The 2026 version of CBS Sports' annual Top 25 And 1 preseason coaches ranking features a nearly 20% churn rate, as five coaches who didn't make last year's list are crashing the party this time around. But the ranking will look familiar at the top. UConn's Dan Hurley is No. 1 for a third year in a row.
In fact, this year's top three of Hurley, Kelvin Sampson (Houston) and Rick Pitino (St. John's) remains unchanged. One of the top contenders to potentially crash that rarified air, Dusty May, left for the NBA after leading Michigan to a national championship.
May's departure and Greg McDermott's retirement guaranteed there would be some attrition. Mark Pope (Kentucky), Chris Beard (Ole Miss) and Shaka Smart (Marquette) are the other three coaches who do not appear in this year's Top 25 and 1 coaches ranking after making the 2025 version. All three failed to meet expectations in 2025-26.
With plenty of other great candidates waiting at the door, they have been displaced for now. As for big risers, Arizona's Tommy Lloyd and Illinois' Brad Underwood fit the bill. Both were ranked last year, but they made significant jumps this year after leading their programs to the 2026 Final Four.
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, David Cobb, Cameron Salerno and Isaac Trotter. Hurley guided UConn to its third national title game appearance in a four-year span before the Huskies ran into a historically dominant Michigan team on the season's final night.
While Hurley fell just short of becoming the first coach since John Wooden to win three national championships in four years, he's presiding over a dynasty. At 53, he could keep it going for quite some time. He was the unanimous No. 1 choice by our panelists. (Last year: 1) Sampson reached 30+ wins for a fifth consecutive season in 2025-26, as he guided Houston to a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
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