What's Up In The Missouri Valley 6/7/2026

Mid-Major Madness Mailbag: What are the destination mid-major arenas?--Mid-Major Madness

If you had to pick 5 current mid major coaches that you believe are bound for top jobs within the next 5-8 years, who would be those 5?

I don’t want the obvious answers, I want a real thoughtful 5. Not guys like Schertz, I want under the radar guys.

— CamSports🌊🏝️ (@CamSportsHQ) June 3, 2026

Lance Hartzler: I generally agree with Sam, especially on this stance; I prefer to avoid framing my beloved mids as stepping-stone gigs. I’ll slightly reframe the question as well: my top five under-the-radar / not-talked-enough-about coaches… Jace Coburn (Portland State; was in the running for the Arizona State gig before Randy Bennett was hired), Alex Pribble (Idaho; led Idaho to the NCAA Tournament last season), Kaleb Canales (Weber State), Brian Wardle (Bradley), and Joe Pasternack (UC Santa Barbara).

Ian Sacks: Eric Olen (New Mexico) and Bob Richey (Furman) are my first two picks here. They’ve both made immediate impacts and are rising stars. Ben Jacobson (Utah State) is another name to keep an eye on. There’s something in the water in Logan, Utah, and he’ll be the next to find that out. Phil Martelli Jr. (VCU) has had a bunch of success at both Bryant and VCU. Ryan Miller (Murray State) is someone else to keep in mind. Showed a lot of promise in his first year as a head coach. Alisa Kresge (Richmond) is a name to know on the women’s side. She took over as the leader of the Spiders after a successful stint with Vermont and was a baller at Marist.