Feb 4, 2026, 08:45 AM ET
Trying to assess the men's college basketball Coach of the Year race is more difficult than ever.
In the pre-transfer portal era, we would compare preseason rankings to current ones, figure out which teams overachieved most and then identify our candidates. But with so many rosters changing dramatically from year to year, preseason rankings are much less predictive than in past decades.
And how do we factor in the talent, or lack thereof, on a team's roster? In the NIL and portal era, the line between head coach and general manager is blurry and different for every team. Is it a boost for a coach to overachieve with middling talent? Or should he be dinged for assembling an average roster in the first place?
ESPN college basketball reporters Jeff Borzello and Myron Medcalf attempted to answer all these questions. They each submitted their top 10 candidates for 2025-26 Coach of the Year, then debated until they reached a consensus top 12 -- with a few honorable mentions -- heading into the final stretch of the season.
1. Tommy Lloyd, Arizona
Lloyd has guided Arizona to a top-four seed in the NCAA tournament in each of his four seasons in Tucson, including a 1-seed in 2022. Now he has his best roster since taking over. One of the final two unbeatens of the season, the Wildcats' 22-0 record includes wins away from home over UConn, BYU, Florida and Alabama. Arizona lost five of its top eight players from last season, including leading scorer Caleb Love and NBA draft lottery pick Carter Bryant, but are on an eight-week run at No. 1 in the AP poll after debuting at No. 13 in the preseason. -- Jeff Borzello
2. Fred Hoiberg, Nebraska
After finishing 7-13 in the Big Ten last season, Nebraska's athletic director had to release a statement to temper hot-seat talk around Hoiberg. Now Hoiberg is authoring one of the greatest turnarounds in Division I basketball history, coaching his team to a program-record 20-game winning streak to open the season. The Cornhuskers could capture their first conference title since 1950 with Rienk Mast, who missed last season due to injury, and Iowa transfer Pryce Sandfort leading a top-25 offense. -- Myron Medcalf
3. Mark Byington, Vanderbilt
Byington did a terrific job in Year 1, turning a program that won four SEC games under Jerry Stackhouse in 2023-24 into an NCAA tournament team in 2024-25. He's doing an even better job in Year 2. Vanderbilt opened the season with 16 straight wins, with a marquee victory over Alabama to go with defeats against likely NCAA tournament teams SMU, Saint Mary's and UCF. The Commodores were picked to finish 11th in the SEC preseason poll but are a locked-in top-25 team and would be a top-four seed if the season ended today. -- Borzello
4. Dusty May, Michigan
May was a Coach of the Year candidate last season, when he guided Michigan to a 19-win improvement in his first season in Ann Arbor, leading the Wolverines to the Sweet 16 a year after finishing 8-24. This season, he has a legitimate national championship contender despite losing three starters year over year. They put together a dominant nonconference run, including a string of three wins by a combined 110 points over San Diego State, Auburn and Gonzaga en route to the Players Era championship during Feast Week. And the Wolverines have been ranked in the top five of the AP poll since December. -- Borzello
5. Bill Self, Kansas
Self has earned these honors only two times in his 33-year coaching career. He's worthy of consideration again this season given the turbulence he's had to endure. Yes, he has Darryn Peterson, the projected No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA draft. But Peterson has missed 10 games and has failed to play more than 25 minutes in five others due to injuries. That has forced Self to manage a day-to-day unpredictability none of his competitors on this list have endured. Even with the uncertainty, Kansas entered the week with a top-25 offense and defense and a third-place standing in one of the strongest conferences. -- Medcalf
6. Brad Underwood, Illinois
Underwood's roster was decimated this past offseason: He lost two players to the 2025 NBA draft while four others transferred to programs they are now averaging double figures for. But he rebooted with a new group led by Keaton Wagler -- a former four-star recruit turned projected first-round NBA draft pick -- and has shepherded Illinois to wins over Purdue and Nebraska without star guard Kylan Boswell (14.3 points per game). Underwood's team also leads the nation in adjusted offensive efficiency, per BartTorvik. -- Medcalf
