From Ball Boys to Blue Bloods: The Coaching Journeys Behind the 2026 NCAA Tournament

FROM BALL BOYS TO BLUE BLOODS

The Coaching Journeys Behind the 2026 NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16, Elite 8 & Final Four

A ContactCollegeCoaches.com Feature | March 2026

Introduction: Every Coach Started Somewhere

Every March, the spotlight shines on the players—the freshmen phenoms, the transfer portal gems, the seniors playing the final games of their careers. But behind every team that dances deep into the NCAA Tournament is a coach whose own journey tells an equally compelling story.

The 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament’s Sweet 16 featured sixteen head coaches whose paths to their current sidelines span an extraordinary range of experiences. Among them are former student managers, career assistants who waited decades for their shot, high school coaching legends, JUCO lifers, and coaches who were once fired from jobs they’d held for nearly two decades. Their collective resumes include stops at community colleges, prep schools, mid-major programs, and basketball’s most hallowed halls.

For anyone exploring the ContactCollegeCoaches.com men’s basketball database, these stories illustrate a fundamental truth about college coaching: there is no single road to the top. The paths are varied, winding, and full of lessons about persistence, mentorship, and timing.

Here are their stories.

Dusty May — Michigan Wolverines (1 Seed, Midwest Region)

2026 Tournament Path: def. Akron, Texas A&M, Alabama, Tennessee, Arizona (Final Four)
Career Record: Michigan: 62–13 (2 seasons) | Overall: 188–82

Dusty May might be the most improbable No. 1 seed coach in this tournament. He was a student manager under Bob Knight at Indiana University from 1996 to 2000—the guy who rebounded during practice, broke down film, and ran the coach’s errands. He never played college basketball.

After graduating, May took a video coordinator position at USC (2000–02), returned to Indiana in an administrative role (2002–05), and then finally broke into full-time assistant coaching at Eastern Michigan in 2005. Stops at Murray State (2006–07) and UAB (2007–09) followed before he landed at Louisiana Tech, where he spent six seasons under Kerry Rupp and then Mike White (2009–15). When White left for Florida, May followed as an assistant for three more years (2015–18).

May’s first head coaching job came in 2018 at Florida Atlantic—a school with virtually no basketball tradition. He cried that night, convinced he’d made a career-ending mistake. Five years later, he led the Owls to the 2023 Final Four in one of the most stunning Cinderella runs in tournament history.

Michigan hired him in March 2024 to replace Juwan Howard. He inherited an 8–24 team and immediately went 27–10 with a Sweet 16 appearance. In year two, the Wolverines are 34–2, earned a No. 1 seed, and May has been named national Coach of the Year. The former student manager is coaching in the Elite Eight at one of college basketball’s most prestigious programs.

The May Career Timeline

Indiana University — Student Manager under Bob Knight (1996–2000)
USC — Video Coordinator / Administrative Assistant (2000–02)
Indiana — Video Coordinator / Administrative Assistant (2002–05)
Eastern Michigan — Assistant Coach (2005–06)
Murray State — Assistant Coach (2006–07)
UAB — Assistant Coach (2007–09)
Louisiana Tech — Assistant / Associate Head Coach (2009–15)
Florida — Assistant Coach (2015–18)
Florida Atlantic — Head Coach (2018–24) — 126–69, Final Four
Michigan — Head Coach (2024–present) — 62–13

The takeaway: May spent 18 years as a manager, video coordinator, and assistant before becoming a head coach at 41. He built a nothing program into a Final Four team, then flipped the worst Power Five team in the country into a No. 1 seed in two years. His story is the purest proof that you don’t need to have been a great player—or a player at all—to be a great coach.

Dan Hurley — UConn Huskies (2 Seed, East Region)

2026 Tournament Path: def. Howard, NC State, Michigan State, Duke; lost to Illinois in Final Four
Career Record: UConn: 200–75 (8 seasons) | Overall DI: 351–180

Dan Hurley is basketball royalty—his father Bob Hurley Sr. is a Hall of Fame high school coach, his brother Bobby starred at Duke—but his own path was anything but paved in gold. Hurley played five seasons at Seton Hall (including a redshirt year), graduated with over 1,000 points and 400 assists, but was never an NBA prospect.

