50 winningest coaches in men’s college basketball history

In quite the off-season of college basketball news, longtime North Carolina head coach Roy Williams announced his retirement while legendary Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski announced he will call it a career after the 2021-22 season.

Those are two of the all-time greats in college basketball history and rank nearly at the top of the all-time wins list for men’s college basketball career victories as a Division-I head coach.

Who is near them and does anyone have a chance to catch them in the next decade or two?

Here are your 50 winningest coaches in men’s college basketball history according to sports-reference:

(In case you were wondering, Mike Brey ranks 57th all-time at the conclusion of the 2020-21 season with 547 victories)

T-50. Steve Fisher

Steve Fisher 571 wins Michigan, San Diego State

T-50. John Beilein

John Beilein 571 wins Canisius, Richmond, West Virginia, Michigan

49. Fran Dunphy

Fran Dunphy 580 wins Penn, Temple

48. Bobby Cremins

Bobby Cremins 586 wins Appalachian State, Georgia Tech, College of Charleston

T-46. Kelvin Sampson

Kelvin Sampson 592 wins Washington State, Oklahoma, Indiana, Houston

T-46. Guy Lewis

Guy Lewis 592 wins Houston

45. Tom Penders

Tom Penders 594 wins Tufts, Columbia, Fordham, Rhode Island, Texas, George Washington, Houston

44. John Thompson

John Thompson 596 wins Georgetown

43. Tom Davis

Tom Davis 597 wins Lafayette, Boston College, Sanford, Iowa, Drake

42. Slats Gill

Slats Gill 599 wins Oregon State

41. Leonard Hamilton

Leonard Hamilton 600 wins Oklahoma State, Miami (FL), Florida State

40. Bob McKillop

Bob McKillop 607 wins Davidson

39. Billy Tubbs

Billy Tubbs 609 wins Lamar, Oklahoma, TCU

38. Jay Wright

Jay Wright 612 wins Hofstra, Villanova

37. Stew Morrill

Stew Morrill 620 wins Montana, Colorado State, Utah State

36. Mark Few

Mark Few 630 wins Gonzaga

35. Tubby Smith

Tubby Smith 631 wins Tulsa, Georgia, Kentucky, Minnesota, Texas Tech, Memphis, High Point

T-33. Norm Stewart

Norm Stewart 634 wins State College of Iowa, Missouri

T-33. Hugh Durham

Hugh Durham 634 wins Florida State, Georgia, Jacksonville

32. Jim Larranaga

Jim Larranaga 642 wins Bowling Green, George Mason, Miami (FL)

31. Tom Izzo

Tom Izzo 643 wins Michigan State

30. John Wooden

John Wooden 664 wins Indiana State, UCLA

29. Gary Williams

Gary Williams 668 wins American, Boston College, Ohio State, Maryland

T-27. Ralph Miller

Ralph Miller 674 wins Wichita, Iowa, Oregon State

T-27. Lon Kruger

Lon Kruger 674 wins Texas-Pan American, Kansas State, Florida, Illinois, UNLV, Oklahoma

26. Denny Crum

Denny Crum 675 wins Louisville

25. Mike Montgomery

Mike Montgomery 676 wins Montana, Stanford, California

24. Dana Altman

Dana Altman 690 wins Marshall, Kansas State, Creighton, Oregon

T-22. Don Haskins

Don Haskins 719 wins Texas Western/UTEP

T-22. Phog Allen

Phog Allen Baker, Kansas, Haskell

21. Ray Meyer

Ray Meyer 724 wins DePaul

20. Rick Barnes

Rick Barnes 727 wins George Mason, Providence, Clemson, Texas, Tennessee

19. Bill Self

Bill Self 729 wins Oral Roberts, Tulsa, Illinois, Kansas

18. Hank Iba

Hank Iba 752 wins Northwest Missouri State, Colorado, Oklahoma A&M/State

17. E. A. Diddle

E. A. Diddle 759 wins Western Kentucky

16. Jerry Tarkanian

Jerry Tarkanian 761 wins Long Beach State, UNLV, Fresno State

15. Lou Henson

Credit: Bradley Leeb-USA TODAY Sports

Lou Henson 775 wins Hardin-Simmons, New Mexico State, Illinois

14. Lute Olson

Credit: Casey Sapio-USA TODAY Sports

Lute Olson 776 wins Long Beach State, Iowa, Arizona

13. Rick Pitino

Credit: Jamie Rhodes-USA TODAY Sports

Rick Pitino 782 wins Boston, Providence, Kentucky, Louisville, Iona

12. John Calipari

Credit: Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports

John Calipari 784 wins UMass, Memphis, Kentucky

11. Lefty Driesell

Credit: Shanna Lockwood-USA TODAY Sports

Lefty Driesell 786 wins Davidson, Maryland, James Madison, Georgia State

10. Cliff Ellis

Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports

Cliff Ellis 800 wins Cumberland, South Alabama, Clemson, Auburn, Coastal Carolina

9. Eddie Sutton

Credit: Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports

Eddie Sutton 806 wins Creighton, Arkansas, Kentucky, Oklahoma State, San Francisco

8. Bob Huggins

Credit: Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports

Bob Huggins 828 wins Akron, Cincinnati, Kansas State, West Virginia

7. Adolph Rupp

Photo courtesy of Courier Journal

Adolph Rupp 876 wins Kentucky

6. Jim Calhoun

Credit: Jim O’Connor-USA TODAY Sports

Jim Calhoun 877 wins Northeastern, UCONN, St. Joseph’s (CT)

5. Dean Smith

Credit: Phil Sears-USA TODAY Sports

Dean Smith 879 wins North Carolina

4. Bob Knight

Courtesy: Rich Miller – Indy Star

Bob Knight 899 wins Army, Indiana, Texas Tech

3. Roy Williams

Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

Roy Williams 903 wins Kansas, North Carolina

2. Jim Boeheim

Credit: Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports

Jim Boeheim 1083 wins Syracuse

1. Mike Krzywewski

Credit: Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports

Mike Krzywewski 1170 wins Army, Duke

1

1