Former D3 Athletes Coaching in D1 Men’s Basketball March Madness
D3 Players & Coaches Turned D1 Head Coaches Leading Teams in the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament
It is no secret that many of the greatest basketball minds in the world right now got their start as college athletes at the NCAA Division 3 level.
Just look at the NBA and WNBA coaching ranks, pro front offices, and the college ranks and you’ll see tons of examples.
Today we’re spotlighting a select group of former D3 Athletes & Coaches who are now leading a team as a Head Coach in the 2026 D1 Men’s Basketball Tournament - otherwise known as March Madness.
If you’re wondering, “how to become a college coach?”, or just want some great stories to root for during this year’s NCAA Division 1 basketball tournament then you’re in the right place.
In this year’s March Madness field alone, there are number of squads to root for:
11 Teams coached by a former D3 player (+1 borderline “D3” cases)
5 Teams coached by a former D3 coach
Here’s the full list:
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Nate Oats went from playing D3 football and basketball at Maranatha Baptist to coaching D1 Alabama.
Former D3 Players
Brad Underwood
From Hardin-Simmons to Illinois
Coach Underwood played a year for the Cowboys of HSU and also started his coaching career there in 1986 as a graduate assistant.
Coach Brad Underwood started his playing career at D3 Hardin-Simmons.
Ryan Odom
From Hampden–Sydney to Virginia
Coach Odom was an Economics major and the starting point guard for the Tigers from 1992-96. When he graduated, he was the school's all-time leader in 3’s made and fourth in assists.
He also has one of his D3 teammates on staff with him: Associate Head Coach Griff Aldrich who previously served as a D1 tournament head coach at Longwood. “Aldrich posted a 127-100 mark in seven seasons at Longwood, guiding the program to its first two Division I NCAA Tournament appearances, two Big South Championships, a Big South regular-season title and three consecutive 20-win campaigns for the first time in team history.” (Source)
Coach Ryan Odom played his college basketball at Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia.
Eran Ganot
From Swarthmore to Hawaii
Coach Eran Ganot played Division 3 Basketball at Swarthmore College, just outside of Philadelphia, PA. He was a two-time team captain for the Garnet and according to his bio from his time as an assistant for Saint Mary’s, was “a gym rat who played all five positions at Swarthmore [and] received the Dick Beppler Memorial Award his senior year.” (Source).
Coach Eran Ganot played D3 basketball at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania.
Bucky McMillan III
From Birmingham Southern to Texas A&M
Coach McMillan was an Education Services major and an All-Academic performer during his time at BSC. His Texas A&M squad faces off against the 7-seed Saint Mary’s in round 1 of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball tournament.
Coach Bucky McMillan III played his college basketball at Birmingham-Southern, which is now closed.
Tommy Lloyd
From Whitman to Arizona
Coach Lloyd wore #11 during his playing days at Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington. Since then all he’s done is be named AP National Coach of the year and set the record for the most NCAA D1 wins in a coach’s first two seasons.
Not bad for a D3 guy…
Coach Tommy Lloyd played D3 basketball for Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington.
Brad Brownell
From DePauw to Clemson
DePauw University is a small D3 school in Indiana with a basketball program that punches above its weight class when it comes to producing coaching talent. Coaches like Brad Brownell & Brad Stevens have gone on to do great things coaching at the D1 level with Clemson and Butler respectively.
This Brad has Clemson back in the D1 NCAA Men’s Basketball tournament again (as an 8-seed), and will face off with 9-seed Iowa in the first round.
Coach Brad Brownell played Division 3 basketball at DePauw University in Indiana.
Andy Enfield
From Johns Hopkins to SMU
Coach Enfield had a Hall of Fame basketball career at Johns Hopkins and is “arguably the most decorated men's basketball player in school history” (Source).
Coach Andy Enfield had a Hall of Fame D3 Hoops career at Johns Hopkins.
Herb Sendek
From Carnegie Mellon to Santa Clara
Coach Herb Sendek graduated from Carnegie Mellon University with a 3.95 GPA and a degree in Industrial Management. This earned him summa cum laude honors and the prestigious Carnegie Merit Scholarship. On the court, he was a three year letterman for the Tartans - who now play in the UAA conference.
Coach Herb Sendek played his D3 college basketball at Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh, PA.
T.J. Otzelberger
From Wisconsin-Whitewater to Iowa State
Coach T.J. Otzelberger grew up in Wisconsin and stayed in state to attend UW-Whitewater. He was a team captain for the Warhawks and played point guard against his in-conference opponents in the WIAC - one of the toughest conferences at the NCAA D3 level for basketball.
Coach Otzelberger played D3 basketball in the WIAC for UW-Whitewater.
Greg Gard
From Wisconsin-Platteville to Wisconsin
Greg Gard was class of 1995 at Wisconsin- Platteville and started coaching before he even graduated. His tenure as an assistant coach ran from 1993–99 where he coached alongside another Wisconsin great, Bo Ryan.
Coach Gard played D3 and coached for UW-Platteville.
Jim Ferry
From Keene State to UMBC
Coach Jim Ferry both played and started his coaching career in New Hampshire with the Keene State Owls. He led the team in scoring during his Junior year and spent one year on staff as an assistant coach after graduating.
Coach Jim Ferry went from playing at Keene State to coaching at D1 UMBC.
Borderline D3…
Nate Oats
From Maranatha Baptist (D3 now) to Alabama
This one becomes more solid when you consider that Coach Oats got his start coaching at the D3 level:
1997–2000: Maranatha Baptist (assistant)
2000–2002: Wisconsin–Whitewater (assistant)
Coach Nate Oats started out at Maranatha Baptist which is now a D3 school.
Former D3 Coaches
Bryan Hodgson
From Fredonia State to University of South Florida
Hodgson played at Jamestown Community College and then finished his undergrad degree at Fredonia State where he served as an assistant coach from 2007-10.
Bill Armstrong
From Birmingham Southern to McNeese State
Armstrong grew up in Birmingham, Alabama and got his first assistant coaching job at former D3 member, Birmingham Southern. He coached there for three seasons from 2003-6 before getting hired at Ole Miss as an assistant coach.
His McNeese State Cowboys enter the 2026 tournament as a 12-seed and will look to upset Vanderbilt in round 1.
Grant Leonard
From Washington College to Queens University
Grant Leonard coached for a single season at NCAA D3 school Washington College in Chestertown, MD from 2005-6. During this time he got a Master’s degree in Psychology from the school, which helped him launch his coaching career (source). He joined the staff at Queens in 2013 as an assistant coach and has been there ever since.
Matt Painter
From Washington & Jefferson College to Purdue
Coach Painter was an Assistant Coach at W&J from 1993-94.
Kevin Young
From Oxford College (Emory) to BYU
Coach Kevin Young began his college coaching career in 2004 at Emory’s Oxford College in Georgia. He went on to have a long career coaching in the NBA and G-League before eventually moving to BYU as the head coach in 2024.
Thanks for Reading!
We hope you learned something today about the quality of coaches coming out of the D3 level.
Did we miss anyone that you’re aware of? If so, let us know.
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