His coaching career began in 1996 as an assistant under his father at St. Anthony High School in Jersey City. He then spent four years as an assistant at Rutgers (1997–2001) before making what many considered a baffling move: he left Division I entirely to become the head coach and history teacher at St. Benedict’s Prep in Newark, NJ. It turned out to be the most important decision of his career. Over nine seasons (2001–10), Hurley went 223–21 and turned the school into a national prep powerhouse, coaching future NBA players J.R. Smith, Tristan Thompson, and Lance Thomas. That near-decade of high school coaching—teaching teenagers, running a program with no assistants in some years, building culture from scratch—forged the coaching identity that would later produce two national championships. When Hurley finally returned to college basketball in 2010, just 13 years separated him from a high school gym in Newark and the summit of the sport.

Hurley’s first Division I head coaching opportunity came at Wagner College in 2010, where the program had won just five games the previous season. By his second year, Wagner was 25–6. He then took over at Rhode Island in 2012, inheriting a 7–23 team. By his final two seasons, the Rams had made back-to-back NCAA Tournaments for the first time in nearly two decades.

UConn hired Hurley in 2018, and the rest is history: back-to-back national championships in 2023 and 2024, the first program to repeat since Florida in 2006–07. He turned down offers from Kentucky and the Los Angeles Lakers to stay in Storrs.

The Hurley Career Timeline

Seton Hall — Player (1991–96)
St. Anthony HS — Assistant Coach under father Bob Hurley Sr. (1996–97)
Rutgers — Assistant Coach (1997–2001)
St. Benedict’s Prep — Head Coach & history teacher (2001–10) — 223–21
Wagner — Head Coach (2010–12) — 38–23
Rhode Island — Head Coach (2012–18) — 113–82
UConn — Head Coach (2018–present) — 200–75, two national titles

The takeaway: Hurley went from teaching history at a prep school to winning back-to-back national championships. He rebuilt three programs (Wagner, Rhode Island, UConn) before reaching the mountaintop. His path—high school assistant, college assistant, prep school head coach, then three progressively bigger DI jobs—is a masterclass in career building.

Brad Underwood — Illinois Fighting Illini (3 Seed, South Region)

2026 Tournament Path: def. Penn (105–70), VCU (76–55), Houston (65–55), Iowa (71–59), UConn (Final Four); lost to Michigan in National Championship
Career Record: Illinois: 194–110 (9 seasons) | Overall DI: 303–137

Brad Underwood’s road to the Final Four was built on decades of grinding through the coaching ranks in some of basketball’s most unglamorous settings.

A native of McPherson, Kansas, Underwood began his college career at Hardin-Simmons University before transferring to Independence Community College and then Kansas State, where he played guard under legendary coach Jack Hartman in the mid-1980s. After graduating in 1986, he became a graduate assistant at Hardin-Simmons—the same school where Lou Henson, Illinois’s all-time winningest coach, got his start. The connection was coincidental at the time but would become poetic decades later.

Underwood’s first head coaching job came at Dodge City Community College, where he led the Conquistadors from 1988 to 1993, compiling a 62–60 record. From there, he spent a decade as an assistant at Western Illinois (1993–2003) before taking over as head coach at Daytona Beach Community College (2003–06), where he went 70–24 and earned two Mid-Florida Conference Coach of the Year awards.

The Division I assistant coaching circuit came next: he served under Bob Huggins and Frank Martin at Kansas State (2006–12), then followed Martin to South Carolina as associate head coach (2012–13). Finally, at age 49, he landed his first Division I head coaching job at Stephen F. Austin in 2013.

At SFA, Underwood was a sensation. He went 89–14 in three seasons, won three consecutive Southland Conference championships, and led the Lumberjacks to three straight NCAA Tournament appearances—including a memorable upset of Bob Huggins’ West Virginia squad. Oklahoma State hired him in 2016, and after one season (20–13 with an NCAA Tournament berth), Illinois came calling.

Since arriving in Champaign in 2017, Underwood has rebuilt the Illini into a perennial contender: three Big Ten championships in the last five years, six consecutive 20-win regular seasons, and now Illinois’s first Final Four since 2005.

