The Big 12 added four schools this offseason, but lost two along the way. Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah promise to make the basketball season even more competitive despite the loss of Oklahoma and Texas.
West Virginia brings in Darian DeVries to lead a new era, as Oklahoma State hires Steve Lutz to do the same. Meanwhile, BYU called on former NBA assistant Ryan Young to take over the program.
Ranking the Top 10 coaches in any of the four power conferences is a difficult task, as a multitude of factors determine how the coach is viewed in the moment. There are historical markers throughout a coach’s career which cement them in a certain tier, while recent records and recruiting success play a major factor in remaining on top.
Entering the 2024-25 college basketball season, here is a look at how the Top 10 Big 12 coaches stack up against their peers.
Bill Self has proven himself as a Hall of Fame coach throughout his career, keeping Kansas at the top of the sport through multiple eras in charge. He has been as good as ever in recent seasons.
The ability to build a roster expected to compete for a national title has been a strength of Self for years, but he now does so in a flashier way with the advent of the transfer portal.
Meanwhile, on-court results have remained consistent. The Jayhawks remain in the mix as a perineal 1-seed while dominating the Big 12 regardless of the strength of member schools.
At Houston, Kelvin Sampson has put the cap on his outstanding career by turning the program into his own over the course of several seasons before jumping into national championship conversations.
The tough, physical brand of basketball his team plays is unmistakable. Whether playing under-recruited veterans, five-star freshmen or plug-and-play transfers, the roster always seems to fit the mold.
Sampson has also turned this into a family business, with his son Kellen already named the head coach in waiting for Houston when he decides to retire.
Where Scott Drew is viewed in the coaching world is no secret after this offseason. His name was floated for a number of blue-blood jobs but nothing could uproot him from the program he built at Baylor.
After taking over a program which needed a complete overhaul to compete, Drew built Baylor into a national championship winning school. Even after seeing multiple assistants land high-profile jobs in direct competition, the consistency remains.
Against all offs, Drew has turned Baylor into a destination for five-star recruits and big-time transfers alike with the promise of good coaching
Tommy Lloyd sat back and learned from Mark Few at Gonzaga before finding the right time to jump to a big-time program of his own and lead the ship. Arizona has picked right up with his approach as a constant threat.
Lloyd has gotten in the door with every type of impact player available, from high-profile transfers to five-star recruits and even international prospects.
The 2022 National Coach of the Year already has three NCAA Tournament appearances and a pair of Sweet 16 appearances on his resume to start his career. Things do not look like slowing down any time soon. and winning basketball along the way.
TJ Otzelberger has brought Iowa State into the mix as an NCAA Tournament contender since taking over the program. He has taken the Cyclones dancing in each of his first three seasons and promises to start 2024-25 inside the Top 10 nationally.
Using a combination of analytics and scheduling savvy, Iowa State has turned into one of the favorites in every computer-run database across college basketball. That belief was proven worthy this season with a Sweet 16 run.
Despite getting almost nothing from his first five-star recruit last season, Otzelberger still managed to get production from young players to complement returning starters who made a leap within the system.
Jerome Tang comes off the Scott Drew coaching tree and has already paved his own way in the Big 12 hierarchy. His relationship-based approach to coaching has made him popular with players and led to early success.
The 2023 National Coach of the Year made an Elite Eight run in his first season in charge, setting the bar high for what expectations should look like at Kansas State.
While the team missed the NCAA Tournament last season, late roster movement brought on by the school’s administration set back the group which has since reloaded for the future.
West Virginia opted to use an interim coach last season after parting ways with legendary coach Bob Huggins due to off-court issues, but now places Darian DeVries in charge.
DeVries has been one of the most successful mid-major coaches in recent seasons, turning Drake into a yearly contender to make the NCAA Tournament and give high-major programs some trouble early.
He brings his coaching style and his star forward – and son Tucker – to the Big 12 with hopes of succeeding in a similar way to his old boss Greg McDermott when he made the leap in competition.
Grant McCasland is another former Scott Drew assistant finding success in the Big 12 as a head coach now. His commitment to playing a different style from others has paid off with success at multiple stops.
McCasland has needed plenty of roster building experience, overhauling the roster with a new group of players after an exodus prior to his arrival and a second way of departures this offseason.
The pieces as starting to fall into place, and Texas Tech has a coach ready to play his brand of basketball.
Wes Miller might be the best coach in college basketball without an NCAA Tournament win, something he hopes to change this season with a loaded Cincinnati roster.
A decade in charge at UNC-Greensboro proved that he was ready to take charge of a high-major program after two SoCon Coach of the Year awards.
The past two seasons have shown Miller’s ability to recruit not only high school stars, but also transfer pieces who promise to fit well beside the featured players.
The final spot in the Top 10 is difficult to peg down, but you cannot go wrong with new BYU coach Kevin Young, who makes his way to college basketball from the Phoenix Suns.
While he does not have a track record at this level, his candidacy for the Suns head coaching position last season says a lot about the respect basketball minds have for his X’s and O’s.
Being able to sell players on the idea he can coach them the same way he did Kevin Durant and Devin Booker, among others, will help him on the recruiting trail and in the transfer portal.
Bobby Hurley – Arizona State
Tad Boyle – Colorado
Steve Lutz – Oklahoma State
Jamie Dixon – TCU
Johnny Dawkins – UCF
Craig Smith – Utah
The Big 12 has potential to become even stronger as a conference after expanding to add multiple programs which raise the level of competition. This group of coaches have a chance to shake things up, and some can even make a case regardless of where they finish based on the great depth from top to bottom.
