2020 Most Impactful Men’s Low Major Assistants

To be a coach considered for this list, you must not have been a head coach at the NCAA Division I level before (a comeback list will be posted at a later date) and you must be a coach at one of the following 13 conferences:

LMs

Horizon 20.666

Big West 21.333

Patriot League 21.500

WAC 22.000

Ohio Valley 23.500

American East 23.666

Big Sky 23.833

Big South 25.333

Atlantic Sun 26.333

Northeast 28.000

Southland 28.833

SWAC 31.333

MEAC 31.833

To determine the low-major conferences, we averaged the conference RPI's together over the past six seasons and took the bottom half of the conferences not including the Power 6 (ACC, Big 10, Big 12, Big East, PAC 12, & SEC). Tiebreakers were given to the conference with the highest RPI in the most recent year. 

After months of research and consulting with AD's, Presidents, Search Firms and numerous influencers in the basketball space - We present the Silver Waves Media 50 Impactful Low Major Coaches in alphabetical order,  We are very proud of this list.

***Was on previous list before job change

***Ted Crass - Abilene Christian 

A rising star according to many different basketball figures around the country, Crass has been able to make his presence felt on the sidelines with the grit he has displayed in multiple areas of the game. After spending the better part of eight seasons with Arkansas Little Rock as a manager, player, director of basketball operations, and assistant coach under both Steve Shields and Chris Beard, Crass has spent the last four seasons taking what he has learned and applying it towards Abilene Christian's resurrection. After a 13-18 overall record the year prior to his arrival, Crass was able to bring an identity to the Wildcat program that cultivated into a 27-7 2018-19 campaign that was highlighted by the program's first-ever NCAA Division I Tournament appearance and a Southland regular season conference title. After two years rebuilding the, the Wildcats were able to turn in a 47-18 (.723) overall record and a 29-9 (.763) conference record in the last two seasons. The success for Crass comes on the heels of a magical 30-5 season under Chris Beard where the Arkansas Little Rock Trojans fell in the second round of the NCAA Tournament during Crass' last season with the program.

David Anwar - New Mexico State 

When you mention Anwar's name you're going to hear the word recruiter in the same sentence. The Philadelphia native has built up quite the reputation with his ability to attract talent over the years. He helped secure a top 25 recruiting class at Nebraska and a top 50 recruiting class at North Texas, both of which are considered among the best in program history. He has had much of that same effect on New Mexico State as the Aggies have benefitted from All-WAC honorees in Ivan Aurrecoechea, Jabari Rice, Trevelin Queen, Terrell Brown, Evan Gilyard, and Zach Lofton that Anwar has helped bring in during his three years in Las Cruces.  It has helped turn in a combined record of 83-17, three regular season WAC championships, and two trips to the NCAA Tournament. Anwar got his start in coaching for Doc Sadler at Arkansas Fort Smith where he helped the team to a combined 101-29 record, including a 5th and 7th place finish in the NJCAA Tournament.

Gus Argenal - Cal State Fullerton 

A respected family name on the west coast and especially in the bay area, Argenal brings 16 years of experience to Cal State Fullerton after having spent the last two seasons as an assistant under Eric Musselman at Nevada. The Wolfpack had their greatest stretch in program history during that time going 58-13 (.817) and tying the school record for wins each season. Argenal contributed to back-to-back Mountain West Conference regular season titles and appearances in the NCAA Tournament, including a Sweet Sixteen run in 2017-18. He helped develop the likes of Cody Martin (NBA Draft Pick), Caleb Martin (NBA), Jordan Caroline (NBA), Kendall Stephens (MW Third-Team), Lindsey Drew (MW Defensive Team), and Jazz Johnson (MW Sixth Man of the Year). Argenal brought head coaching experience to the pack having spent the last four years building the Cal State East Bay program. He turned in the program's most successful season since becoming a Division II in his last season before departing for Nevada. Argenal had one year stops at both Rice and UC Davis after a three-year stint at Chico State from 2008-11. He also had stops at UT San Antonio as a DOBO and a previous stint with UC Davis as an assistant that marked his first year as an assistant. 

Brian Ayers - Belmont 

Ayers has contributed to great success at Belmont during his 22 years on the staff. The team has averaged 22 wins per season including 25 wins per season over the last ten campaigns tallying up to a staggering 481-247 (.661) overall record in his time on the sidelines. The Bruins have also advanced to 8 NCAA Tournaments and 3 NITs during this time. His efforts at Belmont have also been highlighted by his recruitment and development of bigs. Ayers has drawn from his time as a successful forward himself under legendary coach Don Meyer to help develop numerous all-conference selections at the forward positions. Prior to Belmont, he served for two seasons at Vanderbilt and with Austin Peay.  Both programs enjoyed trips to the NCAA Tournament while Ayers was present. Ayers was team captain his junior and senior year as a player under Don Meyer and helped achieve a record of 141-18 in four years as a player.

Ryan Badrtalei - UC Irvine 

Badrtalei has spent the last ten seasons as an assistant coach on the UC Irvine staff and was just recently elevated to associate head coach. In those ten seasons the Anteaters have reached the postseason six times and have appeared in two NCAA Tournaments. Since being at Irvine, Badrtalei has helped develop over 40 All-Big West Conference performers including the Conference Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year (6 times), Best Sixth Man (2 times) and Freshman of the Year (2 times). Kobe Bryant was another one. Badrtalei spent nine years from 2007-2016 helping the NBA legend perfect his craft during the offseasons. Additionally, he has contributed to the school's overall win record in a season, first ever NCAA Tournament win, longest win streak, and the most regular season conference championships in a ten year stretch in program history (5). Badrtalei served as the Director of Basketball Operations for four seasons before being promoted to an assistant and was also a local high school coach.

Dan Beré - Jacksonville 

The Hinsdale, IL native got his start at Indiana University under Mike Davis as a student-manager from 2001-2005. During his time, Indiana won a B1G Championship and advanced to the 2002 Final Four.  From Indiana, Beré joined Dane Fife’s coaching staff at IPFW as a Graduate Assistant and ultimately as an Assistant coach. In 2010-11, he was part of the staff that led IPFW to a Division I school-record 18 victories. The 18 wins were the most at the Fort Wayne school in nearly two decades. Beré continued his way up the coaching ladder working for Tony Jasick at IPFW, recruiting eventual Summit League Player of the Year, Max Landis.  After 8 successful years in Fort Wayne, Beré joined the coaching staff at Butler University as a Basketball Analyst in their inaugural season in the Big East. After a brief stop in Indianapolis, he rejoined Tony Jasick as an Assistant Coach at Jacksonville University. During his time at Jacksonville, the team has had the longest home winning streak since 1974, set a record for non-conference road wins and participated in the 2017 College Insider Tournament. Beré recently helped recruit David Bell, an Ohio State transfer that earned All ASUN honors and was named the 2020 ASUN Defensive Player of the Year.