The Underwood Career Timeline

Hardin-Simmons — Player, freshman year (1982–83)
Independence CC — Player, sophomore year (1983–84)
Kansas State — Player (1984–86), graduated 1986
Hardin-Simmons — Graduate Assistant (1986–87)
Dodge City CC — Head Coach (1988–93) — 62–60
Western Illinois — Assistant Coach (1993–2003) — 10 seasons
Daytona Beach CC — Head Coach (2003–06) — 70–24
Kansas State — Assistant / Associate Head Coach (2006–12)
South Carolina — Associate Head Coach (2012–13)
Stephen F. Austin — Head Coach (2013–16) — 89–14
Oklahoma State — Head Coach (2016–17) — 20–13
Illinois — Head Coach (2017–present) — 194–110

The takeaway: Underwood’s story is the classic coaching grind. JUCO head coach, decade-long assistant, JUCO head coach again, another run of assistant jobs, and finally a DI head coaching opportunity at age 49. He spent 27 years coaching before landing a Power Five job. For every coach in the CCC database still working their way up, Underwood is proof that the long road works.

Tommy Lloyd — Arizona Wildcats (1 Seed, West Region)

2026 Tournament Path: def. Long Island, Utah State, Arkansas (109–88), Purdue (79–64); lost to Michigan in Final Four
Career Record: 149–36 (.805) at Arizona — 5 seasons

Tommy Lloyd’s path to becoming one of college basketball’s most successful head coaches is unlike any other in the sport. He never served as a head coach at any level—not high school, not JUCO, not a mid-major—before being handed the keys to one of the Pac-12’s flagship programs at age 46.

Lloyd grew up in Kelso, Washington, played at Walla Walla Community College and then at Whitman College, a Division III school. He wasn’t a star. When Gonzaga coach Dan Monson scouted players in Walla Walla’s conference, he told Lloyd he wouldn’t be getting a scholarship—but that if he ever wanted to get into coaching, he should call. After a brief stint playing overseas and backpacking with his wife Chanelle, Lloyd made that call. By then, Monson had left Gonzaga for Minnesota, and his successor Mark Few honored the standing offer.

Lloyd joined Gonzaga as a volunteer administrative assistant in 2000, became a full-time assistant in 2001, and stayed for 21 seasons. In that time, the Zags went 578–109, reached the NCAA Tournament every single year, made two national championship games, two Elite Eights, and four Sweet 16s. Lloyd became so integral to the program that the university gave him a written guarantee: when Few retired, the job was his.

But in April 2021, Lloyd left the security of that promise to take the head coaching position at Arizona, replacing Sean Miller. The results were immediate and historic. He set the NCAA record for most wins by a head coach in his first two seasons (61) and won the Pac-12 Tournament in each of those first two years—the first power conference coach to accomplish that feat. He’s now won conference titles in both the Pac-12 and Big 12.

His 2026 Wildcats finished the regular season 29–2 and earned the No. 1 overall seed in the West Region. Their 79–64 Elite Eight demolition of Purdue sent Arizona to its first Final Four since 2001—ironically, the same year Lloyd became a full-time assistant at Gonzaga.

The Lloyd Career Timeline

Walla Walla Community College — Player (1993–95)
Whitman College — Player (1995–98)
Overseas playing career / traveling
Gonzaga — Volunteer Administrative Assistant (2000–01)
Gonzaga — Assistant Coach (2001–21) — 20 seasons
Arizona — Head Coach (2021–present) — 149–36

The takeaway: Lloyd is the ultimate example of patience and loyalty paying off. He spent two decades as an assistant at one school, never interviewing elsewhere, and walked into a power conference head coaching role with zero head coaching experience. His story should resonate with every assistant coach in the ContactCollegeCoaches.com database who wonders if their time will come.

Jon Scheyer — Duke Blue Devils (1 Seed, East Region)

2026 Tournament Path: def. Siena, TCU, St. John’s (80–75); lost to UConn in Elite 8
Career Record: 127–25 (.836) at Duke — 4 seasons

Jon Scheyer represents a different archetype entirely: the former star player who never really left. Born in Northbrook, Illinois, Scheyer was the fourth-leading scorer in Illinois high school history and led Glenbrook North to a state championship in 2005 before committing to Duke.

As a Blue Devil, Scheyer evolved from a sharpshooting sixth man into an All-American point guard who captained the 2010 national championship team. He remains the only player in Duke history with 2,000+ points, 500+ rebounds, 400+ assists, 250+ three-pointers, and 200+ steals. After college, a serious eye injury during an NBA Summer League game with the Miami Heat derailed his professional career. He played three years internationally before returning to Durham.