7. TJ Otzelberger, Iowa State
Otzelberger has Iowa State trending toward its third straight top-three NCAA tournament seed despite losing three starters, including the top two scorers, from last season. The Cyclones have gone from No. 16 in the AP preseason poll to No. 5 in this week's edition as bona fide Final Four and Big 12 title contenders. With one of the season's best wins -- a 23-point victory at Purdue in early December -- Iowa State once again has one of college basketball's elite defenses and the best offense of the Otzelberger era. -- Borzello
8. Tom Izzo, Michigan State
Izzo is worthy of a spot on this list most seasons. He's here now because he didn't raid the portal to reset after a 30-win Michigan State team lost its top three scorers after last season. Instead, he chose to develop the remaining players from that Elite Eight squad -- without any former five-star recruits -- in what has been one of his most impressive coaching jobs. Jeremy Fears Jr. (8.8 assists per game) is a top-five point guard nationally. Coen Carr has gone from 50th to 11th in defensive efficiency in the Big Ten year over year, per Evan Miya. Jaxon Kohler is a strong All-Big Ten candidate. And Carson Cooper has doubled his scoring average from last season. -- Medcalf
9. Travis Steele, Miami (Ohio)
As the coach of one of the final two unbeatens, Steele deserves a spot on this list. Miami (Ohio) wasn't even picked to win the Mid-American Conference entering the season, with Akron earning 11 of the 13 first-place votes (Miami had the other two). But the RedHawks started the season with 23 straight wins, and while none would be classified as marquee, victories away from home over the likes of Wright State, Bowling Green, Kent State and Toledo are not insignificant. They also beat preseason favorite Akron. Steele, who has steadily improved the program in each of his four seasons at Miami, has the it ranked for the first time since 1999 and off to the best start in program history. -- Borzello
10. Jon Scheyer, Duke
In a landscape of older and more experienced players, Scheyer continues to win with young teams. This year, his team is led by freshman Cameron Boozer, a front-runner for National Player of the Year, and other early career standouts. The Blue Devils have one loss (82-81 to Texas Tech on Dec. 20), and marquee wins over Kansas, Arkansas, Michigan State, Florida and Louisville (twice). They're also top five in adjusted offensive and defensive efficiency. Even more impressive? The average Division I experience of the other nine rosters in KenPom's top 10 is 1.98 years; Duke's is just 0.88, 309th out of 365 teams. -- Medcalf
11. Bucky McMillan, Texas A&M
Could Bucky Ball translate to the SEC? The answer has been a resounding yes so far. Texas A&M, which was picked 13th in the SEC preseason poll, sits atop the conference standings at 7-1 with only two losses since Nov. 14 -- both of which came in overtime. McMillan is in his first season in College Station after five years at Samford, and he's brought his distinctive brand of basketball -- fast-paced, lots of 3-pointers, suffocating pressure defense -- with him. Despite returning zero players from the Aggies' rotation last season, he has the squad on track for the NCAA tournament and in contention for an SEC title. -- Borzello
12. Josh Schertz, Saint Louis
Schertz turned Lincoln Memorial in Harrogate, Tennessee, into a Division II powerhouse, then launched a turnaround during his three years at Indiana State. Now, he has rebuilt Saint Louis, an effort that warrants a place in this conversation. If the sport had an executive of the year award, he would be a candidate for that, too. Schertz tapped the portal for Trey Green (Xavier), Brady Dunlap (St. John's) and Ishan Sharma (Virginia), each of whom has made more than 40% of their 3-point attempts this season. Those additions, along with the growth of Robbie Avila and Dion Brown, have turned the Billikens into one of the best teams in America (40th in adjusted offensive efficiency and 20th in adjusted defensive efficiency). -- Medcalf
Three that just missed the cut
Johnny Dawkins, UCF
Brad Brownell, Clemson
Ryan Odom, Virginia
