LAKE CHARLES – McNeese head coach
Bill Armstrong has been named a finalist for the 2025-26 Joe B. Hall Award which is presented annually to the top first-time head coach in Division I college basketball.
Not only in his first season at McNeese, Armstrong is in his first season as a head coach at the collegiate level and has guided the Cowboys to a 26-5 regular season mark and 19-3 Southland Conference record.
The 26 wins are the most by a first-year head coach in school history while the 19 league wins tied a school record and is the second-most in league history. In addition, the 26 wins are the second-most ever for McNeese in a regular season, second only to the 2023-24 season's 28 regular season wins. The .839 regular season winning percentage is ranked as the second-highest in school history.
McNeese is ranked 14
th in the NCAA in scoring margin at 13.8. The Cowboys have recorded 19 double-digit wins on the season out of their 26 victories. Defensively, Armstrong's Cowboys have been dominant all year and is currently ranked No. 2 in the NCAA in turnover margin (7.4) and turnovers forced per game (16.9), third in steals per game (10.4), and 20th in scoring defense (66.3).
The Cowboys are No. 1 in the nation in steal percentage (15.2) and turnover percentage (24.7) and turned all 31 opponents over at least 10 times in a game with nine of those being turned over 20 or times.
The Joe B. Hall award is named in honor of longtime Kentucky head coach Joe B. Hall who was given the task of following the legendary Adolph Rupp at the school. In his first season, Hall finished 20-8, won the SEC and advanced to the NCAA Regional Finals.
The recipient of the annual 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 2026 award will be announced in Indianapolis, site of the men's Division I Basketball Championship.
Joe B. Hall Award Finalists
Clint Allard, UC San Diego
Bill Armstrong, McNeese
Tim Bergstraser, Denver
Matt Braeuer, Stephen F. Austin
Kevin Carroll, Lipscomb
Zach Chu, Radford
Flynn Clayman, High Point
Ali Farokhmanesh, Colorado State
Kevin Giltner, Wofford
Kevin Hovde, Columbia
Jai Lucas, Miami
Ryan Miller, Murray State
Ryan Pannone, Arkansas State
Jon Perry, Navy
Nolan Smith, Tennessee State
Charlie Ward, Florida A&M
