Once again CBS Sports has been publishing our Candid Coaches series, which spotlights relevant topics and issues in men’s college basketball. Gary Parrish and Matt Norlander polled nearly 100 coaches in recent weeks on a variety of subjects. Coaches spoke on background and were provided anonymity to offer unfiltered opinions. Today, we turn to the topic of the best coaches yet to win a national championship.
Winning the NCAA Tournament is a career-defining achievement, something so difficult that some of the greatest coaches in the sport, men who led programs for over 30 years and coached close to or more than 1,000 games failed to achieve.
If you’re curious on some of the greatest to never win it all, here’s the list of men’s Division I coaches with 700-plus wins but zero NCAA Tournament titles: Bob Huggins, Rick Barnes, Eddie Sutton, Kelvin Sampson, Lefty Driesell, Dana Altman, Lou Henson, Ed Diddle, John Beilein, Mark Few, Ray Meyer and Norm Stewart. (Bruce Pearl won a Division II title in 1995, so that counts.)
Winning even one NCAA crown alters a coach’s legacy, some so much that it’s the event that can bolster them to eventual Naismith Hall of Fame status.
There are just seven active men’s D-I coaches who can claim an NCAA tourney title on their résumé: John Calipari, Scott Drew, Todd Golden, Dan Hurley, Tom Izzo, Rick Pitino and Bill Self. That leaves a lot of opportunity for others to join that club. Florida’s Todd Golden, who just turned 40 this summer, is the newest first-time champion. And before him, Dan Hurley altered his reputation forever: He went from zero NCAA Tournament wins at UConn to back-to-back national titles and clinched an eventual Hall of Fame ceremony for himself years from now.
So, who’s next? That’s today’s survey Q.
Which coach will be the next first-time national champion?
Others receiving multiple votes: Nate Oats (Alabama), Tommy Lloyd (Arizona), Dusty May (Michigan), Grant McCasland (Texas Tech)
Quotes that stood out
About Sampson
- “He was obviously a possession away last year. He has a really good blend of young talent and retention of important pieces. This is the year he gets it done.”
- “This is the easy, low-hanging fruit answer but he’s way too good of a coach and has gotten too close for it not to happen in the next 1-2 years, then potentially ride off into the sunset. KenPom averages over the past five years: 2.6 overall ranking, 12th on offense, fifth on defense.”
- “Consistently has the defense and toughness to win a national championship but now is recruiting offensively skilled McDonald’s All-Americans that will put them over the hump. And they will always be old.”
- “I am locked in to Kelvin Sampson since I think they are the team to beat this year.”
- “Has created one of the best cultures in college basketball. His teams play harder and more together than most. They have been killing it on the recruiting trail. Only a matter of time until the talent and toughness equal title.”
About Painter
- “I don’t know if I’m answering with my head or my heart — but I’ll go with Paint. He’s so good and so deserving. I think he gets it this year. I hope he does.”
- “Has been incredibly consistent. CULTURE. Recruits, retains, X’s and O’s. Probably best team in the country headed into season.”
- “Fully loaded roster with experience. He’s been in every position possible from losing in the first round to making the championship game. He’s getting it done this season.”
Candid Coaches: Do you trust that your competitors will follow new recruiting rules?
Gary Parrish
About Scheyer
- “He has proven in three years that he can recruit the best, coach with the best and is replacing arguably the greatest coach of any sport in history, showing he can handle the challenge of Duke. He does not make it about himself. It’s about Duke and his players. I must emphasize that he is a national champion alumnus of Duke. He has incredible cachet and it is only going to grow.”
- “I think they’re always going to be in play for the top talent in the country. They’ll always have what you hope to have to compete for a national championship, first and foremost, but I also think he’s a pretty good coach and leader. As a young head coach, he’s got the ‘It’ factor. He’s set up to be next. And it’s Duke.”
About Pope
- “Since UK can do things no other school can financially, he would have to be a complete bozo to not win one soon.”
The takeaway
For those keeping track, the top two vote-getters for this question are also the two coaches leading the teams that finished in the top two when we asked which team would be best in the country for 2025-26. Strangely enough, Purdue won out for best team, yet Kelvin Sampson and his Cougars take it here, which of course can be the case. Purdue could prove the plurality of coaches who voted it No. 1 to be right; it could be the No. 1 overall seed in the 2026 NCAA Tournament, but that’s no assurance Houston or someone else wins the title.
Sampson has made the Final Four three times (2002, 2021, 2025). A fourth trip seems on the table with such a strong group. And for a lot of coaches in the game, they’re rooting for him to get there and cut down the nets because they believe he’s too good not to get at least one title.
Whereas Sampson will turn 70 in October, Painter is 55 and still has much more tread on his tires. The Purdue roster could have the NPOY in Braden Smith, and talent-wise, it could prove to be as good as just about any squad Painter’s put on a floor in his tenure. Broadly (and non-mathematically) speaking, it feels like Painter and Sampson jointly have about a 40% chance of winning it all this season. It just seems like one or the other is due.
Then there’s Scheyer, who’s entering Year 4 with Duke and very much seems like he’s on his way to winning a natty at some point. It could be 2026, it could be 2036. The NCAA Tournament is so fickle. But as long as he’s maintaining a recruiting edge on the rest of college hoops, he’ll consistently be on the short list of best coaches without a title. Pope coming in fourth was a bit of surprise on my end, primarily because I didn’t receive a single vote for him; all of his nominations came from Parrish’s polling. Pope hadn’t won an NCAA Tournament game until this year, but being at Kentucky does give him rocket fuel to get one — and ideally have the roster in the next few years to have a shot.
Many coaches I spoke with about this question primarily viewed it through the prism of the upcoming season, which makes sense. If you don’t think Hurley, Golden, Pitino, Calipari, Self, Izzo or Drew are adding another to their trophy cases, then it makes sense to pick the coach of the team you think it strongest. That said, a semi-surprise on the overall voting return: Not a single mention for Mark Few. If we’d run this poll three years ago, I’d be willing to wager Gonzaga’s coach would have easily been in the top five. This suggests that Few’s compatriots think his window has passed.
Speaking as a reporter, I’ll offer that it’s always a privilege to be able to write and opine on the programs that win it all with a first-time national championship coach. To track that journey in the weeks leading up to that Monday night in April is always a unique story. In 2026, I expect there to be a coach who climbs a ladder in Indianapolis and dons a championship net for the first time in his career.
Previous 2025 Candid Coaches questions
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