CSU Bakersfield Head Coach
Rod Barnes is one of 20 finalists for the 2017 Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year Award, presented by collegeinsider.com.
Barnes has led his Roadrunners to the semifinals of the NIT, where they will face No. 6-seed Georgia Tech at 5 p.m. ET this Tuesday at Madison Square Garden. To get there, CSUB knocked off top-seeded California, then went on to defeat Colorado State and UT Arlington, all on the road in different time zones. The 'Runners are the first-ever eight seed to advance to the NIT Final Four in the history of the tournament.
In a season filled with firsts, Barnes led his team to its first-ever WAC regular-season title, its first postseason win and a school-record 25 victories. His defensive-minded 'Runners are the only team in the nation with three players on their conference's all-defensive team, as
Jaylin Airington,
Moataz Aly and
Matt Smith earned WAC All-Defensive Team honors.
Barnes was named Don Haskins WAC Coach of the Year for the second year in a row. During its 14 WAC games, CSUB only allowed its opponent to score more than 65 points three times, holding opponents under 50 points twice and under 60 points six times. Barnes picked up his 100th win at the school this year in just his sixth season at the helm.
The Jim Phelan award is presented annually to the top Division I head coach as voted on by the award committee. All Division I head coaches are eligible for the award. The award is named in honor of Jim Phelan, who spent his entire career at Mount Saint Mary's University, where he led the Mountaineers to the 1962 NCAA Men's Division II Basketball Championship. When he retired in 2003, after coaching for 49 years, he had amassed an overall record of 830-524 in all divisions. In those 49 years, 19 of his teams amassed 20 or more wins in a season.
The Jim Phelan award committee is a 30-member panel, consisting of five current Division I head coaches, five retired head coaches, 10 current athletic directors and/or conference administrators, five members of the national media and five collegeinsider.com staff members.
The recipient of the 2017 Phelan award will be announced in Phoenix during the Final Four of the men's NCAA Division I Basketball Championship. The complete list of finalists is below.
2017 Jim Phelan Award Finalists
| Steve Alford |
UCLA |
| Dana Altman |
Oregon |
| Rod Barnes |
CSU Bakersfield |
| John Becker |
Vermont |
| John Calipari |
Kentucky |
| Chris Collins |
Northwestern |
| Kermit Davis |
Middle Tennessee |
| Johnny Dawkins |
UCF |
| Jamie Dixon |
TCU |
| Mark Few |
Gonzaga |
| Mitch Henderson |
Princeton |
| Chris Holtmann |
Butler |
| Kevin Keatts |
UNC Wilmington |
| Frank Martin |
South Carolina |
| Matt Painter |
Purdue |
| Josh Pastner |
Georgia Tech |
| Richard Pitino |
Minnesota |
| Bill Self |
Kansas |
| Mike White |
Florida |
| Roy Williams |
North Carolina |