LAKE CHARLES – McNeese head coach
Will Wade has been named one of 25 finalists for the 2024-25 Hugh Durham Award for the nation's top head coach in mid-major basketball.
A 2023-24 Hugh Durham Award finalist, Wade guided McNeese to its second-consecutive Southland Conference regular season championship and No. 1 overall seed in the postseason tournament this season.
The Cowboys' 25-6 overall record marks the second-straight season of winning 25 games or more while their 19-1 league record tied a conference record for most wins in a season.
In 2024-25, he became the fastest coach to reach 30 wins in school history, doing it in 37 games, and has guided the Cowboys to back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time since 2001-2002 and just the fifth time in school history. His current record at McNeese is 46-8 overall and 35-2 in league play, the winningest coach in conference history in league games only.
In addition, McNeese's current total wins of 55 over a two-year span under Wade, is the most in school history in the 82-year history of the program.
McNeese is one of 11 teams in the nation with 25 wins on the season and one of six squads in the mid-major ranks with at least 25 victories.
The Hugh Durham award is named in honor of the former Florida State, Georgia and Jacksonville head coach. In eight seasons, at Jacksonville University, Durham became the Dolphins' all-time winningest Division I coach (106 wins), making him the only coach in NCAA history to be the winningest coach (pct. or wins) at three different Division I schools.
Coaches of teams in the following conferences are eligible for the award: America East, ASUN, Big Sky, Big South, Big West, Coastal Athletic, CUSA, Horizon, Independents, Ivy, Metro Atlantic, Mid-American, MEAC, Missouri Valley, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Southern, Southland, SWAC, Summit, Sun Belt, WAC, West Coast.
The recipient of the award is determined by a 10-member voting committee, which consists of current and former head coaches, as well as two senior staff members of collegeinsider.com.
The 2025 award will be announced in San Antonio, TX, site of the men's Division I Basketball Championship.
Hugh Durham Award Finalists
Will Wade, McNeese
Lennie Acuff, Lipscomb
Randy Bennett, Saint Mary's
Alvin Brooks, Lamar
Chris Crutchfield, Omaha
John Dunne, Marist
Brian Earl, William & Mary
John Groce, Akron
Ray Harper, Jacksonville State
Alan Huss, High Point
Kevin Johnson, Southern
James Jones, Yale
Robert Jones, Norfolk State
Chris Markwood, Maine
Ben McCollum, Drake
David McLaughlin, Dartmouth
Ritchie McKay, Liberty
Eric Olen, UC San Diego
Todd Phillips,Utah Valley
Tony Pujol, North Alabama
Ritchie Riley, South Alabama
Patrick Sellers, Central Connecticut State
Pat Skerry, Towson
John Tauer, St. Thomas
Andy Toole, Robert Morris
|
|