Coach K brought Scheyer onto his staff as a special assistant in 2013. He was promoted to assistant coach in 2014, then associate head coach in 2018. When Krzyzewski announced his retirement in June 2021, the 33-year-old Scheyer was named his successor—making him the youngest head coach at a power conference program at the time.

The skepticism was real: could a first-time head coach maintain a program that had been built by arguably the greatest coach in college basketball history? Scheyer’s answer has been emphatic: 124 wins in four seasons, a .838 winning percentage, an ACC Tournament title in his debut season, a Final Four in 2025, and now a third consecutive trip to the Elite Eight.

The Scheyer Career Timeline

Glenbrook North HS (Illinois) — Player, state champion (2005–06)
Duke — Player (2006–10), national champion
Miami Heat — NBA Summer League (2010), career-altering eye injury
International professional playing career (2010–13)
Duke — Special Assistant (2013–14)
Duke — Assistant Coach (2014–18)
Duke — Associate Head Coach (2018–22)
Duke — Head Coach (2022–present) — 127–25

The takeaway: Scheyer is the ultimate insider succession story. He never coached anywhere else—not even as a graduate assistant. His entire coaching career has been at one school, under one mentor, leading to one of the most successful starts to a head coaching career in history.

Rick Barnes — Tennessee Volunteers (6 Seed, Midwest Region)

2026 Tournament Path: def. Miami (Ohio), Virginia, Iowa State (76–62); lost to Michigan in Elite 8
Career Record: Tennessee: 257–120 (11 seasons) | Overall: 861–434 (39 seasons)

Rick Barnes is the elder statesman of this Sweet 16, now in his 39th season as a head coach with over 860 career victories—placing him among the top dozen winningest coaches in Division I history. And yet, remarkably, the Final Four has eluded him for over two decades.

Barnes’s coaching journey started in the most humble of settings: a high school gym in North Carolina. After graduating from Lenoir-Rhyne College in his hometown of Hickory, North Carolina, in 1977, Barnes took a job coaching basketball at North State Academy, a small high school. That single year of high school coaching planted the seeds. He then spent nearly a decade as a college assistant—Davidson (1978–80), George Mason (1980–85), Ohio State (1985–86), and Alabama (1986–87)—learning from different programs and conferences before finally landing his first college head coaching job.

His first head coaching position came at George Mason in 1987–88, where he went 20–10 in a single season. From there, he built Providence into a Big East contender over six seasons (1988–94, 108–76), winning the Big East Tournament in 1994. He then elevated Clemson to its highest-ever AP ranking (No. 2) during four seasons in the ACC (1994–98, 74–48).

Texas hired Barnes in 1998, and he transformed the Longhorns into a national power: 402 wins, 16 NCAA Tournament appearances in 17 seasons, a Final Four in 2003, and two National Players of the Year in T.J. Ford and Kevin Durant. But after a stretch of early tournament exits, Texas fired him in 2015.

Barnes landed at Tennessee and reinvented himself yet again. He’s won the Naismith Coach of the Year (2019), led the Vols to a No. 1 ranking, won the SEC Tournament (2022), and has now reached the Elite Eight three consecutive years. At 71 years old, he’s coaching in his 30th NCAA Tournament and still chasing that elusive return to the Final Four.

The Barnes Career Timeline

Lenoir-Rhyne College — Player, graduated 1977
North State Academy (HS) — Coach (1977–78)
Davidson — Assistant (1978–80)
George Mason — Assistant (1980–85)
Ohio State — Assistant (1985–86)
Alabama — Assistant (1986–87)
George Mason — Head Coach (1987–88) — 20–10
Providence — Head Coach (1988–94) — 108–76
Clemson — Head Coach (1994–98) — 74–48
Texas — Head Coach (1998–2015) — 402–180
Tennessee — Head Coach (2015–present) — 257–120

The takeaway: Barnes has coached at five Division I programs across five conferences over nearly four decades. He is living proof that getting fired from a big job isn’t the end—it can be a new beginning. His 860+ wins span an era from Bobby Knight to NIL, and he’s still competing at the highest level.

Matt Painter — Purdue Boilermakers (2 Seed, West Region)

2026 Result: Lost to Arizona 64–79 in Elite 8
Career Record: Purdue: 501–224 (21 seasons) | Overall: 526–229

Matt Painter is a Purdue man through and through. He played for the Boilermakers under Gene Keady from 1989 to 1993, served as an assistant under Keady from 1998 to 2004, and was anointed Keady’s successor before spending one season as head coach at Southern Illinois (2003–04, 25–5) in a planned transition. He returned to West Lafayette in 2005 and has been there ever since.

