Lidskin Lecture: 2025-26 Breakout Coaches

By Jonathan Lidskin

Photo: Illinois State Athletics

Every year in college basketball, we get teams and programs that kick it into another gear. With that, there is a coach that did a ton of work to get his team to a higher level. In college basketball, one of the great things is that we get to discover new stars both with players and coaches on a yearly basis. This past season alone we had multiple coaches under the age of 40 reach the Final Four and one of them won a National Title.

Now, success isn’t measured equally across the board in college basketball (nor should it be), but it is fun to watch teams improve and see coaches succeed because of it. There’s no shortage of great stories in college basketball and in the 2025-26 season, these coaches having a breakout season will be a chapter in those stories.

Danny Sprinkle - Washington

What’s fun sometimes about coaches in college basketball is they can break out multiple times. Danny Sprinkle was the 2024 Mountain West Coach of the Year as his Utah State Aggies won the league and got to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. After watching what he did at Montana State and in his one season in Logan, I could not think more highly of Sprinkle.

Washington is not an easy place to win consistently, but I believe in Sprinkle’s evaluation, development and especially the talent he has already brought in this year. He has a couple of under-the-radar mid-major transfers, a freshman group that oozes with talent, a pair of potential breakout sophomores and a star in Wesley Yates in the fold for the 25-26 season. 

There’s enough here that if you like Sprinkle as a coach like I do, you should believe in Washington next season. Plus Sprinkle is now in his second year in Seattle which can often be the turning point in a coach’s tenure.

We heard so much about Sprinkle in 2024 when Great Osobor was leading the charge in Logan and I expect we will hear Danny Sprinkle’s name a lot again next season.

Ryan Pedon - Illinois State

If you don’t follow mid-major hoops or the Missouri Valley like I do this one probably comes as a little bit of surprise. Ryan Pedon hasn’t been a trendy name in his first three seasons at Illinois State, but he’s coached some good basketball. 

The Redbirds were 279th in KenPom in his first season, 179th in his second and 132nd in his third. Pedon is about to enter not just his fourth season at Illinois State, but his fourth season as a head coach. He is still young and is getting better every year as evidenced by his teams’ year-by-year growth.

The reason for having him here is Illinois State’s retention. Ryan Pedon is going to return every key player with eligibility remaining for next season. Not just that, but a couple of the Redbirds’ best players this past season were underclassmen who seem destined to improve.

With Ben McCollum out of the league and Bradley in a reloading year, Illinois State catapults up as one of the favorites in The Valley next season. It would not surprise me one bit if Pedon’s name is floated next season for better jobs if Illinois State has the season that I expect them to.

Micah Shrewsberry - Notre Dame

This is a pure case of betting on a coach I really like even though the roster might not be totally eye-popping. Micah Shrewsberry was touted as an elite x’s and o’s coach both as an assistant for Matt Painter at Purdue and as the head coach of Penn State. I think with some better injury luck (and a better roster) this could be the year he’s remembered as that.

On the injuries, Markus Burton, Matt Allocco & Micah’s son Braeden missed time last season. Those three were the starting guards for an offense that is centered around back court scoring and playmaking. Allocco won’t be back, but Burton and Braeden will be. They’ll be joined by freshman Jalen Haralson who is a highly rated freshman who is a bigger wing known for his playmaking.

The Irish also have a veteran front court with Carson Towt and Kebba Njie, but I think where the real production can come from that helps Shrewsberry become a breakout coach is off the bench with guys like Sir Mohammed and other younger guys.

The ACC will no doubt improve in the 2025-26 season which means there’s a lot of work to do for Notre Dame, but again, bet on good coaches and Micah Shrewsberry is a good coach with solid talent.