On this final day of April, let's take one last look back at the season. Every spring, we take the time here at CBS Sports to reflect on which hirings paid off right away.
No, this isn't a grades post. Longtime readers know I'm a stickler about grading coaching hires so soon after they're on the job. (Give these folks time to put in some years and all that.) That said, my annual four-year-later grading — 2020's strange class is next up — will publish later this week.
This yearly appraisal is about commending the first-year coaches who did the best right away. There were 12 high-major hirings a year ago. At that level, only two in that group had certifiably really good seasons, with one of them carrying an asterisk as is. But, with such a low number, I also included two more power-conference coaches who did pretty well for themselves, big picture.
And at the mid-major level, we've got a dozen coaches who earn acclaim following tremendous debut campaigns.
A good Year 1 doesn't ensure a good Year 2 but, boy, does it help at this time of the year in the transfer portal. Of the 60-plus hires in 2023, here were the 16 who did the best in their first season at their new school.
2023-24's most immediately successful high-major hires
 | |
| Rodney Terry: This one barely qualifies, since Terry has been running Texas' program since Dec. 12, 2022, the day he took over (on an interim basis) after Chris Beard was suspended and ultimately fired. But I'm including Terry because he was officially hired in late March 2023, so this past season was his first as the full-time head coach after getting the Longhorns to the 2023 Elite Eight via a No. 2 seed. Last season, the Longhorns finished 21-13 (were seventh in the Big 12 at 9-9) and lost in the second round (as a 7-seed) by four points to Tennessee. Terry's coached Texas to a 43-21 record (4-2 in the NCAAs) and has been a clear success so far. | |
 | |
| Grant McCasland: While TTU fans are aware of how well it went in Year 1, it kind of seems like McCasland's debut season in Lubbock went underappreciated nationally. Maybe that's because the Red Raiders were quickly dispatched in the NCAAs by NC State. But if you're Texas Tech and you make the NCAA Tournament in your first year under a new coach, that's a huge win. After the messy, short-lived Mark Adams era, McCasland guided the Red Raiders to a 23-11 season, an 11-7 record in the Big 12 and earned a No. 6 seed. McCasland and Terry were the only Year 1 high-major coaches to make the Big Dance in 2024. I'm intrigued to see how McCasland navigates a deeper Big 12 moving forward -- with a healthy backing of NIL funds from TTU boosters. | |
Two more that were close
If you were a first-year coach at a high-major program but DIDN'T make the NCAA Tournament, I can't put you in the same bucket as the teams that did get there in Year 1 under their new guys. That said, two coaches did come close and had solid seasons and/or rated well in NCAA and tempo-free metrics.
 | |
| Rick Pitino: The Red Storm didn't make the NCAAs under Pitino right away, but they were the highest-rated KenPom team that didn't break through. St. John's finished 21st at KenPom and opted not to play in the NIT, concluding with a 20-13 season that ended in the Big East semifinals against dual Big East champ/future back-to-back national champion UConn. Pitino's infamous mid-February rant about his team's lack of athleticism wound up sparking a six-game winning streak that put St. John's into the bubble conversation. No tournament appearance was a semi-shock, but on balance, it was a net positive in Year 1 under Pitino. | |
 | |
| Kim English: The Friars, like St. John's, were unexpectedly not even on the "First Four out" list by the selection committee, despite the fact English's team won 21 games, had six Quad 1 victories and boasted the Big East Player of the Year (Devin Carter). Here were the NCAA Tournament teams English's group defeated last season: Creighton (twice), Wisconsin, Marquette. Had a top-20 defense as well. Also, crucially, avoided losing against former coach Ed Cooley; the Friars went 3-0 against Georgetown last season. | |
Mid-major noisemakers in Year 1
You don't need to make the NCAA Tournament to get recognition around these parts. Here were the small-school coaches that were exceptional in their inaugural go-rounds. Four of them did in fact dance in their first season at their new jobs. And two of those four are already on to greener pastures. We had nearly 50 mid-major switches in 2023. Eleven first-year hires stood out as immediate difference-makers.