Painter has built Purdue into one of the most consistent programs in college basketball: seven Elite Eights, a national championship game appearance in 2024, and a steady pipeline of NBA talent including Robbie Hummel, Carsen Edwards, Jaden Ivey, and Zach Edey. His methodical approach and loyalty to one program stand in stark contrast to the coaching carousel culture of modern college basketball.

The Painter Career Timeline

Purdue — Player (1989–93)
Purdue — Assistant Coach (1998–2003)
Southern Illinois — Head Coach (2003–04) — 25–5
Purdue — Head Coach (2005–present) — 501–224

Ben McCollum — Iowa Hawkeyes (9 Seed, South Region)

2026 Result: Lost to Illinois 59–71 in Elite 8
Career Record: Iowa: 24–13 (1st season) | Drake: 31–4 (1 season) | Northwest Missouri State: 395–91 (15 seasons)

Ben McCollum may be the most remarkable coaching story in this entire tournament. Born in Iowa City and raised in Storm Lake, Iowa, McCollum grew up attending Hawkeye basketball games and dreaming of playing for Iowa. That dream didn’t come true as a player—but in March 2025, he was named the Hawkeyes’ 23rd head coach. In his first season, he led them to their first Elite Eight since 1987.

McCollum’s playing career began at North Iowa Area Community College, where he was a two-time all-region selection, before transferring to Northwest Missouri State, a Division II school in Maryville, Missouri. After graduating in 2003, he stayed on as a graduate assistant (2003–05), then served four years as an assistant at Emporia State (2005–09) before returning to his alma mater as head coach in 2009.

What he built at Northwest Missouri State over the next 15 seasons was nothing short of a dynasty. McCollum won four NCAA Division II national championships (2017, 2019, 2021, 2022), including a perfect 38–0 season in 2019. He won 12 consecutive conference regular-season titles, earned five NABC Division II National Coach of the Year awards—the most in DII history—and compiled a staggering 395–91 record.

In 2024, McCollum made his first leap to Division I at Drake University. He brought several players with him, including standout point guard Bennett Stirtz, and immediately led the Bulldogs to a 31–4 record, Missouri Valley Conference regular-season and tournament titles, and an NCAA Tournament win over Missouri—Drake’s first non-First Four tournament victory since 1971. He was named the Joe B. Hall Award winner as the nation’s top first-year DI coach.

Iowa hired McCollum in March 2025 after firing Fran McCaffery. Once again, McCollum brought players with him—six Drake transfers followed him to Iowa City, including Stirtz. In his debut Big Ten season, the Hawkeyes went 21–12 in the regular season, earned a 9-seed, and then caught fire: upsetting defending national champion Florida in the Round of 32, knocking off Nebraska in the Sweet 16, before finally falling to Illinois in the Elite Eight. His career record across all levels stands at 450–107—an .808 winning percentage that ranks among the best in college basketball history.

The McCollum Career Timeline

North Iowa Area CC — Player (1999–2001)
Northwest Missouri State — Player (2001–03)
Northwest Missouri State — Graduate Assistant (2003–05)
Emporia State — Assistant Coach (2005–09)
Northwest Missouri State — Head Coach (2009–24) — 395–91, 4 DII national titles
Drake — Head Coach (2024–25) — 31–4, NCAA Tournament
Iowa — Head Coach (2025–present) — 24–13, Elite Eight

The takeaway: McCollum’s journey—from JUCO player to Division II dynasty builder to Big Ten Elite Eight coach in his first season—is one of the most compelling coaching stories in recent memory. He spent 15 years dominating at the DII level, proving that elite coaching translates across divisions. For every coach in the CCC database working at the NJCAA or lower-division level, McCollum is proof that greatness at “smaller” schools doesn’t go unnoticed.

Rick Pitino — St. John’s Red Storm (5 Seed)

2026 Result: Lost to Duke 75–80 in Sweet 16

Rick Pitino is coaching in his fifth decade, at age 73, and his journey is one of the most dramatic in sports history. After playing at UMass, Pitino began as an assistant at Hawaii and Syracuse before landing his first head coaching job at Boston University (1978–83). He built the Terriers into an NCAA Tournament team, then moved to Providence (1985–87), reaching the Final Four in just his second season. Stints at the New York Knicks, Kentucky (national championship, 1996), the Boston Celtics, and Louisville (vacated national championship, 2013) followed. After a scandal-marred departure from Louisville, Pitino coached Iona (2020–23) and led them to two NCAA Tournaments before taking over at St. John’s in 2023. He guided the Red Storm to their first Sweet 16 since 1999.

