mixed bag, with a few early Top 5 WCC finishes, but just a 6-12 mark in conference play last season.
170. Shantay Legans (Portland) (Last year: 167)
Overall record: 147-143
Legans played at California and Fresno State and later was a high school assistant before finding his footing as a D1 head coach. He pulled off some great work in his first stop at Eastern Washington, taking those Eagles to a Big Sky title and then the NCAA Tournament in 2021. Weeks later he headed to Portland and a bigger challenge in the WCC, though after a 19-win debut his Pilots have finished below .500 for four straight years.
153. Chris Gerlufsen (San Francisco) (Last year: 151)
Overall record: 93-56
Seeing Gerlufsen bounce from The Citadel to Hartford to San Diego is just some evidence of his coaching career. The Philadelphia native has been all over, including a single year under Todd Golden before succeeding him as the Dons’ head coach back in 2022. That first head coaching job has gone relatively well, taking San Francisco twice to the NIT and four consecutive Top 5 finishes in the WCC, though last year’s 17-16 record was his worst to date.
144. Chris Victor (Seattle) (Last year: 157)
Overall record: 101-67
At the junior college level, Victor won plenty of games at Citrus College, so it shouldn’t be shocking to see his breakthrough in D1 athletics. After that position, he aided Jim Hayford at Eastern Washington and Seattle before rising to the top job when Hayford was dismissed in 2021. Victor immediately won a WAC crown, led Seattle to the CBI title in 2024, and just took the Redhawks to the NIT and 21 wins in their first season in the WCC.
126. Griff Aldrich (Pepperdine) (Last year: N/A)
Overall record: 127-100
Another new face in the WCC, Aldrich rejoins the head coaching world after his work as Virginia’s associate head coach. A long-time AAU coach, he was the director of recruiting at UMBC under Ryan Odom when they pulled that historic upset in 2018. Aldrich then spent 7 years at Longwood in the Big South, making two trips to the NCAA Tournament before rejoining Odom with the Cavaliers. He’ll now head west to a Pepperdine program hoping for a similar turnaround after years of flailing in the WCC.
50. Herb Sendek (Santa Clara) (Last year: 70)
Overall record: 600-424
Among the more established coaches in college basketball, Sendek was an assistant for Rick Pitino at Providence and Kentucky during some successful seasons more than three decades ago. His head coaching career took him to nice results at Miami-Ohio, NC State, and Arizona State, with a slew of postseason bids at all three schools. Sendek landed at Santa Clara in 2016 and is fresh off his first trip to the Big Dance with the Broncos. After the conference’s recent changes, Sendek now looks like the coach to beat in this league.
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