Mid-Major Rankings: Best Mid-Major Basketball Coaches In 2024

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

Russell Turner, UC Irvine

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. 

James Jones, Yale

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. 

Ben Jacobson, Northern Iowa

The Missouri Valley has changed a lot over the past 20 years, but Jacobson’s role at UNI hasn’t. The Panthers have posted nine 20-win seasons under Jacobson’s leadership, with the program hitting high-water marks with 30-win seasons (and NCAA Tournament wins) in 2010 and 2015. 

Bryce Drew, Grand Canyon

While few would argue the Vanderbilt stint ended well, Drew bookended it with five seasons at Valparaiso and four seasons at Grand Canyon. During those nine seasons, Drew’s teams made the NCAA Tournament five times. Grand Canyon upset Saint Mary’s in the 2024 NCAA Tournament.

Randy Bennett, Saint Mary’s

While Bennett hasn’t been at Saint Mary’s as long as a certain other WCC coach, he has evolved the Gaels into a legitimate top-50 program over the past 22 seasons. That includes 10 NCAA Tournament appearances, six tournament wins, and one Sweet 16 trip.

Eric Henderson, South Dakota State

Henderson has turned South Dakota State into the clear star of the Summit League since arriving at Brookings in 2019. The Jackrabbits have four regular-season titles, two tournament titles, and a 69% winning percentage over that time frame. The ‘22 team set a new school record with 30 wins.

Tod Kowalczyk, Toledo

The MAC has become a very tough men’s basketball conference, yet Kowalczyk has led Toledo to four straight first-place finishes and six in the last seven seasons. Has won more than 62% of his games. 

John Becker, Vermont

Becker is an institution in Burlington who has won 72% of his games and been on staff since 2006. He’s on a run of eight straight first-place finishes in the America East conference and has five NCAA Tournament appearances since 2017.

Tommy Amaker, Harvard

Amaker is a Coach K disciple who led Seton Hall and Michigan before settling at Harvard in 2007. He finished either first or second in the Ivy League eight times from 2011-19. The Crimson peaked with four straight tournaments from 2012-15 that included two trips to the Round of 32.

Mitch Henderson, Princeton

It’s tough to claim any Ivy League coach could be better than Amaker, but Henderson has 11 top-3 finishes in the Ancient Eight during 12 seasons at Princeton. He scored NCAA bids in 2017 and 2023, the latter of which spawned a Sweet 16 appearance. 

Mark Few, Gonzaga

Mark Few is such a good coach that many people will read this and think he & Gonzaga should be ineligible for such a list. 

In reality, Gonzaga is a small(ish) private school with less than 5,000 undergraduate students, in a classic mid-major conference, in the northwestern corner of the United States. The Bulldogs have grown into a major power precisely because of Few’s prowess and staying power.