Career Path

UMass — Player | Hawaii, Syracuse — Assistant
Boston University — Head Coach (1978–83)
Providence — Head Coach (1985–87), Final Four
New York Knicks — Head Coach (1987–89)
Kentucky — Head Coach (1989–97), National Championship
Boston Celtics — Head Coach (1997–2001)
Louisville — Head Coach (2001–17)
Panathinaikos (Greece) — Head Coach (2018–20)
Iona — Head Coach (2020–23)
St. John’s — Head Coach (2023–present)

Tom Izzo — Michigan State Spartans (3 Seed)

2026 Result: Lost to UConn in Sweet 16

Tom Izzo has been at Michigan State since 1983—but before he ever set foot in East Lansing, he was coaching high school basketball in Michigan’s remote Upper Peninsula. A native of Iron Mountain and a graduate of Northern Michigan University, Izzo spent a season as the head coach at Ishpeming High School before Jud Heathcote brought him onto the Spartans’ staff as an assistant in 1983. Izzo spent 12 years learning under Heathcote before taking over as head coach in 1995. In 31 seasons since, Izzo has won a national championship (2000), reached eight Final Fours, and made the NCAA Tournament 26 times. His entire Division I career has been spent at one school, making him one of the last coaches of a bygone era of institutional loyalty—but it all started with a high school coaching job in a small mining town in the UP.

Career Path

Northern Michigan — Player
Ishpeming HS (Michigan) — Head Coach (1 season)
Michigan State — Assistant Coach (1983–95) — 12 seasons
Michigan State — Head Coach (1995–present) — 765–310, 1 national title

Nate Oats — Alabama Crimson Tide (4 Seed)

2026 Result: Lost to Michigan in Sweet 16

Nate Oats is, in his own words, “a glorified P.E. teacher.” Before he was leading Alabama to Final Fours, Oats spent 11 years as the head basketball coach and math teacher at Romulus High School near Detroit, earning $4,700 a year for coaching. He’d previously coached at his DIII alma mater Maranatha Baptist and served as an assistant at Division III UW-Whitewater, but it was the Romulus years that defined him. Oats compiled a 222–52 record, reached the state semifinals five times, and won the Michigan Class A state championship in 2013. His high school coaching career was so impressive that it caught the eye of Bobby Hurley, who was recruiting a Romulus player for Rhode Island at the time. When Hurley became head coach at Buffalo in 2013, he hired Oats as an assistant—Oats’s first college job after 16 years of coaching for essentially no money. From there, the rise was rapid: Buffalo head coach in 2015 (96–43 in four seasons, including a stunning first-round upset of Arizona), then Alabama in 2019. He has since led the Tide to their first Final Four (2024), four consecutive Sweet 16 appearances, and transformed Alabama into a basketball-first program. As recently as his Sweet 16 press conference this year, Oats marveled at his trajectory: for the first 16 years of his coaching career, he made less than $50,000 total.

Career Path

Maranatha Baptist University (DIII) — Player, then assistant coach (1997–2000)
UW-Whitewater (DIII) — Assistant Coach (2000–02)
Romulus High School (Michigan) — Head Coach & teacher (2002–13) — 222–52
Buffalo — Assistant Coach (2013–15)
Buffalo — Head Coach (2015–19) — 96–43
Alabama — Head Coach (2019–present) — 172–74

T.J. Otzelberger — Iowa State Cyclones (2 Seed)

2026 Result: Lost to Tennessee 62–76 in Sweet 16

T.J. Otzelberger’s coaching career winds through assistant roles at some of the sport’s top programs—including stints under Dana Altman at Creighton and Oregon, and under Greg McDermott at Iowa State—before he landed his first head coaching job at South Dakota State in 2016. After three seasons (60–37), he moved to UNLV for two years (2019–21) before returning to Iowa State in 2021. He inherited a team that had gone 2–22 the prior season and, in one of the most remarkable rebuilding jobs in recent memory, led the Cyclones to the Sweet 16 within two years and the Big 12 Tournament title.

