A Youth Movement In ACC Coaching

Until quite recently the ranks of ACC men’s coaches were notable for their number of retirement-age men and their fixed tenure at their posts. 

Just four seasons ago there were three coaches in their 70s. Five seasons ago there were five. 

Six years ago there were six head coaches who had been at their posts for at least 10 seasons. Now there’s a single ACC head coach who’s been at his current school for at least a decade, Clemson’s Brad Brownell. A mere six of 18 (33 percent) have been in their present

position at least five years.

This season Virginia Tech’s Mike Young and Wake’s Steve Forbes are the league’s old men at age 62. In contrast, there are three head coaches who are not even 40 – FSU’s Luke Loucks, Miami’s Jai Lucas, and Duke’s Jon Scheyer.

If we go by coaches who played in the ACC, there also are four: Scheyer, Loucks, UNC’s Hubert Davis, and Pitt’s Jeff Capel. Scheyer, Loucks, and Davis were members of teams that captured ACC Tournament championships.

Six ACC coaches were born in the spring. Five are coaching in the same state in which they were born – Cal’s Madsen, FSU’s Loucks, UNC’s Davis, Notre Dame’s Micah Shrewsberry, and Virginia Tech’s Mike Young.

Four head coaches were born in North Carolina, the birthplace of the ACC, more than in any other state. 

As for career tracks, ACC men’s coaches followed a plethora of intertwining paths.

Both BC’s Earl Grant and UL’s Pat Kelsey previously were head coaches at College of Charleston, Kelsey succeeding Grant.

SMU’s Andy Enfield was a Florida State assistant under Leonard Hamilton when current Florida State coach Luke Loucks played at Tallahassee. Grant worked as an assistant to Brad Brownell at Clemson. At UNC Wilmington, Brownell followed Jerry Wainwright, a long-time Wake Forest assistant under first Carl Tacy and then Dave Odom. Louisville’s Kelsey previously served as an assistant to Skip Prosser at Wake. 

Hubert Davis worked for Roy Williams at UNC before succeeding him, as Autry did at Syracuse before taking over for Jim Boeheim, and Scheyer after Mike Krzyzewski.

Virginia Tech’s Mike Young worked for a year (1989) at Radford under Oliver Purnell, later the head coach at Clemson. Will Wade worked at Clemson first for Larry Shyatt and then Purnell, and went on to join Duke great Tommy Amaker at Harvard. 

Both Georgia Tech’s Damon Stoudamire and Notre Dame’s Micah Shrewsberry worked for Brad Stevens with the NBA’s Boston Celtics. And of course Jeff Capel and Jon Scheyer played for Krzyzewski and then worked as his assistants. Scheyer then employed Jai Lucas, the current Miami head coach, on his Blue Devil staff. 

Capel, Wade, and Virginia’s Ryan Odom previously served as the head coach at Virginia Commonwealth. Ryan Odom, son of Wake’s Dave Odom, also served as a Virginia Tech assistant under Seth Greenberg. Capel’s father, Jeff, worked for the older Odom at Wake.

All in all, the roster of ACC head coaches yields plenty of league experience in a far more youthful tangle.

BENCH BRAINS ACC Coaching Roster for 2025-26 Season (Age As Of November 1, 2025,Tenure Includes Upcoming Season)
COACH	BIRTHDATE	AGE	BORN	TENURE
Earl Grant, BC	December 25, 1976	48	SC	5
Mark Madsen, Ca	January 28, 1976	49	Ca	3
Brad Brownell, C	November 15, 1968	56	Ind	16
Jon Scheyer, D	August 24, 1987	38	Ill	4
Luke Loucks, FS	April 1, 1990	36	Fla	New
Damon Stoudamire, GT	May 3, 1973	52	Ore	3
Pat Kelsey, UL	May 15, 1975	50	Ohio	2
Jai Lucas, UM	December 5, 1988	36	Tex	New
Hubert Davis, NC	May 17, 1970	55	NC	5
(Frank) Will Wade, NS	November 26, 1982	42	Tn	New
Micah Shrewsberry, ND	July 31, 1976	49	Ind	3
Jeff Capel, UP	February 12, 1975	50	NC	8
Andy Enfield, SMU	June 8, 1969	56	Pa	2
Kyle Smith, Stan	June 26, 1969	56	Tex	2
Adrian Autry, SU	February 28, 1972	53	NC	3
Ryan Odom, V	July 11, 1974	51	NC	New
Mike Young, VT	May 1, 1963	62	Va	7
Steve Forbes, WF	March 22, 1963	62	Ia	6

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