Skip to content

Ad Disclosure

Tennessee Volunteers

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

Adam Spencer

By Adam Spencer

Published:

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:

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.

You might also like...

2025 RANKINGS

presented by rankings

Read our Privacy Policy, Terms and Conditions, Cookie Policy and

© 2025 Saturday Down South. All rights reserved

We do not target any individuals under the age of 21. We support responsible gambling. If you feel like you're losing control over your gambling experience, call 1-800-GAMBLER (NJ, PA, WV), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-BETS-OFF (IA), 1-888- 532-3500(Virginia) 1-800-522-4700 (NV, TN), 1-800-522-4700 (CO, TN), 1-855-2CALLGA (IL), 1-800-270-7117 (MI). global.footer.legal