Career Path

Creighton, Iowa State, Oregon — Assistant Coach (various stints)
South Dakota State — Head Coach (2016–19) — 60–37
UNLV — Head Coach (2019–21)
Iowa State — Head Coach (2021–present)

Kelvin Sampson — Houston Cougars (2 Seed)

2026 Result: Lost to Illinois 55–65 in Sweet 16

Kelvin Sampson’s career is a story of redemption. After successful head coaching tenures at Montana Tech (1981–85), Washington State (1987–94), and Oklahoma (1994–2006), where he reached the Final Four in 2002, Sampson was hit with NCAA violations that ultimately led to his resignation at Indiana after one season (2006–08). He spent six years out of college basketball, working as an assistant with the Houston Rockets and Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA. Houston gave him a second chance in 2014, and he has turned the Cougars into a national power: a Final Four in 2021, a national championship game appearance in 2024, and perennial Sweet 16 contention.

Career Path

Montana Tech — Head Coach (1981–85)
Washington State — Head Coach (1987–94)
Oklahoma — Head Coach (1994–2006), Final Four 2002
Indiana — Head Coach (2006–08)
NBA Assistant Coach — Rockets, Bucks (2008–14)
Houston — Head Coach (2014–present)

Fred Hoiberg — Nebraska Cornhuskers (4 Seed)

2026 Result: Lost to Iowa 71–77 in Sweet 16

Fred Hoiberg was an Iowa State legend as a player (1991–95) and spent a decade in the NBA before returning to Ames as head coach in 2010. He led the Cyclones to four consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances and became the toast of the Big 12 before leaving for the Chicago Bulls in 2015. After being fired by the Bulls in 2018, Hoiberg took the head coaching job at Nebraska in 2019, inheriting one of the sport’s most historically downtrodden programs. After several difficult seasons, he finally broke through—Nebraska’s 2026 Sweet 16 appearance was the first in program history.

Career Path

Iowa State — Player (1991–95)
NBA — Player, 10 seasons (Pacers, Bulls, Timberwolves)
Iowa State — Head Coach (2010–15)
Chicago Bulls — Head Coach (2015–18)
Nebraska — Head Coach (2019–present)

John Calipari — Arkansas Razorbacks (4 Seed)

2026 Result: Lost to Arizona 88–109 in Sweet 16

John Calipari’s coaching career has taken him from the assistant ranks at Kansas and Pittsburgh to head coaching stints at UMass (1988–96), the NBA’s New Jersey Nets (1996–99), Memphis (2000–09), and Kentucky (2009–24), where he won the 2012 national championship and produced more NBA Draft picks than any other program during his tenure. After a mutual parting with Kentucky following the 2024 season, Calipari returned to the SEC as Arkansas’s head coach. His 2026 Razorbacks won the SEC Tournament and reached the Sweet 16 before running into Arizona’s buzzsaw.

Career Path

Kansas, Pittsburgh — Assistant Coach
UMass — Head Coach (1988–96), Final Four 1996
New Jersey Nets — Head Coach (1996–99)
Memphis — Head Coach (2000–09), Championship game 2008
Kentucky — Head Coach (2009–24), National Championship 2012
Arkansas — Head Coach (2024–present)

Sean Miller — Texas Longhorns (11 Seed)

2026 Result: Lost to Purdue 77–79 in Sweet 16

Sean Miller’s coaching career is one of the most storied—and turbulent—in recent college basketball history. The son of a Pennsylvania high school coach, Miller was a standout point guard at Pittsburgh before beginning his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Wisconsin (1992–93). He then served as an assistant at Miami of Ohio (1993–95) and Pittsburgh (1995–96) before spending five years as associate head coach at NC State under Herb Sendek (1996–2001).

Miller followed a familiar path when he joined Thad Matta’s staff at Xavier as associate head coach (2001–04), helping the Musketeers reach the Elite Eight. When Matta left for Ohio State, Miller took over as head coach and quickly turned Xavier into a consistent NCAA Tournament team, reaching the Sweet 16 twice and the Elite Eight once in five seasons (2004–09). Arizona hired him in 2009, and over the next dozen years he led the Wildcats to three Elite Eights, five NCAA Tournament appearances, and three Pac-12 Coach of the Year awards—while also developing 27 future NBA players, including No. 1 overall pick DeAndre Ayton.

