Photo by: SMC Athletics / Piper Westrom
MBB | WCC Coach of the Year Randy Bennett Named Finalist for the Hugh Durham Mid-Major National Coach of the Year Award
3/4/2025 1:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
BOSTON, Mass. — As just announced by College Insider, Randy Bennett, named the WCC Coach of the Year for the fourth straight year earlier today, has also been named a finalist for the Hugh Durham National Coach of the Year award. The Hugh Durham Award honors the top mid-major head coach in Division I College Basketball, and 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.
A seven time WCC Coach of the Year honoree, including the winner of that award each of the last four years, Randy Bennett continues to keep Saint Mary's atop the mid-major and national ranks. This season, Bennett traversed the departure of six student-athletes (four portal, two graduation) and still managed to lead his team to their third straight WCC Regular Season Title and their second straight outright WCC Regular Season Title, both new program records. Known for coaching his brand of physical, old-school basketball, Bennett helped the Gaels to be recognized once again as one of the best defensive and rebounding teams in the country, ranking tops in the country in rebound margin (+10.8), fifth in scoring defense (60.8 PPG allowed), 10th in offensive rebounding (14.03 ORPG), 12th in scoring margin (+13.4) and 22nd in total rebounding (39.52 RPG). He became the first Saint Mary's Coach in 60+ years to coach a back-to-back WCC Player of the Year (Augustas Marciulionis) and the only Saint Mary's Coach to coach two two-time WCC Defensive Players of the Year (Diamon Simpson and Mitchell Saxen). The all-time winningest coach in Saint Mary's Men's Basketball history by 450 games, Bennett has amassed a record of 560-220 in his 24 years at the helm, including a 270-95 conference coaching record, second best in WCC history.
Here's the full list of Durham Award Finalists:
#GaelsRise
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.
A seven time WCC Coach of the Year honoree, including the winner of that award each of the last four years, Randy Bennett continues to keep Saint Mary's atop the mid-major and national ranks. This season, Bennett traversed the departure of six student-athletes (four portal, two graduation) and still managed to lead his team to their third straight WCC Regular Season Title and their second straight outright WCC Regular Season Title, both new program records. Known for coaching his brand of physical, old-school basketball, Bennett helped the Gaels to be recognized once again as one of the best defensive and rebounding teams in the country, ranking tops in the country in rebound margin (+10.8), fifth in scoring defense (60.8 PPG allowed), 10th in offensive rebounding (14.03 ORPG), 12th in scoring margin (+13.4) and 22nd in total rebounding (39.52 RPG). He became the first Saint Mary's Coach in 60+ years to coach a back-to-back WCC Player of the Year (Augustas Marciulionis) and the only Saint Mary's Coach to coach two two-time WCC Defensive Players of the Year (Diamon Simpson and Mitchell Saxen). The all-time winningest coach in Saint Mary's Men's Basketball history by 450 games, Bennett has amassed a record of 560-220 in his 24 years at the helm, including a 270-95 conference coaching record, second best in WCC history.
Here's the full list of Durham Award Finalists:
| 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 |
| Will Wade | McNeese |
Players Mentioned
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