ACC basketball head coach rankings 2026-27

The ACC enters the 2026-27 season as arguably the deepest and most turbulent coaching landscape in college basketball. The conference sent eight teams to the 2026 NCAA Tournament, its most bids since a league-record nine in 2017 and 2018, while producing a regular-season champion in the Duke Blue Devils that finished 32-2 overall and 17-1 in conference play, the best single-season record in ACC history. Four programs changed head coaches this offseason.

One heavyweight hired an NBA champion with minimal college coaching experience, and the league's newest additions are still searching for an identity. Here is a complete ranking of all 18 ACC head coaches heading into 2026-27. 18.

Luke Murray — Boston College Eagles Boston College did not qualify for the ACC Tournament this season, finishing among the three programs outside the conference's top 15 in what was the final chapter of the Earl Grant era before his dismissal. Luke Murray, UConn's offensive architect and a central figure in the Huskies' back-to-back national championships, was hired as his replacement on March 26. Murray brings a legitimate championship system to Chestnut Hill, but the roster he inherited needs significant upgrading, and the rebuild timeline at a program with Boston College's structural challenges is measured in years, not months.

17. Justin Gainey — NC State Wolfpack NC State finished 20-13 overall and 10-8 in ACC play under Will Wade, who departed after one season to return to LSU, earning a No. 11 seed in the West Region of the NCAA Tournament and its 28th all-time bid.