NEW ORLEANS – Four Sun Belt men’s basketball head coaches have been named finalists for the 2025-26 Ben Jobe award. The award is presented annually to the top minority head coach in NCAA Division I college basketball.
 
Coastal Carolina’s Justin Gray, Marshall’s Cornelius “Corny” Jackson, Texas State’s Terrence Johnson and South Alabama’s Richie Riley were listed among the award’s 25 finalists.
 
All four coaches’ teams finished tied for second place in the Sun Belt standings, as Gray, Jackson and Johnson led their respective programs to 19 regular season victories. Riley guided the Jaguars to a league-best 21 victories prior to the postseason.
 
The 2026 award will be announced in Indianapolis, Ind., the site of this season’s NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four.
 
The Ben Jobe Award is named in honor of one of the most iconic coaches in the history of basketball at Historically Black Colleges and Universities. He is best known as the head coach of Southern University, a position he held for 12 seasons. He was also head coach at Alabama A&M, Alabama State, Talladega, Tuskegee, and South Carolina State.
 
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.
 
2025-26 Ben Jobe Award Finalists
Kenny Blakeney, Howard
Speedy Claxton, Hofstra
Hubert Davis, North Carolina
Johnny Dawkins, UCF
Kahil Fennell, UTRGV
Dennis Gates, Missouri
Corey Gipson, Austin Peay
Justin Gray, Coastal Carolina
Cornelius Jackson, Marshall
Terrence Johnson, Texas State
James Jones, Yale
Jai Lucas, Miami
Bashir Mason, Saint Peter’s
Jonathan Mattox, Morehead State
Ritchie McKay, Liberty
Antoine Pettway, Kennesaw State
Roger Powell, Valparaiso
Richie Riley, South Alabama
Kelvin Sampson, Houston
Takayo Siddle, UNCW
Tony Skinn, George Mason
Nolan Smith, Tennessee State
Rod Strickland, Long Island
Reggie Theus, Bethune-Cookman
Charlie Ward, Florida A&M