It’s search season in college basketball, and the NCAA Tournament is where most athletic directors and search firms narrow their focus in looking for the coach who can get them there.
There were 10 high-major jobs open last season. One (Syracuse) promoted from within. One (Ole Miss) hired a coach who was unemployed. Two (Cal and Texas Tech) hired coaches who just went on NIT runs. And four (St. John’s, Georgetown, Penn State and Notre Dame) hired coaches who were coaching in the 2023 NCAA Tournament.
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Here are 10 coaches to keep your eye on this cycle and going forward, who could use this NCAA Tournament to springboard into bigger (and higher-paying) jobs.
Danny Sprinkle, Utah State
Sprinkle just made history, becoming the first coach to make the NCAA Tournament with less than 10 percent of its team’s minutes returning from the previous season since Ken Pomeroy started tracking minutes continuity in 2008. Since roster churn like we see today wasn’t prevalent in past eras, it’s likely he’s the first ever. And he did it with 0.1 percent of Utah State’s minutes returning. The Aggies had one player return who played eight minutes last season. Sprinkle’s ability to rebuild so quickly is why he’s a hot name in the carousal and the early favorite to land at Washington. An NCAA Tournament run could just continue to build his brand and help him on the recruiting trail. He’s been very successful in the portal at both Utah State and Montana State, where he made tourney appearances in his final two seasons.
Darian DeVries, Drake
DeVries and his very talented son Tucker could become one of the heartwarming stories of the tournament. Everyone loves a father-son combo. The older DeVries has been a name that’s been floated for bigger jobs for a few years now, and it’d be smart for someone to pry DeVries away now because it’s possible his son could follow him and help jumpstart the next program. Tucker, who is one of the best wings in the country — and that’s not just at the mid-major level — still has one year of eligibility remaining. DeVries has won 73.5 percent of his games in six seasons at Drake and has the Bulldogs playing in their third NCAA Tournament in four seasons. He was a longtime assistant at Creighton under Dana Altman and Greg McDermott, so he knows what it takes to win at the high-major level. With his son and veteran big man Darnell Brodie, he has a team equipped to go on a run.
Will Wade, McNeese State
Wade is best known for his FBI-tapped “strong a— offer” line, but the man can coach some ball and recruit. He has been ahead of the curve as a defensive tactician, running switchable schemes at LSU and now McNeese State, where he’s gone 30-3 in his first season. Wade has won everywhere he’s been, from Chattanooga to VCU to LSU to McNeese State. The Cowboys are in a spot in the bracket where they could do some damage, playing Gonzaga (who some believe are overseeded) and potentially a slumping Kansas team in the second round. Wherever Wade lands — and you’d think someone hires him in one of the next few cycles — it’s likely he’s going to keep winning because he always wins. And you don’t really have to worry about him bending the rules anymore. It’s legal now to make strong a— offers.
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Mark Byington, James Madison
The Dukes introduced themselves to the country on opening night with a win at Michigan State, and Byington has been a hot name since. As my colleague Kyle Tucker documented earlier this year, he’s not in a bad spot now at JMU, which has the resources to keep winning. Byington has the type of roster makeup that’s ideal for making a tourney run. The Dukes are old. They rank 12th in Division I experience, per KenPom. Byington has proven he can turn a program around. JMU won just two Sun Belt games the year before he took over and went 8-2 in the CAA in his first season. They’ve won 53 games (and counting) the last two seasons.
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Pat Kelsey, Charleston
Kelsey is full of energy, and his teams play like it. He’s been one of the winningest coaches at the mid-major level for a while now, winning four conference titles in his final six years at Winthrop and now winning back-to-back CAA titles in Years 2 and 3 at Charleston. The Cougars were a popular upset pick in a 12-5 game last year, but they just so happened to be playing the eventual national runner-up in San Diego State. (They only lost by six, which, in hindsight, was an impressive result.) This year’s team is not as good defensively but even better offensively, which is a lot like Alabama, its opponent in the opening round. That could be one of the more entertaining first-round matchups, and if Kelsey wins a fun game, it could get a lot of eyeballs on his team. If he doesn’t make the jump to a high-major this year, he’ll likely continue to be a popular name during search season.