Zak Boisvert - Army 

Dubbed as a relentless worker by Hoop Group President Rob Kennedy and others within the basketball industry, Boisvert got his start at Iona for one season under Tim Cluess and contributed to a NCAA Tournament appearance for the Gaels before moving on to Fairleigh Dickinson for one season under Greg Herenda. In his one season with FDU, he helped the team improve their win total before heading to Maine for two seasons under Bob Walsh where he was able to accomplish the same in his home state. Kevin Little and Issac Vann were two America East All-Rookie team members that helped the Black Bears do this as well as Boisvert's efforts to revamp the team's offensive strategy. As the team's offensive coordinator, the team raised their scoring average from 60.4 PPG to 76.6 PPG, which marked the largest season-to-season scoring jump in Division I between the two seasons. Boisvert has been able to continue the same trend at Army. Boisvert has helped the team slowly improve their win totals each season and just finished fourth in the standings this past year. Another thing that has been consistent during his time one the sidelines is his development of point guards. He helped recruit and/or develop Tyler Funk at Army turning him into a first team all-conference guard by the time he was a senior, helping Scott Machado and Lamont "Momo" Jones post career highs on their way to conference honors at Iona, and helping Sidney Sanders record the second largest scoring jump in the NCAA that season earning him All-NEC First Team honors. Boisvert got his start working for Hoop Group on the east coast and runs the popular website pickandpop.net.

Nick Booker - Eastern Washington 

Booker has won everywhere he has been since his time as a player at Davidson College under Bob McKillop and his start as a coach at Saddleback College. He was a starter for a team that went to the NCAA Tournament and won a CCCAA state championship at Saddleback College before joining the UC Irvine staff as an assistant. During his seven-year stretch in Irvine, he helped establish the team as one of the Big West powers of recent history as the program went to one NCAA Tournament and won three regular season Big West titles. The program has gone on to win another two Big West regular season titles since his departure. Additionally, the Anteaters won a NCAA Tournament game for the first time, registered a new school-record for wins in a season, experienced the team's highest RPI mark ever, among others program records and program firsts. After one year as the Director of Basketball Operations at his alma mater under McKillop, Booker is having the same effect he had with UC Irvine at Eastern Washington. In three years on the sidelines, the team has won 59 games overall, appeared in two conference championship games, and just completed their first regular season championship with Booker in the fold.

Brandon Chambers - Texas Southern

Considered one of the rising stars in college basketball, Chambers has had his fingerprints on a number of successful seasons at a variety of programs so far in his young career. As a graduate assistant at VCU under Shaka Smart, the Rams advanced to the Final Four. After a historic run at VCU, Chambers spent two seasons at Misericordia University where the team captured a conference championship and earned a trip to the NCAA DIII Tournament during his time on the sidelines. He then found himself at Marymount University where he was able to improve the team's record from 7 to 16 wins in his first season and from 16 to 19 wins in this second season. After one season at the perennial powerhouse Paul VI High School, Chambers earned a spot as a Director of Basketball Operations at Nevada. While in Reno, the Pack won three Mountain West regular-season titles and made three appearances in the NCAA Tournament, including a Sweet 16 appearance in 2018. The program's 58 wins from 2017-2019 is the best two-year win total in program history. Texas Southern finished third in the SWAC standings in Chambers' first season on the sidelines.

Sharif Chambliss - Wright State

Chamblis has spent the last eight seasons in the Horizon League at Wright State and Milwaukee. In his four years at Wright State, the Raiders have compiled a 91-36 (.717) overall record, won two regular season Horizon League championships, advanced to one NIT, and advanced to one NCAA Tournament. Chamblis has also brought in six All-Conference level players during the four year span that has helped bolster the success, including Horizon League POY Loudon Love. Chamblis had much of the same success in his four seasons at Milwaukee as the Panthers turned in two 20-win seasons after winning just eight games in his first season. Much of that was due to two players Chamblis helped recruit and/or develop in all-league selections Steve McWhorter and Matt Tiby. The team advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2015. Chambliss came to Milwaukee after one season in a support staff role with Wisconsin under Bo Ryan. The team went 26-10 and advanced to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament. Chambliss was a team captain for Ryan at Wisconsin and advanced to the Elite Eight in 2005 during his career as a player.

Kyle Cieplicki - Vermont 

Cieplicki has helped Vermont be arguably the most consistent low major program over the past decade. The program has compiled a 219-91 (.706) overall record and a 121-23 (.840) conference record in nine seasons with Cieplicki on the sidelines. Those nine seasons have also been highlighted by 5 American East regular season championships, 2 NITs, and 4 trips to the NCAA Tournament. The catamounts have received multiple Associated Press Top-25 poll votes over the years as well. During the 2016-17 season, the Catamounts set a school record for conference wins (16) while going undefeated, set a school record for overall wins (29), and became the first program to ever sweep the American East's major awards - John Beck (Coach of the Year), Trae Bell-Haynes (Player of the Year), Anthony Lamb (Rookie of the Year), Dre Wills (Defensive Player of the Year), and Darren Payen (Sixth Man of the Year). Cieplicki got his start as an assistant coach at Brown for two seasons before returning to his alma mater. 

Chris Cobb - Montana 

Cobb, who has been at Montana for six seasons, has played a major role in Montana consistently being one of the powers of late in the Big Sky conference. The Grizzlies have averaged 21.8 wins per season winning three Big Sky regular-season conference titles. Additionally, they have made appearances in one CBI, one NIT, two NCAA Tournaments, and have advanced to the conference tournament finals four times. He has helped develop and recruit 7 first-team All-Big Sky Conference selections, 3 second-team honorees, plus the Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year, Freshman of the Year, Newcomer of the Year (twice), and Big Sky tournament MVP (twice). Cobb arrived in Missoula after four years as an assistant at Chico State. After one year, Cobb helped the Wildcats to three consecutive NCAA DII tournament appearances, including a trip to the Elite Eight in his final season. He was also instrumental in Chico State's first championship team in the California Collegiate Athletic Association. His recruitment and development of another 7 all-league players, two all-region selections, and one NCAA Division II All-American was key in the success during this four-year span.

Jeff Conarroe - Cal State Bakersfield 

Conarroe has helped bring a level of consistency to Cal State Bakersfield that hasn't been seen before in the program's history at the Division I level. In nine seasons with the Roadrunners, they have achieved four postseason appearances with three of those coming in the last four years, excluding the pandemic-shortened 2019-20 season. Perhaps the most memorable seasons came in 2015-16 as the Roadrunners were able to advance to the NCAA Tournament. The very next season Bakersfield was able to win the WAC regular season championship and reached the semifinals of the NIT.  Additionally, Bakersfield was able to record the highest RPI in the history of the program at No. 59. He has helped develop and recruit 22 All-Conference honorees, including nine WAC All-Defensive selections. Conarroe previously served under Coach Rod Barnes at Georgia State and Ole Miss where Barnes was able to win the prestigious Naismith Coach of the Year award.

