Dan Hurley Headlines 2024 Men's College Coach of the Year Late-Season Contenders

UConn's Dan Hurley, Houston's Kelvin Sampson and Purdue's Matt Painter were among the 15 finalists named for the 2023-24 Werner Ladder Naismith Men's College Coach of the Year Award on Friday.

Hurley, Sampson and Painter, whose teams occupy the top three spots in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll, all have a chance to be named College Coach of the Year for the first time.

The full list of finalists for the prestigious award is as follows:

• Dan Hurley (UConn)
• Kelvin Sampson (Houston)
• Matt Painter (Purdue)
• Hubert Davis (North Carolina)
• Bryce Drew (Grand Canyon)
• Anthony Grant (Dayton)
• Nate Oats (Alabama)
• T.J. Otzelberger (Iowa State)
• Lamont Paris (South Carolina)
• Bruce Pearl (Auburn)
• Richard Pitino (New Mexico)
• Mark Pope (BYU)
• Josh Schertz (Indiana State)
• Kyle Smith (Washington State)
• Danny Sprinkle (Utah State)

Hurley, who is in his sixth season as the head coach at UConn, has the Huskies in position to potentially repeat as national champions.

As a No. 4 seed in the NCAA tournament last season, Connecticut surprised the college basketball world by going the distance and beating San Diego State in the national championship game to win its fifth national title since 1999.

This season, Hurley has the Huskies off to a 24-3 start, which is good for the No. 1 ranking in the country and the status of national championship favorites.

Sampson's Houston team is ranked No. 2 in the nation with a 23-3 mark, including a victory over No. 6 Iowa State this week.

Sampson is trending toward leading the Cougars to their third consecutive 30-win season and their fourth straight year with 28 or more wins.

Since 2021, Houston has gone to the Elite Eight twice and the Final Four once, and it may finally have the pieces to go all the way to the national title game and win the first national championship in school history.

Purdue, which was named the No. 1 overall seed in the nation by the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Committee during its first look at the top 16 seeds for the 2024 NCAA tournament last weekend, is once again a national title contender this season under Painter.

At 24-3, the Boilermakers are ranked third in the AP Top 25 and have been the clear top team in the Big Ten this season.

Purdue won 29 games in both the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons, but it was ousted in the Sweet 16 of the 2022 NCAA tournament by 15th-seeded Saint Peter's and then shocked in the first round last season, becoming only the second No. 1 seed to ever lose to a No. 16 seed in the form of Fairleigh Dickinson.

With superstar center and reigning Naismith College Player of the Year Zach Edey leading the way, though, Purdue has a chance to bounce back from the upset and go on a deep NCAA tourney run.

Dayton's Anthony Grant is the only finalist who has won the Werner Ladder Naismith Men's College Coach of the Year Award previously, as he was victorious in 2020.

Grant's Flyers are ranked No. 16 in the nation with a 21-5 record, and they trail Richmond and Loyola Chicago by just a half-game for the Atlantic-10 Conference lead.

The winner of the 2023-24 Werner Ladder Naismith Men's College Coach of the Year Award is scheduled to be announced prior to the Final Four, which is being held in Phoenix in April.