How 2026 men’s tournament coaches have played in the NCAA tournament

The NCAA tournament provides players an opportunity to etch themselves in national conversations, whether it's as one of the top buckets in the country, a fan favorite, or a name that comes up in March every year. 

For some coaches, it’s a chance for them to relive a moment in time from a past life, career, even.

28 coaches in this year's March Madness have competed in the NCAA tournament as a player, with seven coaching at their alma mater and two winning national titles together.

Here’s a look at what college coaches had some of the most decorated resumes during their heydays. Below that is a full list of each coach who made it to the Big Dance.

Duke's coaching pipeline

Duke earned the title of ‘NBA talent factory’ long ago, producing top players yearly that take the college basketball realm by storm. Many stay for just a year, others hang around, develop and become veteran leaders.

The Blue Devils have become a hotbed for turning their former stars into college coaches, too. Four are in this year’s NCAA tournament, all playing for coach Mike Krzyzewski for four seasons — two winning a national championship together and the others hoisting one in each in the 1980s and 90s.

Take a look at a few of them.

Duke's Jon Scheyer — Duke from 2006-10

College basketball fans born after 2005 may only know Jon Scheyer, ‘the coach,’ the disciple of coach Mike Krzyzewski. 

But older March Madness heads were introduced to the 38-year-old 1.5 decades prior, who was a starting guard that helped lead the Blue Devils to their first title in nearly 10 years. 

Scheyer, who played at Duke from 2006-10 reached the NCAA tournament in all four seasons and started in three of them. Scheyer’s big moment in the Big Dance came during the 2010 national championship game. 

The team captain ended his college career on a high note, dropping 15 points in the 61-59 win over Butler, scoring five of the Blue Devils’ final 10 points, finishing with six rebounds and a team-high of five assists. Scheyer was dialed in even before that with 20 points in their Elite Eight game and 23 in the Final Four matchup against West Virginia.

Scheyer would become the second men’s basketball coach ever to win a national championship as a player and coach for his alma mater. 

Tennessee State’s Nolan Smith — Duke from 2007-11

The other half of Duke’s 2010 polarizing backcourt was Nolan Smith, who, like Scheyer, assembled a strong resume in Durham.

Smith had a quiet first two seasons for the Blue Devils, playing behind the likes of Scheyer, Gerald Henderson and DeMarcus Nelson. But when the latter two departed, Smith exploded onto the scene, averaging 17.4 points per game and leading the team in field goals made.

His top performance during the 2010 run came in the Elite Eight, scoring 29 points to lift Duke over Baylor, and he averaged 16 points and five assists between the Final Four and title game. Although Smith and company fell in the Sweet Sixteen a year later, 2011 was undoubtedly his best season for the Blue Devils — 20.6 points per game, led the ACC in scoring and was stamped ACC Player of the Year.

Funny enough, Smith and Scheyer found themselves back under Coach K as assistants after their pro careers ended.

UCF's Johnny Dawkins — Duke from 1982-86

Johnny Dawkins takes us back to the earliest days of Coach K’s 42-year tenure at Duke, and in a way, helped set the program up for its rise to Blue Blood, star-studded status.

A 6-foot-2 guard, Dawkins stuffed the stat sheet on a nightly basis, scoring 2,556 points from 1982-86, a school record that stood until JJ Redick surpassed it in 2006. He took the Blue Devils to the NCAA tournament three times, the most memorable being in 1986, where they fell just short in the national championship game to Louisville, 72-69. 

The program’s first of many Naismith Player of the Year winners, Dawkins dropped 20 points and four rebounds in the loss. 

"God only makes so many Johnny Dawkins" 🤣🐐

— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB)

Other names to know

Siena's Gerry McNamara — Syracuse from 2002-06

Carmelo Anthony is the first name that comes to mind for most when discussing the 2003 national champions and Syracuse men’s basketball as a whole. 

Quietly, Gerry McNamara was another key ingredient to that freshman class and the Orange’s sole championship run. Starting all 135 for Syracuse over his four-year career, McNamara averaged 13.3 points and 4.4 assists in 2003, highlighted by an 18-point performance on six threes in the title game against Kansas.

