One of the only certainties of college basketball is that the coaching wheel will keep spinning. Win or move on – for most coaches, those are the only two options.'
Fresh on the heels of another end-of-season coaching churn, I scoured the hoops landscape to decide who are the best remaining mid-major coaches in 2024.'
Ranking the Best Mid-Major Coaches for 2024
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Rank | Coach | Team | First Season |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Mark Few | Gonzaga | 1999-2000 |
2 | Mitch Henderson | Princeton | 2011-12 |
3 | Tommy Amaker | Harvard | 2007-08 |
4 | John Becker | Vermont | 2011-12 |
5 | Tod Kowalczyk | Toledo | 2010-11 |
6 | Eric Henderson | S. Dakota State | 2019-20 |
7 | Randy Bennett | Saint Mary's | 2001-02 |
8 | Bryce Drew | Grand Canyon | 2020-21 |
9 | Ben Jacobson | Northern Iowa | 2006-07 |
10 | James Jones | Yale | 1999-2000 |
11 | Russell Turner | UC Irvine | 2010-11 |
Turner has finished first or second in the Big West 10 times since 2014. In 2019, Irvine won a program-best 31 games and upset Kansas State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.'
Jones is one of the longest-tenured coaches in college hoops right now. He's guided Yale to a top-3 finish in the Ivy League every season since 2013, including five first-place finishes. The Bulldogs reached the NCAA Tournament in 2016, 2019, 2022, and 2024, winning first-round games in '16 and '24.'