UConn may have been dethroned from atop college basketball last season, but Dan Hurley hasn’t lost his spot as the game’s top coach. For the second preseason in a row, Hurley was voted No. 1 in the sport by a panel of CBS Sports writers. He is one of three two-time national champions in this year’s edition of college basketball’s Top 25 And 1 Coaches. The others are No. 3 Rick Pitino of St. John’s and No. 4 Bill Self of Kansas.
While the rankings are mostly inhabited by well-established coaching veterans who have spent years – many of them decades – building their reputations, this year’s ranking also includes some new faces who are relatively new to the high-major scene. Most notably, Florida’s Todd Golden has surged from unranked to No. 7 after leading the Gators to a national championship.
Kentucky’s Mark Pope, Louisville’s Pat Kelsey and first-year Iowa coach Ben McCollum are also making their first appearances in the ranking of college basketball’s top coaches. Among the biggest risers this year are Michigan’s Dusty May, whose reputation continues to rise following a successful debut campaign at Michigan. Duke’s Jon Scheyer is up several spots, too, after guiding the Blue Devils to the Final Four in his third season.
College basketball rankings: The Top 100 and 1 Players entering the 2025-26 season
Kyle Boone
At 38, Scheyer is the youngest coach on the list, edging the 40-year old Golden.
Here is our panel’s collective ranking of the Top 25 and 1 college basketball coaches as the new season gets underway.
Rankings determined by voting from CBS Sports’ Gary Parrish, Matt Norlander, Kyle Boone, David Cobb, Cameron Salerno and Isaac Trotter.
1. Dan Hurley, UConn
UConn’s bid for a three-peat ended against Florida in the second round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament with a dramatic 77-75 loss. Had the Huskies met anyone else that day, their March dominance under Hurley may have continued. Entering his eighth season at UConn, he has guided the program back from the abyss to its rightful status as a perennial power. You may not love his antics and outbursts, but Hurley is unabashedly authentic and undeniably a winner who has mastered both roster construction and in-game schematics. (Last year: 1)
2. Kelvin Sampson, Houston
The only thing missing from Sampson’s resume is a national championship, and he came agonizingly close to winning one last season. Regardless, the build he’s performed at Houston is one of the best coaching jobs in college basketball history. At 70, Sampson remains at the top of his game. There is no program in the sport with a more clearly defined identity than the Cougars, and that’s all thanks to Sampson. (3)
3. Rick Pitino, St. John’s
Pitino led St. John’s to its first outright conference title in 40 years last season and added the program’s first Big East Tournament crown since 1992 for good measure. Even if you forget what he’s accomplished over the past 50 years, which includes national titles at Kentucky and Louisville, he’s a top-tier coach in the here and now. After flaming out in the second round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament, Pitino has reloaded with eyes on a deeper run in 2026. (9)
4. Bill Self, Kansas
Self is a two-time national champion and 16-time winner of the Big 12. Yet, there’s a sense that he’s still out to prove something this season. The Jayhawks have suffered 10+ losses in back-to-back years for the first time since he took over in 2003 and haven’t been past the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament since winning the national championship in 2022. But with No. 1 overall prospect Darryn Peterson in the fold, Self has a chance to reach the peak again in 2025-26. (2)
5. Matt Painter, Purdue
Purdue has had two coaches since Jimmy Carter left office: Gene Keady and his understudy, Matt Painter, who has completed 20 years of service to the Boilermakers. In that time, Painter has guided the program to its first Final Four since 1969, won five Big Ten regular season titles (plus two more conference tournaments) and been named Big Ten Coach of the Year five times. At 55, there is still plenty of time for Painter to add to what’s already a Hall of Fame caliber career. (6)
Oats has turned the unfathomable into the expected at Alabama by reaching the Sweet 16 or beyond in four of the past five seasons. Prior to his arrival in 2019, the Crimson Tide hadn’t been past the first weekend of the Big Dance since 2004. His commitment to an up-tempo style predicated on outside shooting has fostered change throughout college basketball and made Bama an attractive destination to top-tier prospects and transfers. (5)
7. Todd Golden, Florida
Golden became the youngest coach to win the national championship since Jim Valvano in 1983 when he led Florida to the mountaintop last season. He just turned 40 in July and could be one of the faces of college basketball for an entire generation to come. With their frontcourt back fully intact and a couple of high-end guards entering via the portal, the Gators are well-positioned to compete for national supremacy again in 2025-26. (N/A)
8. Tom Izzo, Michigan State
Izzo’s list of accomplishments is almost unfathomable, as he’s reached 27 consecutive NCAA Tournaments and eight Final Fours. Last season, he added an 11th Big Ten regular-season title to his resume as the Spartans ran away with the league by three games. He was an easy pick for Big Ten Coach of the Year and is showing no signs of slowing down. Now 70, Izzo uses the transfer portal more selectively than almost anyone in the sport and yet continues to thrive. (8)
Gonzaga’s remarkable run of nine consecutive Sweet 16s ended last year with a valiant effort in a second round NCAA Tournament loss to Houston. But Few’s streak of 25 straight appearances in the Big Dance is set to continue for as long as he wants to coach. This year will mark his last as the dean of the WCC, as the Zags are set to move into the re-formed Pac-12 in 2026-27. (7)
10. Scott Drew, Baylor
It’s easy to get caught up in the fact that Baylor has been eliminated in the second round of the NCAA Tournament for four straight years since winning the 2021 national championship. But don’t ever lose perspective on what Drew has done for the Bears. He inherited a program with no history that was mired in losing and scandal and built it into one of the nation’s best. (4)
11. Jon Scheyer, Duke