 | |
| Danny Sprinkle: It was so good, he's no longer there. The only non-high-major first-year coach to win an NCAA Tournament game in 2024 was Sprinkle, who left Montana State for Utah State and proceeded to have a 28-7 season that included a first round NCAA Tournament win. Utah State also won the Mountain West regular season championship for the first time in school history. Sprinkle was so good, he was lured away after just one season by Washington. He also coached Great Osobor, who won MW Player of the Year after following Sprinkle from Montana State. | |
 | |
| Will Wade: Wade got the job after infamously holding on to his post at LSU, only to be fired for cause in 2022 once the NCAA's Notice of Allegations were formally filed against his former school. He sat out a year, was hired by McNeese and served a 10-game suspension to start the season. What transpired was a season of Southland dominance. The Cowboys went 26-4 vs. Division I competition, including a 19-1 record against conference opponents. Wade was a soft target for bigger jobs this cycle but will stick around for Year 2 in Lake Charles, Louisiana. | |
 | |
| Steve Lutz: Of all the coaches listed in this entire story, two of them got promoted again after just one season. Danny Sprinkle is one and Lutz is the other. Lutz -- now at Oklahoma State -- is at his third job in as many years because he's proven to be a terrific tactician after serving as a longtime assistant at Creighton and Purdue. (Lutz also took Texas A&M-Corpus Christi to the NCAAs.) Western Kentucky went 22-12 under Lutz and made the NCAAs as CUSA champion, its first Big Dance in 11 years. Lutz's successor is Hank Ploma, who was elevated from within. | |
 | |
| Amir Abdur-Rahim: The Bulls looked FUN for the first time in forever. Home games at the Yuengling Center were as good as any environment in the American Athletic Conference. Abdur-Rahim was instantly a difference-maker, coaching USF to a 25-8 mark. It's the most wins in a season in program history, NBD. Abdur-Rahim was interviewed for multiple high-major jobs, but that never materialized, which I found strange. (He also loves the fit at USF right now, with where his life is.) Because of that, I expect USF to be a factor again next year, and for Abdur-Rahim's star to rise all the more. | |
 | |
| Alan Huss: Longwood repped the Big South in the NCAA Tournament, but the best team was coached by Huss, who wound up with a 27-9 record in his first season. The Panthers went 13-3 in league play and lost to Longwood in OT in the conference semis. Huss runs a great offense, which adds up: He spent the previous six seasons scheming at Creighton under Greg McDermott. | |
 | |
| Matt Logie: No matter how you do it, if you make the NCAAs in your first season, it's a success. That's the case with Montana State, which broke through the Big Sky and was a No. 16 seed after going 17-17, finishing fifth in the conference. MSU lost to Grambling State in the First Four, but Logie made the field of 68 in Year 1. That's a huge win at a mid-major. | |
 | |
| Tom Pecora: A most unexpected breakthrough in Hamden, Connecticut. Pecora got this job after Baker Dunleavy left in April 2023 to be Villanova's general manager/NIL caretaker. What happened? The Bobcats set a program record for most wins in a season (24-10) and won the MAAC regular season championship. They fell short in the conference tournament but have a chance in 2024-25 to do something never done before: make the NCAAs. Quinnipiac has been in D-I since 1998. | |
 | |
| Sundance Wicks: This mostly happened in obscurity, but the man responsible for one of the five biggest turnarounds in college basketball last season is getting his shine here. Wicks inherited a broken Phoenix program that won three games in 2022-23 and managed to go 18-14 in the Horizon League. From No. 351 preseason at KenPom to No. 230. Good work. | |
 | |
| Ryan Odom: This ranks among the most prominent and prestigious mid-major jobs in the sport. Odom left a good post at Utah State to return to the East Coast and wound up finishing top-four in the A-10, a 24-14 record in full. That's a good debut season here. The key question is: Will Max Shulga opt to use his final year of eligibility? He's in the portal and will test NBA waters, but there's a chance he opts in for one more go-round in Richmond. | |
 | |
| Corey Gipson: Austin Peay abandoned its Nate James plan after two seasons to hire Gipson. What transpired right away was a 10-win increase (from nine to 19) that included a run to the ASUN title game. That championship affair was incredible, a 94-91 loss to Stetson. Gipson is cooking in Clarksville, Tennessee. | |
 | |
| Bryan Hodgson: From 13 wins to 20 wins right off the bat -- and in the Sun Belt. Yes, Arkansas State held its own in a league with 32-win James Madison and a 27-win App State team that beat JMU twice. Hodgson came over from Alabama. He's got portal wins again already and figures to be running a top-three unit in that conference again next season. | |
 | |
| KT Turner: The well-regarded former assistant (Oklahoma, Texas, Kentucky) got his first crack in the WAC and didn't waste time being an impact guy. The Mavericks went from 11 to 20 wins under Turner and finished third in the WAC with a 13-7 record. After five seasons of irrelevance, UT Arlington is back as a viable mid-major in a quality one-bid league. | |
