When CBS Sports debuted the annual Top 25 And 1 coach rankings prior to the 2022-23 season, UConn coach Dan Hurley was still finding his footing in the sport’s upper echelon. He was four years into his tenure with the Huskies and had yet to win a Big East title or an NCAA Tournament game.
His college coaching trophy cabinet consisted of a 2017 Atlantic 10 Tournament title and a 2018 A-10 regular-season title at Rhode Island but not much else. As a result, he finished on the outside looking in at the coach rankings, which are filled each year with the sport’s most accomplished leaders.
What a difference two seasons can make.
When Hurley broke through, he broke through in a seismic, sport-altering way. As a result, he is now the dean of college basketball coaches. Hurley usurped Bill Self of Kansas, No. 1 in last year’s rankings, for the top spot in the 2024-25 CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 coach rankings.
With consecutive national titles to his credit, Hurley has also surged past the likes of Scott Drew, Mark Few, Kelvin Sampson and Tom Izzo, all legends in their own right.
Hurley’s rapid ascension also illustrates how the coaching ranks have thinned in recent years. When Virginia’s Tony Bennett announced his retirement three weeks prior to the season, he joined other national-title winning coaches such as Mike Krzyzewski, Roy Williams, Jay Wright and Jim Boeheim who have called it quits in recent years.
The departure of the sport’s old guard has opened the door for a new generation of star coaches. That’s reflected in this year’s Top 25 and 1 coaches with names such as Alabama’s Nate Oats, Duke’s Jon Scheyer and Iowa State’s TJ Otzelberger on the rise.
Here is the collective ranking of the Top 25 and 1 college basketball coaches as the new season gets underway.
Top 25 And 1 college basketball coaches
Rankings determined by voting from CBS Sports’ Gary Parrish, Matt Norlander, Kyle Boone, David Cobb, Cameron Salerno, Adam Finkelstein and Isaac Trotter.
1. Dan Hurley, UConn
Hurley is riding a wave of rocket fuel. After finishing outside the Top 25 And 1 ranking in 2022, he leapt to No. 7 in 2023 following his first national title. Now, he’s passed every other coach in the sport after leading UConn to consecutive national championships and turning down an opportunity to coach the Los Angeles Lakers. (Last year: 7)
2. Bill Self, Kansas
Kansas has been bounced in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in consecutive seasons following its 2022 national title. But if you think there are cracks forming in KU’s foundation, think again. Self has restocked his 2024-25 roster with improved depth and has an elite group of potential starters who should ensure that KU has a chance to earn Self his third national title. (1)
3. Kelvin Sampson, Houston
Sampson made Houston’s transition from the AAC to the Big 12 look easy, as he guided the Cougars to the league’s regular season title during their first season in the conference. It was merely the latest impressive accomplishment in the 69-year-old’s remarkable coaching journey. The only thing missing from Sampson’s resume is a national title, and his 2024-25 squad appears to have the ingredients needed to compete for one. (3)
4. Scott Drew, Baylor
The fact that a 24-11 (11-7 Big 12) season and second round NCAA Tournament appearance felt like a “down” year is the ultimate testament to what Drew has done at Baylor as he enters Year 22 on the job. Baylor was desolate upon his arrival and has become one of the nation’s premier programs. The Bears should be at or near the top of the Big 12 yet again in 2024-25. (5)
5. Nate Oats, Alabama
Oats cemented his place as one of the rising stars in basketball coaching as he guided Alabama to its first-ever Final Four appearance last season. The Crimson Tide have been to the Sweet 16 in three of the last four seasons and aren’t going away anytime soon as Oats continues to attract top-tier talent. (19)
6. Matt Painter, Purdue
Painter led Purdue to its first Final Four appearance since 1980 last season as the Boilermakers reached the Final Four in star center Zach Edey’s final year. The post-Edey era will force Purdue to adjust, but Painter is up to the task. He’s led the Boilermakers to 15 NCAA Tournament appearances in 19 seasons on the job. (10)
7. Mark Few, Gonzaga
Gonzaga’s case for an NCAA Tournament bid looked shaky early in WCC play last season. But Few rallied his troops and led the Zags to their ninth straight Sweet 16, which is the longest active streak in college basketball. He is one of the all-time great program builders and has another squad capable of making a deep run in the Big Dance. (4)
8. Tom Izzo, Michigan State
Izzo vowed after Michigan State’s second-round loss to North Carolina in the 2024 NCAA Tournament that he will take the Spartans on another deep run or that, “I’m going to die trying.” Entering his 31st season, Izzo knows better than any of his peers what it takes to succeed in March. He’s made eight Final Four appearances, which is the most among active coaches. (2)
9. Rick Pitino, St. John’s
Pitino’s seven Final Four appearances are second only to Izzo among active coaches. He led St. John’s to the doorstep of the NCAA Tournament last season in his first year on the job and now has the roster to break through and reach the Big Dance. Though he’s 72, Pitino seems to have more than enough vigor to tackle the challenges of an evolving sport. (9)
10. John Calipari, Arkansas
Calipari is third behind Izzo and Pitino in most Final Four appearances by an active coach with six. He is in a race with Pitino to see who can become the first coach to ever lead four programs to a Final Four. His first team at Arkansas certainly has the talent to make a run, but Calipari’s coaching acumen will be tested in an SEC that should be deep as ever. (8)
11. Bruce Pearl, Auburn
