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Winning the NCAA Tournament is the peak of success for a head coach in college basketball. Doing it at a young age makes this feat all the more impressive. Throughout the history of college basketball, many notable head coaches have achieved the greatest success in college hoops.
Whether it was a coach beginning their dynasty and carving their path to the Hall of Fame or one miracle run to the championship, many have engraved their name in college basketball history at a young age. This list will focus on the top five youngest coaches that have won the NCAA Tournament.
Top five youngest coaches to win an NCAA Tournament title
#1. Pat Summitt
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Pat Summitt's Hall of Fame coaching career technically began in 1974, before women's college basketball was an NCAA-sanctioned sport. That season, at the age of 22, Summitt replaced Tennessee's head coach mid-season after she unexpectedly quit.
When women's college basketball became sanctioned by the NCAA in 1981, Summitt led the Volunteers to the Final Four before losing to the eventual national champions, Louisiana Tech. Her first NCAA tournament title victory came in the 1986–1987 season when she was just 36 years old.
This was just the beginning of a dynasty that Summitt built at Tennessee, winning eight championships in her 31 total seasons as the head coach of the Volunteers. Summitt made the NCAA Tournament in every season of her head coaching career. Her tournament runs included 18 Final Fours and eight championships.
Summitt is an eight-time SEC Coach of the Year and five-time Naismith Coach of the Year Award winner. She stepped away from coaching in 2012 after being diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's disease in 2011, finishing with an astonishing record of 923–160 with Tennessee.
#2. Bob Knight
Bob Knight won his first NCAA Tournament title at the age of 35 with the Indiana Hoosiers in 1976. This makes him the fourth youngest NCAA men's basketball coach to win the title. The Hoosiers capped off a legendary season by going 32-0 and defeating Big Ten rival Michigan in the national championship game.
This began a legendary coaching career for Bob Knight, and he won two more titles with Indiana in 1981 and 1987. He coached for 42 years, with a career record of 899–374. Knight made the NCAA Tournament as a coach 28 times, with five Final Four appearances and three championships.
Bob Knight is a three-time Big Ten Coach of the Year and won the Naismith Coach of the Year Award for the 1986–1987 season. Knight died in 2023 at the age of 83, but his iconic legacy that began at a young age will forever be remembered in the history of college hoops.
#3. Branch McCracken
Former Indiana head coach Branch McCracken is the youngest in men's college basketball history to win an NCAA tournament title at only 31 years, nine months and 21 days. McCracken won his first title in 1940 and won the second in 1953.
McCracken began coaching at Ball State in 1930 before taking over at Indiana in 1938. He had two stints with the Hoosiers from 1938–1943 and 1946–1965. He finished his coaching career with an overall record of 450-231 during his time with both Ball State and Indiana. He was named to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1960.
#4. Fred Taylor
Former Ohio State head coach Fred Taylor is the third youngest NCAA men's basketball coach to win a championship title. He was 35 years, three months and 16 days old when he led the Buckeyes to the NCAA tournament title in 1960.
Taylor spent 18 years coaching for his alma mater, going 297–158. He made the NCAA tournament five times, with four Final Four appearances and one championship win.
Prior to coaching at Ohio State, Taylor played three seasons in the MLB for the Washington Senators from 1950–1952. Taylor was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1986.
#5. Harold "Bud" Foster
Bud Foster had a long 25-year coaching career at Wisconsin, and at 34 years, nine months and 29 days, he became the second youngest head coach to win an NCAA tournament title. Foster won his first and only title with the Badgers in 1941, one of his two NCAA tournament appearances.
Foster finished his career in 1959 with a 265–267 record and three Big Ten Conference championships. Shortly after his retirement, Foster was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1964 and the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006.
Foster was passed by Bo Ryan in 2012 for the most wins in school history with 266, but his 267 career losses still remain a Wisconsin program record.
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