NEW ORLEANS – Coastal Carolina men’s basketball head coach Justin Gray has been named a finalist for the 2025-26 Hugh Durham Award which is presented annually to the top mid-major head coach in NCAA Division I college basketball.
In his second season leading the Chanticleers, Gray has guided the program to a 19-12 regular season record and a tie for second place in the Sun Belt Conference standings. Coastal Carolina earned the No. 3 seed in the conference tournament and Gray coached the 2026 Sun Belt Newcomer of the Year in graduate guard Joshua Beadle.
The recipients of the Hugh Durham Award are 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 2026 award will be announced in Indianapolis, Ind., the site of this season’s NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four.
About The Joe. B Hall Award
The Hugh Durham Award is named in honor of the former Florida State, Georgia and Jacksonville head coach. In eight seasons, at Jacksonville, Durham became the Dolphins' all-time winningest Division I coach (106 wins), making him the only coach in NCAA history to be the winningest coach (pct. or wins) at three different Division I schools. Durham coached Florida State and Georgia to a combined eight NCAA Tournament appearances, and two Final Fours. He is one of 17 coaches to take multiple teams to the Final Four.
2025-26 Hugh Durham Award Finalists
Casey Alexander, Belmont
Randy Bennett, Saint Mary’s
Kenny Blakeney, Howard
Matt Braeuer, Stephen F. Austin
Flynn Clayman, High Point
Jim Ferry, UMBC
Joe Gallo, Merrimack
Kevin Giltner, Wofford
Corey Gipson, Austin Peary
Doug Gottlieb, Green Bay
Justin Gray, Coastal Carolina
John Groce, Akron
James Jones, Yale
Jon Judkins, Utah Tech
Ritchie McKay, Liberty
Chris Mudge, Sam Houston
Jon Perry, Navy
Todd Phillips, Utah Valley
David Richman, North Dakota State
Herb Sendek, Santa Clara
John Shulman, Central Arkansas
Takayo Siddle, UNCW
Dave Smart, Pacific
Nolan Smith, Tennessee State
Travis Steele, Miami (Ohio)