​Come March, as happens every year during that wonderful month, stars will be born across men’s college basketball.One upset win or buzzer-beater can turn a previously anonymous group of players into national celebrities overnight. And for the coach leading them, one magical March run can be career-changing, too.Improbable Final Four runs introduced much of the country to coaches such as Brad Stevens, Shaka Smart and Dusty May, who went on to become prominent figures in the sport. But a coach doesn’t have to reach college basketball’s biggest stage to land on the radar of fans and athletic directors. Sometimes, simply reaching the NCAA Tournament or winning at a place where few have succeeded before can be enough.From Mark Pope to Ed Cooley: College basketball coaches on hot seat for 2026-27Florida is No. 1 for a reason: The Gators cracked college basketball’s new codeSo, who are the next coaching stars roaming college basketball sidelines across the country? Who will lead the next Cinderella run in March and suddenly become a candidate for seemingly every job vacancy?Before getting to the list, one caveat: It includes only coaches from outside the sport’s five major conferences and excludes established stalwarts such as James Jones at Yale, Russell Turner at UC Irvine and, of course, Mark Few at Gonzaga, all of whom have been at their current programs for well over a decade.Here’s a look at 12 rising stars in college basketball coaching.The next big names in college basketball coachingJosh Schertz, Saint LouisThere’s nobody on this list more coveted than Schertz, who has emerged as the spiritual successor of sorts to Stevens, Smart and May as the hot mid-major coach. Schertz has won everywhere he’s been, from Lincoln Memorial, which he took to three Division II Final Fours, to Indiana State, where he led the Sycamores to heights they hadn’t reached since Larry Bird was on campus.Now he’s doing the same at Saint Louis, where he guided the Billikens to a program-record 29 wins in just his second season. Had things played out differently two years ago, Schertz might have landed at Louisville. Instead, he ended up at SLU and has positioned the program to become an Atlantic 10 powerhouse.Schertz turned down multiple power-conference opportunities last year, and it’s hard to blame him. Given his current situation and what he’s built in such a short time, he has earned the luxury of being picky.Eric Olen, New MexicoOlen landed on the college basketball radar two years ago when he led UC San Diego to a 30-5 record and nearly knocked off Michigan in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.In his first season at New Mexico, Olen guided the Lobos to a 26-11 record and a run to the NIT semifinals. Now, with preseason conference player of the year Jake Hall leading the way, New Mexico should be one of the better teams in a watered-down Mountain West.Another successful season could make Olen one of the most attractive coaching candidates west