Longhorns' Chris Beard Ranked 15th-Best College Coach

Beard had a 22-12 record in his first season at Texas

All eyes were on the Texas Longhorns last offseason after bringing in one of the best available coaches in the country to be the next head man on the Forty Acres.

Chris Beard's arrival brought high expectations. The Longhorns managed to secure a No. 6 seed in the NCAA Tournament after a 22-12 regular season before falling in the second round. It might have been considered a disappointment to some, but the feel of this Texas team felt different from years past, leaving fans with something to be optimistic about for next season.

Chris Beard

Chris Beard

Chris Beard

247Sports seems to share those same feelings after the release of its top 25 college basketball coaches rankings on Monday. On a list that included a handful of legendary names, Beard found himself ranked at No. 15.

Here's what the rankings had to say about Beard:

Chris Beard just knows what it takes to win. He’s risen up the ranks. From guiding Arkansas Little Rock to an upset win over Purdue in the 2016 NCAA Tournament to leading Texas Tech to the national championship game in 2019, Beard has already put together an awesome resume. Beard is in the process of building a major contender in Texas. The Longhorns have key veterans returning in Timmy Allen and Marcus Carr combined with jaw-dropping freshmen Dillon Mitchell and Arterio Morris. Beard has built an NCAA Tournament team in each of the last five seasons. It’s only a matter of time until Beard has a Final Four contender at Texas.

Evert Nelson, Topeka Capital-Journal

Chris Beard

Benny Sieu, USA Today

Marcus Carr & Chris Beard

Marcus Carr & Chris Beard

Unlike the coaches at the top of the list, which included a few legendary names like Baylor's Scott Drew, Kentucky's John Calipari, and Kansas' Bill Self, Beard still has to prove he can craft Texas into a championship-level program.

It won't come easy. Going up against conference foes Drew and Self, who are the two most recent national champions, raises the stakes.

But leading the Longhorns to their first tournament win in seven years certainly leaves room for healthy optimism.

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