Jeremy Cox - Stephen F. Austin 

A coaching veteran of over 20 years, Cox has brought a ton of experience to Stephen F. Austin and has contributed greatly to their success the past four seasons. The Lumberjacks have compiled an 88-41 (.682) overall record and a 52-22 (.703) conference record during his time on the sidelines. He has had one-year and two-year stints at Southern Miss, Texas Tech, Nebraska, South Florida, Kentucky, and Texas A&M throughout his career serving as an assistant under Doc Sadler, Billy Gillispie, & Stan Heath. His 2007 season at Texas A&M remains as arguably the best season in school history. Cox has also had an illustrious JUCO head coaching career. In 2013-14, he was named Region 18 Coach of the Year after his College of Southern Idaho team went 27-5. In 2006, as head coach at Arkansas Fort Smith, he was named NJCAA National Coach of the Year after winning the NJCAA National Championship. In nine years as a head coach, Cox has a 224-68 (.767) overall record at the junior college level at College of Southern Idaho, Arkansas Fort Smith, Garden City, and North Dakota State College of Science.  He has coached ten players that have gone on to play in the NBA.

Tom Devitt - Hartford

Devitt brings more than twenty years of experience to the Hartford sidelines that includes four NCAA Tournaments at the Division I level. After getting his start at Boston College as a graduate assistant and director of basketball operations for a total of six seasons, Devitt piloted the Wentworth Institute of Technology program for eleven seasons. Devitt changed the trend of the program leading them leading the program to the Commonwealth Coast Conference Championship and first NCAA Division III Tournament appearance in program history. Devitt brought his squad to eight consecutive CCC Tournament appearances and four-straight ECAC Tournament bids in his final four seasons. It earned him two CCC Coach of the Year awards and all-time winningest coach in program history milestone. Since taking on an assistant coaching role with the Hartford program in 2015, they have gone from as low as 9-23 to as high as 19-14 and have consistently finished within the top 3 in the America East conference over the past three seasons. With an America East all-rookie selection back and a Colorado transfer in the fold for next season, they will continue to look to make a jump. 

Justin Downer - Cal Poly 

Downer perhaps has one of the quickest rises of any coach in the country. 2019-20 marked his first year and made him the youngest coach in the country at the Division I level. He has made a tremendous impression on multiple figures in the basketball community throughout the country with his ability to cultivate relationships and his energy for the game. It has already started to pay off for Cal Poly as he played a big part in securing one of the highest regarded incoming classes in school history and one of the top low major classes in the country. Before coming to Cal Poly, Dower served as an assistant coach at Vanguard University. He helped lead the program to a 25-7 overall mark and a No. 10 ranking in the final NAIA Division I Men's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll. The Lions climbed to as high as No. 4 in this past year's poll. Downer became a staple in west coast gyms before his time with the Lions. For three seasons he worked with Riverside Poly HS helping the program to a 62-29 overall record and their first CIF State Championship since 1983 and worked for West Coast Elite, one of the top AAU programs in the country. He coached and helped recruit more than 60 future Division I players with West Coast Elite - including McDonald's All-America selections Nico Mannion and Josh Green. The impression he has made on many different people in his young career earned him a spot at the prestigious Top Connect event.

Eric Duft - Weber State 

Duft has been with Weber State for the past 14 seasons after joining the Wildcats under Randy Rahe in 2006. During that time he has helped recruit and/or develop six Big Sky Conference MVP's in David Patten (2007), Kellen McCoy (2009), Damian Lillard (2010, 2012), Davien Berry (2014), and Joel Bolomboy (2016). The program has been able to experience five Big Sky Conference titles and nine postseason tournament appearances, including three trips to the NCAA Tournament, due in part to Duft's efforts on the sidelines. Additionally, the Wildcats have compiled a 286-173 (.623) overall record and a 174-75 conference record (.699) traveling to an impressive seven conference tournament championships in fourteen years. Duft came to Weber State after serving as an assistant coach under Tim Duryea at Hutchinson JC for seven seasons. His time there was highlighted by one of his last seasons with the team as they were able to rank in the top five consistently throughout the course of the year. Duft also spent time at Cowley County CC and Central CC in the young part of his career.

Jeff Dunlap - Cal State Northridge 

A coaching veteran of 31 years, Dunlap has begun to help turn the Cal State Northridge program around after turning in a 15-win season after winning just 6 games two years ago. The Matadors finished second in the Big West standings. He was able to help recruit and develop Lamine Diane who earned Big West POY as a freshman and as a sophomore at CSUN and Terrell Gomez who earned all-conference honors. Previously, before a year in Canada as a head coach and general manager of a professional team, Dunlap worked at NC State under Gottfried for six seasons from 2011-17. The Wolfpack advanced to the Sweet 16 twice. He also assisted Gottfried at Alabama winning 20 games in his one season as an assistant coach. Dunlap has had two coaching stints at Western Michigan (2004-07, 2010-11) and made a stop at Georgia from 1999-03, working under Jim Harrick. He also coached at Loyola-Chicago (1998-99, 2003-04), Fullerton College (1997-98), Cal State Fullerton (1994-97), Quincy University (1991-94) and the College of the Canyons (1989-91). He was a three-year letterwinner at UCLA for Larry Farmer as a player.

Brock Erickson - UIC 

Erickson comes to UIC with quite a successful young career. In two seasons at Bryant, he was able to recruit NEC Rookie of the Year Michael Green and NEC All-Rookie Team honoree Benson Lin to help increase Bryant's win total from 10 to 15 games in year two. The two-year stretch came after one season at Kent State under Rob Senderoff and four seasons at Iona under Tim Cluess. During his four seasons in New Rochelle with Iona, the Gaels compiled a 92-44 (.676) overall record and a 62-18 (.775) conference record. The team won two MAAC regular season crowns that earned them NIT bids in the first two years and won the MAAC Tournament Erickson's last two years on the sidelines to advance to the NCAA Tournament. Iona was one of the hottest mid major teams in the country during the four-year stretch. Before Iona, Erickson spent a year as the head coach at State College of Florida where he was able to help the Manatees qualify for the state tournament for just the second time in the last fifteen years. Erickson's coaching resume also includes stints as an assistant coach at Monroe College, College of Eastern Utah and City College of New York. All three programs set new benchmarks for wins during his time on the bench.

Chris Gerlufsen - Hawaii 

Gerlufsen comes to Hawaii with twenty years of coaching experience under his belt. The Philadelphia native got his start at DIII schools Washington College and Southwestern before making the leap to The Citadel in 2001. While at The Citadel for five seasons under Pat Dennis, the Bulldogs were able to experience two winning seasons, a feat that the program has only been able to accomplish nine times in the past fifty years. The military school in South Carolina has only had one winning season in 2008-09 since Gerlufsen's departure. It also remains as one of two back-to-back winning seasons in those fifty years. After his time in Charleston, SC, he spent eight years under two different head coaches at Hartford. He was able to help turn the program around under John Gallagher Gerlufsen then found himself at San Diego where he was able to contribute to the program posting consecutive 20-win seasons for the first time in program history. After advancing to the postseason in those two years, San Diego accomplished another first by competing in the NIT. Gerlufsen served as the offensive coordinator for the team and headed global recruiting efforts where he was able to sign more than a half dozen international players in four years. He also helped develop and/or recruit a trio of all-conference selections in his last season, including Isaiah Pineiro who signed with the Sacramento Kings this past year.

