UCLA’s Mick Cronin Named Naismith Coach of the Year Semifinalist
The Bruins' fourth-year coach has been named a semi-finalist for the top coaching award in the nation.
Coach Mick Cronin just wrapped up one of the most illustrious regular seasons in his 20-year head coaching career and was named a Werner Ladder Naismith Men’s College Coach of the Year semifinalist for his efforts on Friday morning. Cronin was the only Pac-12 coach included in the ten programs represented by their coaches.
Cronin joins Pittsburgh's Jeff Capel, Northwestern's Chris Collins, Florida Atlantic's Dusty May, Purdue's Matt Painter, Houston's Kelvin Sampson, Kansas' Bill Self, Marquette's Shaka Smart, Kansas State's Jerome Tang and Texas' Rodney Terry as Naismith Award semifinalists.
The four finalists will be announced on March 20, while the winner will be crowned at the Naismith Awards Brunch at the Final Four in Houston on April 2. Jim Harrick was the only other Bruins' coach to collect the award, with the NCAA championship-winning coach earning the honor in 1994-95.
No. 2 UCLA men's basketball (28-4, 18-2 Pac-12) had its fewest losses in a regular season since 2016-17. For Cronin's career, the 27-4 regular season record matches up with his 2016-17 and 2017-18 Cincinnati teams.
The Bruins won 14-games straight on a run from November through January, tying their largest winning streak since the 2007-08 season. Throughout its entire home campaign at Pauley Pavilion, the blue and gold went undefeated in front of the Bruins' faithful.
Cronin has led UCLA to its highest rankings since 2016-17, as the Bruins currently sit at second in the latest AP Poll, and led the blue and gold to its first Pac-12 regular season championship since 2012-13.
On Tuesday' Cronin was pegged the Pac-12 Coach of the Year, while his players earned Pac-12 Player of the Year, Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year and Pac-12 Freshman of the Year honors.
According to ESPN's bracketologist Joe Lunardi, UCLA is the No. 1 seed in the West Region. If the Bruins were to hold on to their current projected seeding, it would be their first No. 1 seed since the 2007-08 campaign.
A national championship is still elusive for Cronin in his career. However, he took the Bruins to the Final Four in the 2020-21 season and has made every NCAA tournament since 2011.
How March and April round out for UCLA remain to be seen, but Cronin's next step in the hunt for the Naismith Award is for the finalists to be revealed on March 20.
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