Matt Langel, Colgate
Langel’s teams remind me a lot of Jay Wright’s Villanova teams. The Raiders usually play slow and hunt 3s. He’s one of the best offensive coaches in the sport at any level. This is the first year since 2018 he hasn’t had a top-100 offense. That’s an achievement at the mid-major level. This year’s team thrives on the defensive end and has done well defending the 3-point line. That could make it a tricky matchup for Baylor, which is one of the best 3-point shooting teams in the nation and struggles when it’s not making 3s. Langel was thought to be the favorite to land the Temple job last season before Temple opted for a former Villanova grad assistant in Adam Fisher. Langel should already be on the radar of bigger schools after making five of the last six NCAA Tournaments, but finally getting his first tourney win would surely help his profile.
Steve Lutz, Western Kentucky
Lutz took over WKU from Rick Stansbury, who is known as one of the best recruiters in the game but who couldn’t get the program to the NCAA Tournament in seven seasons there. Lutz is taking the Hilltoppers dancing in his first, after making back-to-back tournaments in his only two seasons at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Lutz paid his dues, starting his career at Incarnate Ward and then working for one season at Garden City Community College. He eventually landed at Creighton, working for McDermott and Matt Painter at Purdue. His team plays faster than anyone in college basketball and has the speed and athletes to play with Marquette. Lutz’s quick start to his head coaching career and his pedigree working for two very successful programs is a combination that should attract the attention of ADs. He can be picky too, because he arguably has the best job in the C-USA now.
Niko Medved, Colorado State
Here’s another coach who can be picky. Medved is in a great spot at Colorado State, where he spent time as an assistant and returned to be the head coach in 2018. The Minnesota native runs one of the most aesthetically pleasing offenses in the country and he has the perfect player to lead him on a run this postseason in super senior Isaiah Stevens, who is one of the best passers in the sport. Medved has done a good job building through both high school recruiting and the portal. He’s now flipped three programs (Furman, Drake and CSU) and proven this season he can coach defense too. The Rams rank 38th in adjusted defense, the highest mark in his six seasons there. They’ve proven they can pull off an upset too, knocking off Creighton back in November to win the Hall of Fame Classic in Kansas City.
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Kyle Smith, Washington State
Smith is believed to be the frontrunner to replace Jerod Haase at Stanford. It makes sense for Smith to make the jump this offseason with the death of the Pac-12 and Washington State headed to the West Coast Conference. Smith has done one of the most impressive coaching jobs in college basketball this year. Smith had to replace his four leading scorers and found replacements in unlikely places. His power forward was at Idaho; his center was a junior college transfer; and one of his wings played Division II last season. Smith has won in hard places (Columbia, San Francisco and now Washington State) and has long been known for his appreciation and devotion to analytics. The best argument for believing Smith can win anywhere … Here’s a list of the other coaches who have been able to win at WSU: George Raveling, Kelvin Sampson, Dick Bennett and Tony Bennett. Not bad company.
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Dusty May, Florida Atlantic
May does not need to prove himself after making a Final Four at a school that no one ever dreamed would make a Final Four. He’s backed up that magical season by convincing his entire team to return — an accomplishment in this portal era — and getting back to the NCAA Tournament. He’s a candidate at Michigan, Louisville and West Virginia, and a run in the tournament would just get whatever fan base wins the sweepstakes even more fired up about landing him.
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Randy Bennett, Saint Mary’s
Bennett has long been one of the best coaches on the West Coast, leading Saint Mary’s to 10 NCAA Tournaments in 23 seasons as the head coach. He has a pipeline of talent from Australia and is highly respected for his X’s-and-O’s acumen. He has long competed at the top of the WCC with Gonzaga with not nearly the level of resources. He has a coaching tree that includes Kyle Smith and Todd Golden, two coaches who have both won at the high-major level. Bennett doesn’t need the NCAA Tournament to help his profile, but maybe a deep run convinces one of the high-major athletic directors with an open job to go all-in for Bennett.
(Photos of, from left, Pat Kelsey, Danny Sprinkle and Kyle Smith: Robert Edwards, Cary Edmondson and Matt Pendleton / USA Today)