Utah State head coach Danny Sprinkle yells from the sideline during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against San Diego State Saturday, Feb. 3, 2024, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)
LOGAN, Utah – No. 20 Utah State men’s basketball head coach Danny Sprinkle was named a finalist for the 2023-24 Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year award, as announced on Tuesday. The award is presented annually to the top head coach in Division I college basketball.
Sprinkle is 27-6 (.818) in his first season at Utah State and 108-49 (.688) in his five seasons as a collegiate head coach. Sprinkle was named the 2024 Mountain West and NABC District 17 Coach of the Year and is a semifinalist for the 2024 Werner Ladder Naismith Men’s Coach of the Year.
Sprinkle’s 27 wins are the second-most for a first-year head coach at Utah State behind Craig Smith, who won 28 games in his first year in 2018-19. Sprinkle’s 27 wins this year are also the second-most in the nation for a head coach in his first year at his current program behind McNeese’s Will Wade.
Sprinkle is the fourth head coach in school history to lead Utah State to the NCAA Tournament in his first year with the program along with Ladell Andersen (1961-62), Rod Tueller (1979-80) and Craig Smith (2018-19).
The Jim Phelan Award is named in honor of a legendary bow-tied coach who spent his entire head coaching career at Mount Saint Mary’s University.
The recipient of the annual award is determined by a 10-member voting committee, which consists of current and former head coaches, as well as two senior staff members of collegeinsider.com.
The 2024 award will be announced in Phoenix, Arizona, site of the men’s Division I Basketball Championship.
Utah State (27-6, 14-4 MW) will be making its 24th NCAA Tournament appearance all-time, including its 12th in the last 25 years, when the eighth-seeded Aggies face ninth-seeded TCU in the first round of the Midwest Region on Friday, March 22, in Indianapolis, Indiana. The game is scheduled to begin at 7:55 p.m. (MT) and will be broadcast live on TBS.
Utah State men’s basketball news and information is available on Facebook (facebook.com/usumensbasketball), on Twitter (@usubasketball) and on Instagram (@usubasketball). Fans can also get USU men’s basketball highlights on YouTube (youtube.com/utahstateathletics). Aggie fans can follow the Utah State athletic program on Twitter (@usuathletics), on Facebook (facebook.com/usuathletics) or on Instagram (@usuathletics).