Scott Greenman - American 

Greenman is one of the rising young stars in college basketball according to many different basketball circles across the country. His help in the recruitment of four players that have been placed on the Patriot League All-Rookie Team the past three seasons (including the 2016 Rookie of the Year) and the 2019-20 Patriot League Preseason Player of the Year have given the program new life since his memorable first season with the program that resulted in a NCAA Tournament appearance. The Eagles have gone 6-5 in the conference tournament since his arrival and will look to get back to the tournament in the coming years with their boosted roster. Prior to American, Greenman spent three seasons at Georgetown where the Hoyas were able to advance to the NCAA Tournament each year while also never falling short of 21 wins per season. Additionally, the Hoyas were able to take home the regular season crown in 2013. Greenman got his start as an assistant at Princeton where he helped orchestrate the biggest two-year turnaround in the history of the program. He was instrumental in building a team that would eventually win the Ivy League Championship and play in the 2011 NCAA Tournament. Greenman is a graduate of Princeton having played four years for John Thompson III. He earned first-team All-Ivy League honors as a senior and advanced to one NCAA Tournament as a player.

Andrew Helton - St. Francis (PA) 

Helton just completed his fifth season with the Red Flash and they have been the NEC's most consistent team during that span. After a sixth place finish in his first year back with the program, Saint Francis improved their standing to third in his second year and have yet to fall below second place in the three years that have followed. The success has resulted in two CITs and one NIT appearance after the Red Flash were able to take home the NEC regular season conference championship in 2019. Helton has helped recruit and/or develop four First Team All-NEC selections, two NEC Players of the Year, a second team all-conference performer, two NEC Third Teamers, the NEC Defensive Player of the Year, and the NEC's Most Improved Player during this successful stretch. His time as an assistant at the NCAA Division I level has also been highlighted by a NCAA Tournament in two seasons at South Alabama and by another at Texas A&M Corpus Christi in six seasons. South Alabama also set a school record for wins and Texas A&M Corpus Christi enjoyed three consecutive 20-win seasons during the last three years of Helton's tenure. Helton also has head coaching experience having served as a head coach at Eastern New Mexico for five seasons where he currently sits as the sixth winningest coach in the program's history.

Matt Henry - UMBC 

Henry comes to Baltimore after spending the previous five seasons under John Dunne at St. Peter's revitalizing the program. During the 2016-17 season, Henry helped guide the Peacocks to a historical run by claiming the 2017 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) title, the programs first-ever national postseason tournament championship. Saint Peter's became the second MAAC team ever to win a national postseason tournament and the first team from New Jersey to win a national postseason tournament title since Princeton in the 1975 NIT. The Peacocks closed out the season winning 11 out of their last 12 games and finished the season with a 23-13 overall record, which was tied for the second most wins in a single season by a Peacock team, and a 14-6 MAAC record, the most conference wins ever in a single season by a Peacock team. The team also finished the MAAC regular season in second place, the highest finish by a Peacock team since the 1988-89 season. Henry also has experience as an assistant at Mount St. Mary's from 2010-12 and at Georgetown from 2004-10 as a Director of Basketball Operations. The Hoyas saw great success advancing to four NCAA Tournaments and making two NIT appearances. Henry got his start at Trine University where he was able to help compile a 63-20 (.759) overall record and a 37-9 (.804) conference record on the way to two SCA Conference Titles.

Adam Jacobsen - Cal Baptist 

Jacobsen got his start in coaching for the University of the Pacific and had some success in doing so. After spending 14 seasons under Bob Thomason, he helped the Tigers to five Big West championships and four NCAA Tournament appearances. The team boasted seven 20-win seasons including seven total postseason appearances. He was able to develop and recruit 11 all-conference selections, 3 AP All-Americans and three Big West Players of the Year during that impressive span. Jacobsen's efforts were quickly noticed by Eran Ganot at Hawaii. Upon being offered and accepting a job at Hawaii, Jacobsen was able to quickly leave his fingerprints on the program as the Rainbow Warriors made an NCAA Tournament appearance in Jacobsen's first year, won the Big West Conference regular season championship, and set a program record for overall wins. After winning an average of 19 games per season during his four-year stint in Hawaii, Jacobsen just completed a 20-win season in his first season on staff with Cal Baptist. With his track record of success and the relationships he's built on the west coast, Jacobsen has a bright future ahead.

Tim Kaine - Murray State 

Kaine has been a part of the greatest periods in program history at Murray State the past three years. Since arriving in 2015, Kaine has helped the racers have compiled a 110-51 (.683) overall record and a 65-21 (.756) conference record. However in the past three seasons, they have gone an astounding 77-20 (.794) and 47-7 (.870). The racers have won the regular season conference championship the past three years and have advanced to two NCAA Tournaments. They have had seven first team all-conference selections during those three years that Kaine has helped recruit and/or develop including All-America selection Ja Morant and Associated Press All-America Honorable Mention Jonathan Stark. Before coming to Murray State, Kaine was an assistant at Georgia State for one season compiling a 22-9 record, an assistant coach at Florida Atlantic for six seasons winning one Sunbelt Conference regular season championship, and at Winthrop for one season earning a trip to the NCAA Tournament. Kaine also spent three seasons at Newberry College as an assistant and recruited DIII National Player of the Year, Ben Strong, at Guilford College.

Dave Klatsky - Colgate 

Klatsky has steadily helped guide Colgate to one of the top teams in the Patriot League the past ten seasons. He recently just helped take the program to new heights for the third straight season in 2019-20, setting program records for most overall wins (25) and league wins (14) on their way to their first-ever outright Patriot League regular season championship. Colgate has set program records for total wins in three consecutive seasons, going for 19, 24, and most recently 25. The Raiders have finished in the top two in the Patriot League standings in four of the last six years, including back-to-back first place tabs in 2018-19 and 2019-20. The program made their first NCAA Tournament appearance in 20 years and their third ever as a program in 2019. Before joining Colgate, Klatsky spent four  seasons at Stevens Tech where he helped pilot the program to an overall record of 76-35 and the school's only two ECAC Metro Championships in their history. Klatsky graduated from Penn and helped the team advance to three NCAA Tournaments in four seasons as a player.