Pearl won his second SEC Tournament title with Auburn last season as he guided the Tigers to a 27-8 (13-5 SEC) season. Though a first-round NCAA Tournament loss to Yale made for a disappointing end, it was yet another strong season for a program that was lifeless prior to his arrival. Now entering his 11th season, Pearl has the Tigers poised for SEC title contention yet again. (13)
12. Tommy Lloyd, Arizona
Lloyd has breathed fresh life into Arizona during his three seasons after spending more than two decades as Mark Few’s right-hand man at Gonzaga. He’s already guided the Wildcats to two Pac-12 titles and two Pac-12 Tournament championships. Under Lloyd’s direction, the program is poised to be an immediate threat as it transitions to the Big 12. (14)
13. Rick Barnes, Tennessee
Tennessee has been a No. 5 seed or better in six straight NCAA Tournaments under Barnes, who just led the Volunteers to their second-ever Elite Eight appearance. Now entering Year 10 on the job, Barnes is showing no signs of slowing down. The 70-year-old former Texas coach has Tennessee operating as a consistent winner in the SEC’s increasingly crowded upper tier. (20)
14. Shaka Smart, Marquette
Smart has established Marquette as a model of stability in the portal era, managing to keep his teams intact from season to season in a way that’s virtually unprecedented elsewhere in the country. He’s posted a 75-30 mark in three seasons with the Golden Eagles while guiding them to three straight NCAA Tournaments. (16)
15. Greg McDermott, Creighton
McDermott has found his stride at Creighton, leading the Bluejays to three Sweet 16 appearances in the last four seasons. As he enters his 15th season on the job, his program is operating firmly in the upper echelon of a competitive Big East. With star center Ryan Kalkbrenner back for his fifth season, Creighton should again be positioned for a deep March run. (17)
16. TJ Otzelberger, Iowa State
Otzelberger inherited an Iowa State program that went 2-22 in the 2020-21 season and has taken it to three straight NCAA Tournament appearances, including a pair of Sweet 16s. The Cyclones have been lethal defensively under his direction and are returning their top four scorers from a team that reached the doorstep of the Elite Eight. (N/A)
17. Jon Scheyer, Duke
Duke has posted 27-9 records in each of Scheyer’s first two seasons and made postseason strides last season by reaching the Elite Eight. He’s cemented the Blue Devils as the premier destination for blue-chip prospects and has a supremely talented 2024-25 team headlined by No. 1 overall prospect Cooper Flagg. (N/A)
18. Brad Underwood, Illinois
Underwood led Illinois to the Elite Eight last season, which was the Illini’s deepest plunge in the Big Dance since reaching the 2005 national title game. He’s also guided Illinois to four straight NCAA Tournament appearances for the first time since the tenures of Bill Self and Bruce Weber in the early 2000s. (N/A)
19. Mick Cronin, UCLA
Cronin led UCLA to three straight Sweet 16s and the 2021 national title game before a 16-17 season in 2023-24. Don’t count on the former longtime Cincinnati coach having back-to-back down years. Even amid the transition to the Big Ten, Cronin appears to have the right mix of returning talent and transfers required to get the Bruins dancing again. (11)
20. Randy Bennett, Saint Mary’s
Bennett is entering his 24th season at Saint Mary’s and has the Gaels operating at a higher level than ever before. He’s guided the program to a No. 5 seed in three straight NCAA Tournaments and continues to go toe-to-toe with Gonzaga for WCC supremacy. The Gaels won the league outright last season after sharing the title in 2023. (15)
21. Brian Dutcher, San Diego State
San Diego State followed up its appearance in the 2023 national title game by reaching the Sweet 16 last season. The Aztecs have made the NCAA Tournament four straight years under Dutcher’s direction. He’s never won fewer than 21 games in his seven seasons and owns a 91-30 mark in the burgeoning Mountain West. (24)
22. Hubert Davis, North Carolina
North Carolina won the ACC outright by two games in 2024, marking Davis’ first league title in three seasons on the job. With All-American guard RJ Davis back for a fifth season, the Tar Heels are poised to challenge for league supremacy again. Succeeding a legend like Roy Williams is a tall task, but Davis is handling it with a deft touch. (N/A)
23. Eric Musselman, USC
After three straight trips to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament, Arkansas bottomed out in Musselman’s fifth and final season. Now at USC, the fiery and well-traveled former Golden State Warriors coach is tasked with elevating a USC program that is transitioning to the Big Ten. Given the success he had with the Razorbacks and at Nevada, he should be up for the task. (12)
24. Sean Miller, Xavier
Miller’s second stint at Xavier hit a Year 2 snag as the Musketeers missed the NCAA Tournament last season with a 16-18 record. But Miller’s track record speaks for itself. In the 10-season span between 2008 and 2017, Miller’s teams at Xavier and Arizona reached the second weekend of the Big Dance seven times. (21)
25. Dusty May, Michigan
After performing the herculean task of making FAU into a basketball brand, May is on to Michigan to replace Juwan Howard. He’s assembled a competitive roster for his first season on the job but will nonetheless be challenged by the rigors of a deep conference. We’ll soon find out if May merely found lightning in a bottle with the Owls or whether he’s one of the elite coaches of his generation. (N/A)
And 1: Chris Beard, Ole Miss
Beard’s first team at Ole Miss ran out of gas in the season’s second half and missed the NCAA Tournament with a 20-12 record. But he’s got a strong track record of quickly turning programs around, and the signs of progress were evident with the Rebels. His second team should be improved enough to go dancing. (26)
College basketball rankings: CBS Sports Top 100 And 1 best teams for the 2024-25 season
Matt Norlander
