Story by Joey Loose
• 2mo
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This mark the eighth year in a row that we will be ranking and examining the work of every single active head coach in college basketball. You’ll find mention and examination of all 365 sitting head coaches at the D1 level. There absolutely does not exist a perfect way to rank nearly four hundred coaches against each other, but once again we’ve given it our best try with a few different criteria.
There is no scientific formula or logical argument present throughout this list, it’s simply a balance of experience and success. Just because a team had a better performance last season doesn’t necessarily mean their coach will be higher compared to another school. This is a delicate balance between a coach’s entire history and what they’ve accomplished recently. Surely we see the importance of things like winning in the postseason.
A few new or young head coaches have leapt their way up these rankings, but it’s important to remember the entire body of work. This isn’t specifically a ranking of who a program would want to hire right now but a balanced consideration of everything they’ve done through their career, with a particular focus on recent accomplishments. Information was gathered from various team websites, Sports Reference, and other media but this is a completely independent list that took significant research for every single spot."
9. Rick Barnes (Tennessee) (Last year: 9)
Overall record: 836-423
Final Four in 2003
Unquestionably one of the elder statesmen in this game, Barnes has been a D1 head coach for nearly four decades. He began with solid results in stints leading George Mason, Providence, and Clemson before a 17-year run at Texas. Barnes took the Longhorns to a Final Four and plenty of Big 12 success, including 16 NCAA Tournament appearances. The final chapter of his long career has come at Tennessee and his decade in Knoxville has been equally prosperous. His Volunteers boast a few SEC titles and have reached the Elite Eight in each of the last two seasons.
97. Tony Skinn (George Mason) (Last year: 174)
Overall record: 47-21
While not a household name as a player, Skinn was a major weapon on the George Mason team that advanced to the Final Four in a major surprise back in 2006. After several years playing overseas, he caught on as a collegiate assistant at schools like Seton Hall, Ohio State, and Maryland before his alma mater brought him back as its next leader in 2023. Suffice to say the early results have been impressive, taking the Patriots to the A-10 regular season title and an NIT appearance already.
133. Kim English (Providence) (Last year: 116)
Overall record: 67-63
English showcased his talent in Missouri’s backcourt in the early 2010’s before becoming a late NBA draft pick. After a brief playing career, which included time with the Detroit Pistons, he hopped back into the college game as an assistant. He’d put together two-year stints on staff with Tulsa, Colorado, and Tennessee before George Mason handed him his first head coaching gig in 2021. After winning 20 games in year two with the Patriots, he took on the Providence job and led the Friars to 21 wins and the NIT. However, his second season in Providence was a step backwards and a paltry 12-20 record.
136. Eric Konkol (Tulsa) (Last year: 133)
Overall record: 187-135
Konkol is a Wisconsin native who caught on quickly in the coaching ranks after graduating from Wisconsin-Eau Claire. He had a few early stints before catching the eye of Jim Larranaga, assisting him at George Mason and Miami for over a decade. Konkol’s own head coaching career began with a nice stint at Louisiana Tech, averaging just under 22 wins in seven years. Success hasn’t yet come since jumping to Tulsa in 2022, including a 9th place finish last year’s AAC standings.
166. Austin Claunch (UTSA) (Last year: 168)
Overall record: 102-80
When Claunch was just 29 years old he got his first head coaching job at Nicholls State. He had done solid work on staff at Clemson and aided the Colonels for a few seasons, but he did not look overmatched at all. He took Nicholls to a pair of Southland regular season crowns before accepting a slot on Nate Oats’ staff at Alabama. Claunch got the head coaching itch again and jumped to UTSA last offseason, though his first year wasn’t any sort of breakthrough with the Roadrunners.
184. Duane Simpkins (American) (Last year: 271)
Overall record: 38-29
The earliest coaching work for this former Terrapin came at the high school level, but Simpkins caught on in college ball just over a decade ago. He’s had a few stops, notably spending 8 years on George Mason’s coaching staff. He took the head coaching job at American in 2023, bringing him back to Washington DC where he went to high school, and he’s been great with the Eagles. After a solid debut, Simpkins just took the Eagles to the NCAA Tournament, winning both regular season and conference titles in the Patriot League.
186. Dave Paulsen (Holy Cross) (Last year: 184)
Overall record: 252-227
Previously an assistant at Michigan and a few other schools, Paulsen has made his living as collegiate head coach and is now at his sixth school. He did well in D3 with St. Lawrence, struggled at Le Moyne, and bounced back with a D3 national title at Williams. At the D1 level, Paulsen took Bucknell to a few Tournaments before flaming out with George Mason. He enters year three leading the Crusaders but is just 23-42 to this point.
212. Chris Caputo (George Washington) (Last year: 258)
Overall record: 52-46
Caputo wasn’t exactly a household name as a player at Westfield State, though he quickly caught the attention of Jim Larranaga. He was hired as a video coordinator for him at George Mason in 2002 and would spend the next two decades with Larranaga, both there and at Miami. After seven years as Miami’s associate head coach, Caputo accepted George Washington’s head coaching job in 2022. The native New Yorker put up his best effort in year three, with 21 wins and a postseason big for those Revolutionaries.