Top five head coaches in men's 2026 NCAA Tournament

Some head coaches are just built for March Madness. Their success in college basketball's annual rite of passage is well-documented and praised by their peers, national observers and fans alike.

With the 2026 NCAA Tournament's 68-team bracket unveiled, experts are busy opining on which teams have the best shot to win the national title and which Cinderellas will be the darlings of this spring's Big Dance.

For the serious or the casual fan out there, when filling out your bracket, it's important to keep in mind not just which teams are playing from round to round, but also who the head coaches are leading these squads.

Top-five head coaches in March Madness

5. Dan Hurley, Connecticut Huskies
2025-26 record: 29-5 overall
Big Dance seed: No. 2 in East Region
The other head coaches on this list have been around for much longer, but Hurley has achieved a ton in a relatively short span. Between his tenure first at Rhode Island and now UConn, Hurley has been to eight NCAA Tournaments, with an overall mark of 15-5 and back-to-back national titles with the Huskies in 2023 and 2024.

4. Tom Izzo, Michigan State Spartans
2025-26 record: 25-7 overall
Big Dance seed: No. 3 in East Region
Izzo has a long-time reputation as being an NCAA Tournament wizard. He's 59-26 in the Big Dance with Sparty, winning the national championship in 2000 (the last chip for a Big Ten Conference team) and taking Michigan State to eight Final Fours.

3. Rick Pitino, St. John's Red Storm
2025-26 record: 28-6 overall
Big Dance seed: No. 5 seed in East Region
Similar to Izzo, Pitino is a masterclass in March Madness. He's won national titles with two different teams (Kentucky and Louisville), gone to seven Final Fours and compiled an overall NCAA Tournament record of 55-22. Over the weekend, St. John's crushed UConn in the Big East Conference Tournament final.

2. John Calipari, Arkansas Razorbacks
2025-26 record: 26-8 overall
Big Dance seed: No. 4 seed in West Region
Coach Cal has taken three schools - UMass, Memphis and Kentucky - to the national semifinals or further. He has six total trips to the Final Four and cut down the nets in 2012 with Kentucky. Calipari's March Madness record is 59-23. Arkansas just won the SEC Tournament and could be a trendy pick as a No. 4 seed to make a deep run this spring.

1. Bill Self, Kansas Jayhawks
2025-26 record: 23-10 overall
Big Dance seed: No. 4 in East Region
This season's Kansas team isn't as dominant as some of Self's prior Jayhawks groups, but make no mistake about it: Any Self-coached squad will be a tough out in the NCAA Tournament. At Kansas, he won the whole thing in 2008 and 2022, while taking the Jayhawks to two other Final Fours. His total Big Dance record, which also includes trips with Tulsa and Illinois, is 57-24.