Marcus King - Tennessee Tech 

One of the rising recruiters in all of college basketball, King brings a relentless approach to Tennessee Tech that paid off in a large way for Lee College in Baytown, Texas the past eleven years. During his time there, he helped 50 players advance to four-year institutions, including 39 of whom advanced to Division I programs. Nearly 30 percent of those 50 players also went on to sign professional contracts. One of them, Tony Farmer, was the number one overall ranked recruit at the NJCAA level. Due to his efforts, Lee earned its first-ever trip to the NJCAA National Tournament in 2013. King also helped recruit high level players at each of his other stops. He was able to recruit two all-conference guards in two years at Eastern New Mexico, was able to recruit four all-conference guards in two years at Butler CC, one all-conference guard in one year at Jacksonville, and three all-conference players with one All-American selection in two years at Lincoln University. He also established himself globally in recruiting; coaching 22 international players from 11 different countries. King got his start in coaching at Connors State where the team was ranked as high as No. 3 in the national polls. Beyond basketball King is a mentor and advocate for young black males. In his time at Lee, King founded and sponsored Reaching Excellence Against Limitations (REAL) student government organization for the empowerment of black males. REAL had two presidents inducted into the Lee College Hall of Fame.

Sam Kirby - Seattle 

Kirby just completed his second season with his alma mater under Jim Hayford, who calls Kirby, "one of the up-and-coming assistant coaches on the West Coast." He comes to the northwest after spending the previous seven seasons on staff at Cal Poly under Joe Callero. During that time, he was a part of the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance in their history and two of their five winning seasons during the school's NCAA Division I era. Not only did the Mustangs advance to the Tournament, but they were also able to beat Texas Southern in a play-in game. The team's efforts that season came in-part to Kirby's development of Chris Eversley, a first team All-Big West Conference selection who improved significantly between his sophomore and junior seasons and showed up big down the stretch. Kirby got his start at Canada where he was able to contribute to a 20-6 overall record and a No. 7 ranking in the CCCAA before departing for San Luis Obispo.

Brandon Laird - Sacramento State 

A highly respected assistant on the west coast, Coach Laird has built up meaningful relationships in many different basketball circles that have contributed to his nine-year run at Sacramento State under Brian Katz. The Hornets have shown progress since Laird came aboard as evidence by the team improving its conference win total each of his first four years with the program, culminating in the 2014-15 squad posting a 21-12 overall record, a 13-5 mark in the Big Sky Conference, the team’s first postseason appearance in the Div. I era (1991-pres.), and the program’s first postseason victory in 53 years. Laird has also helped the program reach a level of consistency that hasn't been done in over fifty years in the team's overall win totals from season-to-season and the team's production in the conference tournament. Laird spent two seasons as an assistant at UC Davis and three seasons as a head coach at Menlo before coming to UC Davis. Laird was able to turn around a program that won just four games in his first season to a team that won the Cal-Pac Conference Tournament and advance to the NAIA National Tournament for just the third time in school history.

Donny Lind - Radford 

Winning has followed Lind throughout his coaching career and his tenure at Radford has been no different. The Highlanders have compiled a 66-35 (.653) overall record and a 39-13 (.750) conference record during the later three years of his four-year stint that has also included two Big South regular season conference championships and the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance. Before arriving at Radford, Lind served under Jamion Christian at Mount St. Mary's for two seasons where the team was able to enjoy a NCAA Tournament appearance, a NEC regular season conference championship, and a second place conference finish in Lind's final year. Serving as The Mount's recruiting coordinator, Lind was able to recruit the winningest class in school history during his time on the sidelines and was named to the Under Armour 30-under-30 list by the NABC in recognition of his efforts. The class included Junior Robinson who finished his career as The Mount’s 3rd all-time leading scorer, the 2018 NEC Player of the Year, and a 2018 AP All-American. Lind got his start at VCU as a graduate assistant under Shaka Smart.

Mike Magpayo - UC Riverside 

The UC Riverside program has drawn great reviews in it's progression over the past three years from experts and the media on the west coast with Magpayo on staff. The Highlanders have been able to increase their win total in each of those seasons going from just 9 wins in the first season to 17 wins in their third season. They picked up wins at Nebraska, San Jose State, and at Fresno State before winning seven games in the Big West Conference. Prior to his time in Riverside, Magpayo spent a season at San Francisco going 22-7, picking up wins over ranked teams like Nevada and St. Mary's, and advancing to the finals of the CBI Championship. Magpayo also spent time at Campbell University. In his last season with the Camels, he was able to help put together one of the best seasons in school history, as the team was able to advance to the conference championship game as well as the CIT quarterfinals in the program's first postseason appearance in nearly 25 years. He got his start at Columbia serving in multiple capacities during the most successful run in program history from 2010-14.

Jonathan Mattox - Morehead State 

Known as a relentless worker, Mattox is passionate about developing players both on and off the court. Mattox got his start at Emmanuel College in Georgia where he helped them win 49 games in a 2-year span, before joining the staff at Morehead State. Mattox has risen quickly in the Morehead State program. The Georgia native joined the program in 2013 as a graduate assistant and was promoted to DOBO in 2015. During the 2015-16 season under Sean Woods, he helped lead the Eagles to a 23-14 overall record and 11-5 Ohio Valley Conference mark, along with a second-place finish in the College Basketball Invitational. With their trip to the championship series of the CBI, Morehead State won four postseason games, the most in program history. MSU's 20-plus win season marked the seventh in program history and the 23 wins marked the most victories for the Eagles since 2010-11. After the Eagles opening with a 2-7 record in the 2016-17 season, Mattox officially took on the interim assistant coaching position nine games into the season. He then helped lead Morehead State to a 12-9 record under head coach Preston Spradlin the rest of the way including a 10-6 mark in OVC play, which ranked second in the league.

Joe Meehan - Bucknell 

Meehan has been a part of huge success under Nathan Davis for the past seven seasons at Bucknell and at Randolph-Macon. The pair own one of the best winning percentages in the country during that span and have won a more than impressive six regular season conference championships in seven years. Meehan's overall record during that time is 151-75 (.774) with a conference record of 96-26 (.787). This has resulted in two NCAA Division III Tournament berths, one NIT, and two NCAA Tournament appearances. He helped set program records for wins at Randolph-Macon in his second season as the program advanced to the Elite Eight of the NCAA DIII Tournament. He has helped recruit and/or develop eight players that have gone on to earn conference awards or multiple conference awards, including Zach Thomas & Nana Foulland who earned Patriot League MVP honors.  As a player, Meehan was considered one of the best players at the DIII level at Lebanon Valley earning D3hoops.com Preseason All-American honors prior to his senior year. He was named to the Under Armour 30-Under-30 list by the NABC.

