Rick Barnes named a Naismith Coach of the Year candidate, other SEC coaches snubbed

On Wednesday, the Naismith Trophy Coach of the Year candidates were announced, and there were 15 coaches named.

Despite recent struggles, Tennessee coach Rick Barnes was named a finalist for leading the Vols to a 24-3 season so far (with their three losses all coming to top-15 teams).

Below, you can see the 15 finalists, which have a noticeable lack of other SEC coaches:

Coach of the Year Candidates:

Rick Barnes
Chris Beard
John Beilein
Tony Bennett
Mark Few
Tom Izzo
Mike Krzyzewski
Chris Mack
Eric Musselman
Nate Oats
Matt Painter
Kelvin Sampson
Roy Williams
Steve Wojciechowski
Mike Young
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— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) February 27, 2019

The noticeable SEC omissions are Kentucky’s John Calipari and LSU’s Will Wade, both of whom have their teams tied for the lead in the SEC regular-season standings and have wins over Tennessee.

The ACC leads the way with four coaches named — Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski, Louisville’s Chris Mack, North Carolina’s Roy Williams and Virginia’s Tony Bennett.

Adam Spencer

Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.