Arizona State basketball's Randy Bennett voted best hire by his peers
· Yahoo Sports
Arizona State basketball head coach Randy Bennett was ranked the "best high-major coaching hire of the 2026 cycle" by "nearly 100 men's Division I coaches."
These anonymous coaches were surveyed this offseason by CBS Sports college basketball insiders Gary Parrish and Matt Norlander. Of the coaches surveyed, 32% selected Bennett for the top honor. The 2026 hiring cycle includes new Cincinnati coach and 2025-26 Mountain West Conference Coach of the Year Jerrod Calhoun (who came in second with 30% of the vote) and new North Carolina coach and 2022-23 NBA Champion head coach Michael Malone (who came in third with 16% of the vote).
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Will Wade, who returns to LSU this season with three conference coach of the year awards (one in the Southern Conference and two in the Southland Conference), is tied for fifth on the list.
Bennett made his name by improving the Saint Mary's program.
Bennett was the head coach of Saint Mary's for 25 seasons. During that time, his team made a Sweet 16 in the 2009-2010 season and finished in the final AP Top 25 poll on seven different occasions. He made 12 different NCAA Tournaments.
Saint Mary's had only been ranked in the final AP Top 25 poll once in their history prior to Bennett's head coaching tenure, and it was back in the 1958-59 season. They had also only been to three NCAA Tournaments in their history prior to Bennett's head coaching tenure.
One of the "quotes that stood out" from the surveyed coaches even included a coach speaking highly of his ability to develop a program.
"Proven program-builder," the surveyed coach said. "Has won for a long time. Stayed in the region. Really impressive pickup."
ASU has made just two out of the last seven NCAA tournaments. Bennett has made six out of the last seven.
ASU has not been ranked in the final AP Top 25 poll since the 2008-09 season. Bennett has led his Saint Mary's teams to AP Top 25 poll finishes in four of the last five seasons.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona State basketball's Randy Bennett voted best hire by his peers