Brian Merritt - Morgan State 

Brian Merritt, also known as Mr. Everything at Morgan State, has been a chameleon in the business for years. His strong background in player development comes from working under Rick Pitino at Louisville and John Lucas in Houston. As an assistant coach at Hampton, Texas A&M Corpus Christi, Arizona State and now Morgan State, Merritt has been groomed by some of the best recruiters ever in Perry Clark, Kevin Nickelberry and Kevin Broadus. Brian has recruited multiple Rookie of the Years and All-Conference players. At Corpus Christi the Islanders had 12 players during his 3 years there go on to play professional basketball at some level. During his time with John Lucas as the Director of Scouting/Recruiting the growth of the John Lucas Enterprise camps was very impressive as they developed countless NBA prospects such as Thon Maker, Justise Winslow, Kelly Oubre, Caleb Swanigan and many others from middle school on through to the NBA Draft. In his first year at Morgan State he helped acquire 3 and 4 star talents such as Troy Baxter (FGGU), Troy Holston (South Florida), and Trevor Moore (Cincy) and most recently signed a Top 100 caliber high school senior in Naseem Khaalid, who had committed to Florida State as a high school sophomore. With his connections in the basketball space, Merritt will be one that continues to make his mark as he rises through the ranks.

James Miller - New Mexico State 

Miller comes to New Mexico State via North Texas where he served one season under Grant McCasland in one of the biggest program resurgences in recent years at the NCAA Division I level. North Texas posted the nation’s fifth-best win-improvement winning 12 more games than they did the previous year. The program has gone on to turn in an additional two more 20-win seasons since his departure. Prior to his time at North Texas, he also served one season in the same capacity under McCasland at Arkansas State from 2016-17 where the program was able to turn in the nation’s second-largest turnaround in the NCAA that year with a 10-win improvement. In the year prior to that, he spent one season at Omaha helping the team achieve just their second postseason appearance since making the transition to the Division I level. Miller got his start at New Mexico JC from 2009-12. He was elevated to the head coaching position the three years that preceded and accumulated a 77-23 (.770) overall record with three-straight postseason appearances, including the program's first national tournament berth in 17 years. Miller has continued his winning trend at New Mexico State where the team has been able to enjoy a 55-11 (.833) overall record and a 31-1 (.969) conference record. They have won back-to-back WAC regular season titles and advanced to one NCAA Tournament.

John Montgomery - Hawaii 

After getting his start as an assistant coach at Furman from 2007-08, Montgomery spent three years at Cal as the Director of Basketball Operations before being promoted as an assistant coach from 2011-14. In his six seasons with the team, the program went to four NCAA Tournaments and two NITs. The 2009-10 Cal Bears team won the Pac-12 for the first time since 1960 and posted an overall mark of 130-73 during Montgomery's time on the sidelines. A guard himself at Loyola Marymount, Montgomery worked primarily with Cal's guards helping develop Pac-12 POY Allen Crabbe and all-conference honoree Justin Cobbs. After one of the more successful stints in recent history at Cal and one season on staff at San Francisco as the Director of Basketball Operations, Montgomery arrived in Hawaii. He has helped the program achieve 94 wins over the past five seasons averaging close to 19 wins per season. In his first season at UH in 2015-16, Montgomery helped the Rainbow Warriors win a school-record 28 games, claim both the Big West regular-season and tournament titles, and capture the program's first-ever win in the NCAA Tournament. He has helped recruit and/or develop all-conference honorees such as Aaron Valdez, Noah Allen, Zigmars Raimo, and Eddie Stansberry.

Harry Morra - Lehigh 

Morra just completed his fifth total season with the Mountain Hawks, a period of time that has been marked with success. Since his arrival, he has contributed to double digit conference wins in nearly every season, the Mountain Hawks have turned in two 20-win seasons, advanced to two Patriot League title games, and have appeared in one NCAA Tournament that was highlighted by a first round upset of Duke as the No. 15 seed. Morra has helped develop CJ McCollum (NBA All-Star), Tim Kempton (Patriot League POY), Lance Tejada (All-Patriot League), and Kahron Ross (All-Patriot League). Prior to Lehigh, Morra helped DeSales establish itself as one of the top 20 winningest programs in NCAA Division III, playing in the Elite Eight, Sweet 16 twice and Round of 32 three times. In Morra’s time at DeSales, the Bulldogs went 102-39. He helped lead DeSales to two Regular Season Championships, two Freedom Tournament Championships, along with three NCAA Tournament wins. Morra helped develop three 1,000 point scorers, two All-Americans, two Freedom MVPs and a National Rookie Team member.

Chris Mudge - Sam Houston State 

Mudge has helped steer Sam Houston State to one of the more consistent programs in the Southland the past ten seasons. The Bearkats have compiled a 197-138 (.588) overall record and a 116-65 (.641) conference record. The stretch in which the program has averaged nearly 20 wins a season has been among the most successful stretches in program history. The program has turned in five 20-win seasons and five postseason berths. In fact, The team's 149 wins since the start of the 2013-14 season is the most successful seven-year stretch. Prior to joining the Bearkats, Mudge served as an assistant at Midland JC for two seasons. He helped lead the program to a 63-7 record and back-to-back NJCAA national top-10 rankings. The team reached NJCAA Tournament finals in 2008-09 and the Elite 8 in 2009-10. Mudge got his start at the University of Texas under Rick Barnes as assistant video coordinator.

Jerry Nichols - Tennessee State 

It comes as no surprise that Nichols has been able to help re energize the Tennessee State program the last two seasons. Before a nine game turnaround, the Memphis native came to Tennessee State after compiling a 200-59 (.772) overall record in nine seasons as a junior college head coach at Motlow State from 2009-13 and at Southwest Tennessee from 2013-18. He won five Tennessee Community College Athletic Association Coach of the Year awards during that nine-year span. He helped guide the Motlow State program to a NJCAA Tournament berth in his final season with the program and did it again at Southwest Tennessee advancing to the NJCAA Elite Eight. His teams picked up multiple national rankings during this time. Nichols began his coaching career at Walters State CC as an assistant coach for one season before heading to Union College in Kentucky for two seasons. He also has experience coaching USA Basketball's U18 Junior National Team having coached them in the 2016 FIBA Americas U18 Championships in Chile.

Shane Nichols - Murray State 

Nichols has been a big part of the success at Murray State under Matt McMahon the past six seasons. Since arriving in 2015, Nichols has helped the racers have compiled a 110-51 (.683) overall record and a 65-21 (.756) conference record. However in the past three seasons, they have gone an astounding 77-20 (.794) and 47-7 (.870). The racers have won the regular season conference championship the past three years and have advanced to two NCAA Tournaments. They have had seven first team all-conference selections during those three years that Kaine has helped recruit and/or develop including All-America selection Ja Morant and Associated Press All-America Honorable Mention Jonathan Stark. Before coming to Murray, Nichols spent two seasons under Joe Mihalich at Hofstra from 2013-15. After just ten wins in the first season, he was able to help contribute to a huge turnaround winning 20 games in the second season. He also spent one season at Niagara under Mihalich after having plenty of success as an assistant coach at his alma mater, Wofford, under coach Mike Young. The Terriers advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2011. Nichols' brother, Darris, is an assistant at the University of Florida and is also considered one of the top assistants in the country.

