ROSWELL, Ga. – Drake men's basketball head coach Ben McCollum has been named to the Werner Ladder Naismith Men's College Coach of the Year Watch List presented by AXIA Time, the Naismith Awards announced this morning. McCollum is one of 15 head coaches from eight different leagues included on the list.
 
In his first season at the helm, McCollum has guided Drake to a 24-3 overall record and has the Bulldogs atop of the Missouri Valley Conference standings at 14-3. Drake's 24-3 record is tied for best mark in school history after 27 games with the 2007-08 and 2020-21 teams which also started off with a 24-3 record. McCollum has now tied Darian DeVries for second on the list of first year coaching wins at Drake at 24. DeVries posted 24 wins in his first year as Drake coach in 2018-19.
 
Under McCollum's leadership, Drake has gone on winning streaks of 10-plus games twice this season. The Bulldogs opened the season winning their first 12 games and then went on an 11-game win streak from Jan. 8-Feb.12. McCollum has achieved winning streaks of 10 games or more 14 times in his career. The Bulldogs are tied for the most wins in Division I basketball this season and rank second in winning percentage behind No. 1 Auburn.
 
Over his 16 seasons as a head coach, McCollum posts a coaching record of 418-94 ranking No. 5 on the all-time collegiate coaches list in winning percentage (.816).
 
2025 Werner Ladder Naismith Men's College Coach of the Year Watch List
Greg Gard l Wisconsin
Dennis Gates l Missouri
Todd Golden l Florida
Penny Hardaway l Memphis
Tom Izzo l Michigan State
Pat Kelsey l Louisville
Dusty May l Michigan
Grant McCasland l Texas Tech
Ben McCollum l Drake
Matt Painter l Purdue
Bruce Pearl l Auburn
Rick Pitino l St. John's
Richard Pitino l New Mexico
Kelvin Sampson l Houston
Jon Scheyer l Duke
 
McCollum and the Bulldogs will be back on the court this weekend as they head to Cedar Falls, Iowa to take on in-state rival UNI. Sunday's game is slated for 3:00 p.m. CT and will be broadcast on ESPN 2.