Male’s basketball Coach of the Year rankings: Our leading 15

• Jeff Borzello Close Jeff Borzello ESPN Staff Writer Basketball recruiting insider. Signed up with ESPN in 2014. Graduate of University of Delaware.Myron Medcalf Close Myron Medcalf ESPN Personnel Writer Covers college basketball Signed up with ESPN.com in 2011 Graduate of Minnesota State University, Mankato Jan 24, 2025, 10:00 AM ET There are several types of prospects to think about when considering a midseason

• Coach of the Year ranking.There are the coaches who have surpassed expectations–

the ones who didn’t get much respect in the preseason, ranked low in the preseason conference surveys or AP Top 25. There are likewise the coaches who needed to rebuild rosters after losing talent to the NBA, transfer website or graduation. Then there are the coaches who have done the most with the least– they didn’t bring an extremely touted transfer group or recruiting class, nor do they have a team filled with NBA draft prospects.Editor’s Picks 1 Related And finally, we have the coaches on the very best teams. There’s still something to be said for getting a skilled group to live up to expectations, purchase in and win games.Of course, numerous coaches fit into several containers– those are the guys you’ll find throughout this ranking. And we’ll watch two of

them go head-to-head in Saturday’s Sonic Smash hit game between Auburn and Tennessee( 8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN ). ESPN’s Jeff Borzello and Myron Medcalf each sent their top 20 names, then combined and debated them to craft an agreement leading 15 heading into the final two months of the season. Let’s dive in. In their very first two-plus games without Johni Broome– the Wooden Award favorite before he suffered an ankle injury that has sidelined him forever– the Auburn Tigers had a chance to collapse. Instead, they played top-35 defense( per barttorvik.com), made 41 %of their 3-point attempts and won all three games, including a 22-point triumph over Mississippi State.Pearl has actually weathered an injury to one of the top players in the country and off-court drama( there was an FAA incident in November … seriously )all while completing in the very best league in the country. And yet, his team remains No. 1. Hence why he’s No. 1 on this list, too.– Medcalf One take a look at how Rutgers’ season has actually unfolded will tell you it’s difficult to develop a winner around young skill in the transfer portal age. But Duke is a national title competitor due to the fact that Scheyer has actually developed a team as an astute general manager and leader of a Blue Devils team that boasts the brand-new front-runner for National Gamer of the Year(

Cooper Flagg ), owns the only triumph in the country over No. 1 Auburn and includes a defensive system ranked 2nd in adjusted efficiency.The Blue Devils have more difference-making freshmen in Kon Knueppel, a 38 %shooter from the 3-point line and double-figure scorer, and Khaman Maluach, who has a pair of double-doubles over the last three games. Scheyer likewise included strength with Maliq Brown, Sion James and Mason Gillis from the transfer portal.The result of Scheyer’s team-building? If the season ended today, Duke would have the greatest net

score on KenPom (plus-36.80) since it won the championship game in 2001. Yeah, the Duke preseason buzz was immense, and Scheyer somehow has measured up to it.– Medcalf After leading Drake to back-to-back NCAA competition appearances, DeVries moved east to Morgantown to take control of a program that had gone through a turbulent year following the departure of Bob Huggins. It wasn’t expected to be simple. The Mountaineers were chosen 13th in the preseason Big 12 poll– and a 24-point loss to Pitt in the third game

of the season wasn’t a big surprise. But DeVries has now assisted the Mountaineers into the top 25 with wins over Iowa State, Kansas, Gonzaga and Arizona. And he’s doing it without his child, star wing Tucker DeVries, who has actually been out given that early December with a shoulder injury. All-America guard Javon Small has actually been among the elite transfers in the country.– Borzello On the court, Golden and the Gators are a championship game competitor. They opened the season with 13 straight wins, then pummeled a then-undefeated and top-ranked Tennessee by 30 points in early January. They were ranked No. 21 in the preseason AP poll, but Golden supplemented 5 crucial returnees with Florida Atlantic transfer Alijah Martin.We would be remiss to not acknowledge that, off the court, Golden is the topic of a Title IX investigation spurred by several accusations of unwanted sexual advances and stalking that became public in early November. He has acknowledged the query, saying he has been getting involved, while likewise speaking with an attorney about inducing libel claims. However there’s no timetable for the investigation to be solved.( A 2nd Title IX problem was filed against a member of Florida’s coaching staff, Taurean Green, in January.)– Borzello Last season’s troubles for Missouri appear like an anomaly now with Gates a serious contender for SEC and national coach of the year awards.Over a 96-day stretch in 2023-24, Gates’ team won a single game and ended the year on a 19-game losing streak that drew major issues about his future. Throughout that rough run, nevertheless, Gates preached about his program’s potential. Quick forward to Dec. 8: Missouri beat then-No. 1 Kansas to match last season’s overall of eight wins, signaling one of the nation’s most excellent turnarounds.Duke transfer Mark Mitchell( 13.4 points per game) leads a Tigers team with four players averaging double figures. And a group that completed 145th on KenPom a year earlier is

now top 30 and conveniently in the NCAA tournament field.– Medcalf Simply a couple of months ago, there was speak about whether Izzo was willing to adapt to the brand-new world of college basketball in order to develop a championship game contender again. The Spartans hadn’t won more than 11 Huge 10 games considering that 2020, completing 6th or lower 3 times over that stretch. They weren’t in the preseason Leading 25, either. And yet, Izzo has Michigan State ranked in the leading 10 in late January, unbeaten in Big Ten play and riding an 11-game winning streak.Izzo has found out how to have a genuine 10-man rotation, and his decision to move Tre Holloman into the starting lineup in November jump-started their season.– Borzello Kelsey is the best coach for a program that required both a leader and a promoter– he’s spent the previous few months running around Louisville’s school to force fans to return to the KFC Yum! Center following last season’s 8-24 project under previous head coach Kenny Payne.Kelsey has the character for that grandstanding, but it’s likewise clear he can coach. His group has won 9 games in a row and

could be Duke’s greatest danger in the ACC title race in spite of losing South Florida transfer Kasean Pryor (12.0 PPG, 6.1 RPG )to an ACL tear earlier this season.Kelsey’s biggest task? Landing Chucky Hepburn, who played listed below his

potential a year back at Wisconsin however found new life as the driver in a Louisville system that’s top-20 in adjusted offending efficiency.– Medcalf Every team in the transfer portal has actually sustained turnover, however Underwood lost every crucial player– including all-Big Ten first-team choices Terrence Shannon and Marcus Domask– from an Illinois group that reached the Elite Eight a year ago.This year, Underwood has actually handled to put together a much more balanced crew that sits near the top of Big 10 standings– that reboot has actually been led by freshman Kasaparas Jacucionis, who anchors an Illini group that plays top-10 defense, ratings efficiently inside the arc and completes as one of fastest in pace in the country. Underwood’s