Tyler Ojanen - Northern Arizona

Ojanen is among a number of different coaches around the country that are from the impressive St. Mary's pedigree. He got his start in Moraga, CA under Randy Bennett after one season as a Division II assistant at Cal State East Bay. In five years with the Gaels, he was able to contribute to 3 conference championships, while making 4 trips to the NCAA Tournament that was topped off by an appearance in the Sweet 16. Ojanen was able to help compile an impressive 135-35 (.794) overall record during this five-year stint. After his time in Moraga, Ojanen joined the San Jose State staff where he was able to help turnaround a program that won just two games in year one to a 14 wins in year three. The seven conference wins in Ojanen's third and final season were the most conference wins for the program in twenty years. After a short stint with West Coast Elite UAA coaching one of their top teams, Ojanen has already begun to help contribute to an improvement again in year one at Northern Arizona. After winning just ten games the previous season, the Lumberjacks were able to increase the win total to sixteen games this past year.

Chase Richardson - Jacksonville State

An Under Armour 30-Under-30 recipient by the NABC in 2016, Richardson has been able to showcase why he is considered one of the rising stars in the coaching ranks everywhere he has been.  After joining Ray Harper at Jacksonville State in his first season in 2016, Richardson was able to contribute to one of the most amazing turnarounds that year improving the teams win total by 12 games and advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history. The team finished 20-15 after going just 8-23 the previous season. It was their just their second 20-win season in the program's NCAA Division I era. The Gamecocks have been able to sustain that success as well. Richardson helped turn in two more 20-win seasons the following two years accumulating an overall record of 67-35 (.657) after going just 30-63 in the three years before his arrival. He was able to do the same for Harper at Western Kentucky.  Richardson was a part of 2008, 2009, 2013, and 2013 teams that won the Sun Belt Championships and appeared in the NCAA Tournament. Richardson got his start as a student manager for Harper at Western Kentucky.

Dan Rickard - Stony Brook 

Rickard is in his second stint with the Stony Brook program after serving as an assistant coach (8 seasons) and in a support staff role (3 seasons) under Steve Pikiell. During those eight seasons as an assistant coach, he was a part of a complete renaissance of the program. Stony Brook averaged 22.4 wins per season and won four America East regular season championships during that span. The team went an astounding 67-13 (.838) in conference play during the later five seasons. Rickard's last season was Stony Brook's finest as it captured the America East regular season championship and tournament title.  For the first time in Division I program history, the Seawolves advanced to the NCAA Tournament, where they faced Kentucky. As the team's offensive coordinator, the Seawolves had one of the most potent offenses in the league for numerous seasons and led the conference in scoring for the first time ever.  Rickard returned to Stony Brook in 2019-20 after one season at NYU. The Seawolves accumulated a 20-13 record in his first year back. He has helped recruit POY honoree Tommy Brenton and all-league selections like Bryan Dougher, Carson Puriefoy, and Anthony Jackson during his time.

John Rillie - UCSB 

The overhaul of the UC Santa Barbara program has been impressive with Rillie on the sidelines. After winning just 6 games in the year prior to his arrival, the Gauchos won 23 games in Rillie's first season and have compiled an overall record of 66-29 (.695) in three seasons and have yet to finish below second place in the conference. He came to the ocean cliffs of Santa Barbara after spending seven seasons under Leon Rice at Boise State. In that span, Rillie helped guide the Broncos to six 20-win seasons, to a new school record for wins in a season, one Mountain West regular season championship, one National Invitational Tournament, and two NCAA Tournaments. Rillie's biggest recruit and perhaps the program's best recruit of all-time was Australian Anthony Drmic who finished as the program's second all-time leading scorer. Rillie, an Australian native himself, coached in Australia before coming to Boise State. Rillie played collegiately at Gonzaga helping lead the program to its first-ever NCAA Tournament. He also spent 16 years playing professional basketball internationally.

Dan Russell - Montana State

Prior to Russell's successful first year at Montana State, he served as the head coach at Casper College for six seasons. In his last season with the program, he led the team to one of their best years in program history going 32-3, winning a NJCAA Region IX Championship, and making an appearance in the NJCAA National Tournament. In his six seasons in Casper, Wyoming, Russell was able to raise the program to new heights going 145-52 (.736). Russell spent five seasons as an assistant with Casper before  taking over as one of the youngest head coaches in the country at the age of 27. Casper College won over 20 games every year Russell led the program. His teams made appearances in the Region IX tournament six straight seasons and advanced to two regional championship games. 

Matt Scherbenske - Central Arkansas

Recognized as one of the top up and coming coaches in the country, Matt Scherbenske has helped resurrect a Central Arkansas program that was riddled with probation and only two wins in 2015 to the school’s first ever postseason berth as a Division 1 program. After finishing his prep career playing under Hall of Fame Coach Steve Smith at Oak Hill Academy, Scherbenske played collegiately at both Oral Roberts University and the University of Kentucky. Upon graduation, Scherbenske worked for world renowned trainer Tim Grover, and was the Head Coach at Christ Prep Academy in Overland Park, Kansas, leading the school to the regional championship.  He then coached for the KC Run GMC AAU program, was on staff under Hall of Fame Coach Mike Montgomery at the University of California, Berkeley, and was the Director of Basketball Operations at the Citadel before being hired at Central Arkansas.  After helping secure some of the top recruiting classes in the conference, Coach Scherbenske was named the 57th Best Recruiter in the NCAA according to 24/7 Sports. Scherbenske developed five all conference players, including the 2018 Southland Conference POY, Jordan Howard, after ranking third amongst all players in Division I that year in scoring and becoming the school's all-time leading scorer. After these accomplishments, Coach Scherbenske was recently named the Associate Head Basketball Coach for the University of Central Arkansas.

Mike Scott - Cal State Bakersfield 

Scott is one of a select group of coaches that can say that they have been at multiple different levels and had success while doing so. The Philadelphia native got his start at Wayland Baptist University, a NAIA in Plainview, TX, for two seasons. The Pioneers swept the conference for the first time in school history earning a No. 10 national ranking while advancing to the NAIA National Tournament. The 2014 season resulted in much of the same story for the team as they were able to win another regular season conference championship going 50-17 (.746) in the two-year span before his departure to the NCAA Division II level at Texas A&M International. His success continued at Texas A&M recruiting two all-conference players that were able to contribute to a Heartland Conference Championship that year. In 2015, Scott took a job at Paris Junior College where he was able to recruit two NJCAA All-Region 14 players that helped the team improve their win total. After a brief stint with Oklahoma as a graduate assistant under Lon Kruger, he accepted a job with Cal State Bakersfield where he has been the last three seasons. Known as a recruiter, he has been able to recruit and/or develop 14 players that have gone on to win awards.