Duke’s Final Four choke against Houston will probably haunt Scheyer, but it doesn’t cancel out the growth he showed in his third season. Scheyer — still just 38 as he enters Year 4 — assembled a roster tailor-made to his desired specifications and turned it into one of the most dominant teams in Blue Devils history. The ultimate breakthrough still awaits, but Scheyer has proven he is a worthy successor to Mike Krzyzewski. (17)
12. Dusty May, Michigan
The architect of one of the most unlikely Final Four runs of all time with FAU in 2023 proved last season that he can handle the pressure of running a big brand. May transformed Michigan from an 8-24 team to a 27-10 team in his first season, guiding the Wolverines to a Sweet 16. It was a season of validation for May, who is poised to contend for a Big Ten title this season with a talented roster that again features an eclectic combination of bigs. (25)
Barnes is coming off a second straight Elite appearance and third consecutive second weekend appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Now, his task is to build another SEC title contender with an overhauled roster highlighted by Tennessee’s highest-ranked signee in program history. That Barnes, at 71, continues to land prospects of Nate Ament’s caliber is proof that he remains at the top of his game entering his 11th season with the Volunteers. (13)
14. John Calipari, Arkansas
All is well that ends well, right? Calipari’s first season at Arkansas started as a train wreck but ended with a Sweet 16 appearance. At 66, his fastball is fading, but Cal is still collecting enough talent to compete in the sport’s upper crust. If this were a lifetime achievement ranking, he’d be much higher. As it stands, late-career Calipari is still better than most. (10)
15. Tommy Lloyd, Arizona
Arizona has been a No. 4 seed or better for the NCAA Tournament in all four of Tommy Lloyd’s seasons and has reached the Sweet 16 three times. The former longtime Gonzaga assistant attracts top-flight talent from a variety of sources and routinely produces one of the sport’s top offenses. The next step for Lloyd is breaking through to an Elite Eight or Final Four. (12)
16. Mark Pope, Kentucky
Pope shepherded a hastily constructed and hobbled roster to the Sweet 16 in his first season and endeared himself to Wildcats fans with eight wins over top-15 opposition. It was a strong start for the former BYU coach. Pope is one of the sport’s premier offensive tacticians and has all the resources and energy required to continue rising through the ranks in the years to come. (N/A)
17. Greg McDermott, Creighton
McDermott’s succession plan is now established, as his veteran assistant, Alan Huss, is set to take over the program when McDermott hangs it up. But at 60, McDermott could feasibly coach for quite a bit longer. The Bluejays have won at least one game in five consecutive NCAA Tournaments, making this the greatest era in program history. (15)
18. Grant McCasland, Texas Tech
McCasland’s professional ascent reached new heights last season as Texas Tech made the Elite Eight in his second season before dropping a thriller to eventual national champion Florida. The Red Raiders are poised to compete for a Big 12 title and Final Four spot this season with core pieces Christian Anderson and JT Toppin returning from a 28-win team. (N/A)
19. Brad Underwood, Illinois
In an impressive late-career transition, Underwood has suddenly become a leader in the acquisition of international talent. Illinois is set to reap the benefits of that strategy again in 2025-26 and looks destined to reach its sixth straight NCAA Tournament. The knock on Underwood is that the Illini have only been past the first weekend once during his tenure, but six consecutive winning seasons in the Big Ten is nothing to scoff at. (18)
20. Pat Kelsey, Louisville
Kelsey executed a historic turnaround in his first season, taking Louisville from its darkest depths to an 18-2 mark in ACC play. Given his strong track record at Winthrop and Charleston, it seemed inevitable that he’d get the Cardinals turned around. That he did it so quickly was a testament to his coaching acumen and likely a foreshadow of big things to come. (N/A)
Aside from having the largest biceps of any high-major coach, Otzelberger is also the author of the greatest post-COVID program turnaround in college basketball. ISU went 2-22 the year before his arrival and reached the Sweet 16 in his first season. He is now 4 for 4 on reaching the Big Dance and has built Iowa State into a Big 12 title contender and elite defensive team. (16)
22. Chris Beard, Ole Miss
Beard led Ole Miss to its first Sweet 16 appearance since 2001 in just his second year on the job. Given his track record of rapid program building at Little Rock, Texas Tech and Texas (among others), it was really no surprise. The trick now will be sustaining success amid the loss of five double-digit scorers at a program without much history. Beard’s relentless drive suggests he is up to the challenge. (26)
23. Mick Cronin, UCLA
Cronin got UCLA back on track last season with a 23-11 (13-7 Big Ten) campaign that ended in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Given the financial challenges faced by the Bruins’ athletic department and the logistical hurdles of moving to the Big Ten, it’s hard to imagine anyone doing much better in this job. The former longtime Cincinnati coach has another strong roster in 2025-26. (19)
Bennett is entering his 25th season at Saint Mary’s operating at the highest level of his career. He guided the Gaels to single-digit seeds in four straight NCAA Tournaments and is coming off a second consecutive outright WCC regular season title. The only thing holding Bennett back from an even higher ranking is a lack of deep NCAA Tournament runs. (20)
Smart continues to zig on roster management while the rest of college basketball zags. He has eschewed transfers in favor of continuity, and it’s hard to argue with the results. The Golden Eagles have been one of the Big East’s top outfits during his four seasons and are gearing up to reach a fifth straight NCAA Tournament. (14)
And 1: Ben McCollum, Iowa
McCollum’s career is on rocket fuel as he arrives at Iowa less than two years removed from being a Division II head coach. Of course McCollum wasn’t just any DII coach; he won four national championships at Northwest Missouri State. Last season, he led Drake to Missouri Valley regular season and conference titles and a school-record 31 wins. (N/A)