However, Miller was fired by Arizona in 2021 amid the fallout from an FBI investigation into college basketball corruption, with the NCAA ultimately vacating wins from two seasons. He returned to Xavier in 2022, led the Musketeers to a Sweet 16 in his first year back, and coached there through 2025. Texas then hired him in March 2025 after firing Rodney Terry. In his first season with the Longhorns, Miller guided an 11-seed through the First Four and past Gonzaga before falling to Purdue by two points in the Sweet 16—Texas’s deepest run since 2023.

Career Path

Pittsburgh — Player (1987–92)
Wisconsin — Graduate Assistant (1992–93)
Miami (Ohio) — Assistant Coach (1993–95)
Pittsburgh — Assistant Coach (1995–96)
NC State — Associate Head Coach (1996–2001)
Xavier — Associate Head Coach (2001–04)
Xavier — Head Coach (2004–09)
Arizona — Head Coach (2009–21)
Xavier — Head Coach (2022–25) — second stint
Texas — Head Coach (2025–present)

What These Paths Tell Us

When you browse the ContactCollegeCoaches.com men’s basketball database, you’re not just looking at names and email addresses. You’re looking at real people with real stories—coaches at every level of the game, from NJCAA to NAIA to Division III to the Power Five.

The 2026 tournament’s coaching stories reveal several distinct pathways to the top:

The Lifer Assistant

Tommy Lloyd spent 21 years as an assistant at one school before getting his shot. His patience was rewarded with the fastest start to a head coaching career in NCAA history. Every assistant coach in the database who has been loyal to a program for years should take note: the opportunity may come when you least expect it.

The Long Grind

Brad Underwood spent time at JUCO, as a decade-long assistant, at another JUCO, more assistant work, and finally landed a DI head coaching job at 49. Rick Barnes has been a head coach for 39 years across five schools. Ben McCollum spent 15 years dominating Division II before making the leap. These careers remind us that coaching is a marathon, not a sprint.

The Program Builder

Dan Hurley rebuilt Wagner, Rhode Island, and UConn. Dusty May transformed Florida Atlantic and then Michigan. Nate Oats turned Buffalo and Alabama into contenders. Kelvin Sampson resurrected Houston. Ben McCollum built a Division II dynasty at Northwest Missouri State and then immediately elevated Iowa into the Elite Eight. The ability to take a struggling program and elevate it is the single most valued skill in the coaching profession.

The Insider / Succession

Jon Scheyer never left Duke. Matt Painter has been at Purdue for almost his entire career. Tom Izzo has been at Michigan State since 1983. These coaches show that loyalty and institutional knowledge still matter, even in an era of constant coaching turnover.

The High School Roots

Four of the sixteen Sweet 16 coaches spent meaningful time coaching high school basketball—and their stories demolish the notion that high school coaching is a dead end. Dan Hurley spent nine years at St. Benedict’s Prep in Newark, going 223–21 and coaching future NBA players before ever leading a college program; just 13 years later, he won back-to-back national championships. Nate Oats spent 11 years making $4,700 a season at Romulus High School in Michigan before a chance encounter with Bobby Hurley launched his college career; six years after leaving high school, he was coaching in the SEC. Rick Barnes’s very first coaching job was at a North Carolina high school in 1977—he’s now won over 860 college games. And Tom Izzo coached a single season at Ishpeming High School in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula before joining Michigan State, where he’s been ever since. For the thousands of high school coaches in America who wonder whether the college ranks are accessible, these four paths say: absolutely.

The Second Act

Rick Barnes was fired by Texas and thrived at Tennessee. John Calipari left Kentucky and won the SEC Tournament at Arkansas in year one. Kelvin Sampson was essentially blackballed from college basketball and came back to reach multiple Final Fours. Fred Hoiberg was fired by the Bulls and eventually led Nebraska to its first-ever Sweet 16. These stories prove that a setback is never the final chapter.

Ready to explore the coaching landscape for yourself? Visit ContactCollegeCoaches.com to access our comprehensive men’s basketball coaching contact database, updated monthly, covering every NCAA Division I, II, and III program, plus NAIA, NJCAA, CCCAA, and NWAC. Every coach in this article was once just a name on a staff directory. The next great coach might be on yours.

From Ball Boys to Blue Bloods: The Coaching Journeys Behind the 2026 NCAA Tournament

Published by Eric Van Dril on April 1, 2026 April 7, 2026