Chris Skinkis - Portland State

Skinkis wears his relentless journey on his sleeve with the way he goes about recruiting and the will to take the programs he has worked for to new heights. One of a select group of coaches that can say that they have gone from DIII, DII, JUCO, to DI, Skinkis comes to Portland State after two years at North Carolina Central under Levelle Moton. In his time in Durham, NC, the Eagles were able to win a MEAC regular season conference title going 16-0 in conference play en route to a NIT appearance in his first season. The program has since gone on to win many games and solidify themselves as one of the powers in the MEAC conference. Prior to his time at North Carolina Central, he spent three years at Indian Hills where he was able to bring in three recruiting classes that produced 23 Division I players, including a former McDonald's All-American in Jelan Kendrick. Due to his efforts and the ability to develop those players, Indian Hills compiled an astounding 93-11 (.894) overall record, which was highlighted by a No. 1 overall ranking in each season and a runner-up finish in the NJCAA National Tournament in 2014. His success in junior college continued at Utah Eastern where he was able to put his fingerprints on a 22-8 season prior to his arrival at Indian Hills. Skinkis got his start in DII and DIII basketball at Lewis and St. Norbert College helping each team improve their win totals each year. With no finish below 4th place so far in the Big Sky and with six DI transfers coming in next year, Portland State will continue to look to capitalize with Skinkis on the sidelines.

Brad Soucie - Liberty 

Soucie has been able to turn Liberty into one of the low major powers in the past five years. After just 13 wins in his first season on the sidelines for the Flames, Liberty has increased their win total every season and just recently completed a 30-4 season, a program record for wins. They have compiled a 117-58 (.667) overall record during that time securing two regular season championships and two NCAA Tournaments. It's Soucie's second stint with the program having served the 2007-09 seasons as an assistant coach and again improving the win total from 16 games in year one to 23 games in year two. Soucie comes to Liberty via the University of Virginia where he served as the Director of Player Development. Following an ACC Championship in 2014, the Cavaliers were the No. 1 seed in the East Region and advanced to the Sweet 16. The Cavaliers spent seven weeks ranked as the No. 2 team in the country during the 2014-15 season, finishing the year with a 30-4 overall record and a 16-2 mark in ACC play.  Soucie has over 22 years of experience in the Division I ranks having made stops at Portland State, Colorado State, Oregon State, and New Mexico.

Ben Tucker - UCSB

Tucker has been a part of a resurgence at UCSB that has led to three straight second place finishes in the Big West Conference. The turnaround and sustained success so far has impressed college basketball experts. The 17 game turnaround from the year prior to Tucker's arrival to winning 23 games in his first year on the staff ranks as one of the best in college basketball in recent years. The Gauchos have compiled a 66-29 (.695) record in those three seasons. Prior to his arrival on the ocean cliffs of Santa Barbara, Tucker spent one season as an assistant at Northern Arizona after serving two years as an assistant director of basketball operations at his alma mater, the University of Arizona. Upon graduation at U of A, Tucker spent two seasons at Walsh University compiling a 44-13 (.772) overall record while making a transition from NAIA to NCAA Division II before heading home to his home state of Idaho. He assisted current Santa Clara coach Scott Garson for one season at College of Idaho where he helped guide the program to a 2014 NAIA National Tournament berth.

Will Veasley - UIC

Veasley comes to UIC after serving the last four seasons under David Richman at North Dakota State. He was able to improve the Bison's win total in each of his last three seasons going 15-17 in his second year, winning the conference tournament championship in his third year, and winning both the Summit League regular season and conference tournament championships in his fourth and final year. Veasley was able to develop and recruit three players that would go on to earn first team All-Summit League honors during the 2020 season. Before North Dakota State, Veasley served under Dan Muller at Illinois State in a support staff role from 2013-16. The team advanced to the NIT Tournament in 2015 after a 22-13 season. Veasley's career has also been marked by success as a player. He remains as the all-time winningest player in Butler history and was a starter on the Bulldogs' 2010 national runner-up team under Brad Stevens. He also helped the Bulldogs make four consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances and Butler was able to win the Horizon League each of those four years. With an impressive recruiting class already coming in to UIC before his first season on the sidelines with the program, the Flames will likely be a team to watch down the road.

Ben Walker - Tennessee State 

Walker has had success everywhere he has been. He came to Tennessee State after two seasons at South Dakota State where he was able to contribute to back-to-back NCAA Tournaments, 2017-18 Summit League regular season championship, and a 46-24 overall record. He was also instrumental in the development of Mike Daum, a two-time Summit League Player of the Year selection and Associated Press All-American. Before South Dakota State, he was able to contribute to an impressive 20-win season at Jackson State earning a trip to the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament. Walker got his start in coaching at Des Moines Area CC and Butler CC. He helped both programs win multiple conference titles and make multiple NJCAA National Tournament appearances. Walker was a four-year starter at Creighton and helped the team reach the NCAA Tournament the last three seasons. He was inducted into the Creighton Hall of Fame in 2010. So far, it looks like he will continue to trend toward success with Tennessee State as well as the Tigers were able to win 18 games his second year on staff after winning just 9 games in his first year.

Joe White - Idaho State 

Known as one of the biggest hustlers on the west coast on the recruiting road, White has an impressive and quick journey to the Division I ranks after four years as an assistant and one year as a head coach at the junior college ranks of the NWAC. In the year prior to arriving at Idaho State, he was able to attract talent to the northwest in a large way that contributed to a 27-4 overall record, a Southern Region Championship, and a 3rd place overall finish as the head coach for Lane. The impressive climb came one year after White joined the Titans as an assistant and turned in just 12 wins. White was able to contribute to a similar journey at Tacoma Community College where he was able to turn a 9-win team to a NWAC Runner-Up team in three seasons. In his five years in the NWAC, White was responsible for recruiting one MVP, one DPOY, and a total of eight all-conference players. White, who we believe is one of the rising stars in the business, will look to capitalize on this same trend at Idaho State.

Donovan Williams - Longwood 

Williams brings a coaching resume to Longwood that spans more than a decade and includes trips to the NCAA Tournament with Georgia Tech and Lafayette, a Patriot League Championship, and 20-win seasons with three different programs. His most recent stop came at Cornell where he helped engineer a resurgence that earned the Big Red a trip to the College Insider Tournament this past season. Williams got his start as a graduate assistant at Georgia Tech where he was a part of a team that flipped from winning just 12 games in his first year to 23 games in his second year, including a NCAA Tournament appearance. Williams was able to secure a job as an assistant coach after his stint with Georgia Tech and contributed to another turnaround helping the Lafayette program go from 13 wins into a NCAA Tournament team and Patriot League Champion in his five years on the sidelines. Additionally, the Lafayette program was able to advance to the conference tournament championship game an additional two times. A big part of this, were the three All-Patriot League first-teamers as well as an all-rookie selection he helped recruit and/or develop during this time. After a short and successful stint at Princeton that included one NIT appearance, Williams also helped Cornell experience success after sluggish performances in the Ivy League Conferences in recent years. After winning just ten games in his first season with the program, Cornell was able to earn a postseason appearance in his third and final season due in part to the development of Ivy League scoring leader and first-team selection Matt Morgan