McNamara was given co-ownership of the program's keys for the next three seasons after Anthony left, helping lead the Orange to three more NCAA tournament appearances. He thrived in the NCAA tournament again in his sophomore campaign, dropping 43 points in his first round matchup against BYU, making it rain from deep with nine threes.

The sharpshooter still holds the all-time career record in made threes (400) at Syracuse, and is one of three players from the championship team (Anthony and Hakim Warrick) to have their jersey retired. 

North Carolina's Hubert Davis — UNC from 1988-1992

The Tar Heels have produced a boatload of stars that have thrived in the tournament throughout the years, and Hubert Davis is one of them.

UNC's coach was a role player in his first two seasons, which resulted in two Sweet 16 exits, including an 11-point performance in UNC’s 1990 tournament loss to Arkansas, while his junior year, specifically in March Madness, was his coming-out party. Scoring 13.3 points per game, the starting guard dropped 19 points in an Elite Eight win over Temple and a game-high of 25 in the Tar Heels’ Final Four loss to Kansas, coincidentally coached by Basketball Hall of Fame coach Roy Williams, who was at North Carolina for 18 years. 

Davis and the Tar Heels lost in the 1992 Sweet 16 to Ohio State in a season where he averaged 21.4 points per game. He posted double-digit outings in each of his last eight NCAA Tournament games.

Hofstra’s Speedy Claxton — Hofstra from 1996-2000

Claxton is another former player back at his alma mater, leading the Pride to two of their five appearances in the NCAA tournament.

2000 was the first go-around featuring Claxton ‘the player.’ Under Basketball Hall of Fame coach Jay Wright, the 5-foot-11 senior hooper was the golden child for Hofstra, averaging 22.8 points, 6.0 assists and 5.4 rebounds per game during his senior season. 

Willing the Pride to an American East Championship, they reached the NCAA tournament for the first time in 1977. Hofstra went on to lose to Oklahoma State in the first round, but Claxton finished with 20 points, seven assists and four rebounds. 

He took home two America East Player of the Year honors in 1998 and 2000 as well.

Kentucky's Mark Pope — Washington/Kentucky from 1991-1996

There are seven coaches in this year's NCAA tournament who led their alma mater to March Madness, but even a smaller committee that has won a national championship during their hoop days. Mark Pope is one of two, transitioning from a West Coast star at Washington to playing an important role at Kentucky.

Pope won Pac-10 Freshman of the Year in 1992, but the Huskies weren’t able to reach March Madness in his first two seasons.

Enter Kentucky.

The 6-10 forward transferred there for his junior and senior years, reaching the Elite Eight during his first season in and cutting down the nets in his final tour. He was a team captain for the 1996 national championship team, averaging 7.6 points and 5.2 rebounds on 20.3 minutes per game. Although he didn’t have the strongest stat line in the title game against Syracuse, he made two clutch free throws in the semifinals against No. 1 UMass.
 

New Kentucky Men's Basketball Head Coach Mark Pope & Co. sealing the win over John Calipari's #1 ranked UMass squad in the 1996 National Semifinal:

— WT - Mo D Enthusiast (@WildcatsTongue)

Long Island’s Rod Strickland — DePaul 

DePaul’s men’s basketball program has retired just five players’ jerseys throughout its history, each gracing the Chicago hardwood prior to 1990, revealing the high-level of criteria it takes for someone to receive that honor.

The most recent one was Strickland, who played for the Blue Demons from 1985-88. He led DePaul to the NCAA tournament all three seasons — two being consecutive trips to the Sweet Sixteen — and was named an All-American as a junior. 

Strickland was the main contributor in all three runs, scoring 130 points and 51 assists across eight contests with highs of 25 and 13, respectively. 

Coincidentally, DePaul was knocked out of the 1986 NCAA tournament by Duke and Johnny Dawkins, 74-67.

Coaches who played in the NCAA tournament

Here are the 28 coaches who took trips to the Big Dance during their playing days — seven more than last season featured. Three coaches are listed who made appearances in the DII or DIII national tournaments. This includes the coaches whose teams were eliminated in the 2026 First Four round.

(Readers may have to scroll to read the entire table)