A-State men’s basketball Head Coach Ryan Pannone announced as finalist for Joe B. Hall Award

News

Photo: Arkansas State University

Jonesboro, AR – Contributed – Arkansas State men’s basketball head coach Ryan Pannone was announced as one of 16 finalists for the 2025-26 Joe B. Hall National Coach of the Year Award, CollegeInsider.com announced Thursday.

The award is presented annually to the top first-time head coach in Division I college basketball and is named after former Kentucky men’s basketball head coach Joe B. Hall, who succeeded Adolph Rupp and won 20 games in his first season. The recipient of the annual award is determined by a 10-member voting committee, which consists of two CollegeInsider.com senior staff members alongside current and former head coaches.

Despite the Red Wolves not returning a single player from the previous season for the first time since 1944-45, Pannone guided the team to 20 wins in the regular season. He joined Grant McCasland as the only A-State head coach to achieve the feat in their first year.

A-State (20-11, 11-7 SBC) and Miami (FL) (24-6, 13-4 ACC) are the only teams in the nation to win 20-plus games in 2025-26 with no returners from the year prior. Other teams that fielded no returners were Baylor, Cleveland State, Memphis, North Texas and Sacramento State.

The Scarlet and Black tied for second place in the Sun Belt Conference regular season standings, the highest finish by a first-year A-State head coach.

JOE B. HALL AWARD FINALISTS

Clint Allard, UC San Diego

Bill Armstrong, McNeese

Tim Bergstraser, Denver

Matt Braeuer, Stephen F. Austin

Kevin Carroll, Lipscomb

Zach Chu, Radford

Flynn Clayman, High Point

Ali Farokhmanesh, Colorado State

Kevin Giltner, Wofford

Kevin Hovde, Columbia

Jai Lucas, Miami (FL)

Ryan Miller, Murray State

Ryan Pannone, Arkansas State

Jon Perry, Navy

Nolan Smith, Tennessee State

Charlie Ward, Florida A&M

Recent Headlines

2 days ago in Entertainment

Oscars preview: Producers tease ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ and ‘Sinners’ celebrations

The producers behind the 98th Academy Awards have set out to celebrate not just the hit song "Golden" from "KPop Demon Hunters", but the cultural phenomenon of the film itself. That logic is why the only other nominated song that will get a moment on the broadcast is "I Lied to You," from "Sinners," a blockbuster hit and the most-nominated film of all time.

2 days ago in Entertainment, Music

Q&A: Shakira says she feels like she’s just getting started. A Rock Hall nomination begs to differ

Shakira is on her way to drop her son off at flag football practice. It's an ordinary experience for a mother who, in the not-so-recent past, has been at the center of some pretty extraordinary circumstances.

2 days ago in Lifestyle

Do you really need a water filter? Here’s what experts say

U.S. tap water is generally safe and high quality. But that doesn't mean every glass tastes the same, or that every building's plumbing delivers identical water to the faucet.

3 days ago in Entertainment

‘Dancing with the Stars’ pro Mark Ballas leaps back to Broadway in ‘Chicago’

Mark Ballas is returning to Broadway in "Chicago" and the "Dancing with the Stars" pro will be reuniting with an old friend. Ballas, playing slippery lawyer Billy Flynn starting April 6, will share the stage with his Roxie, Whitney Leavitt, the "Secret Lives of Mormon Wives" star who was his dancing partner on "Dancing with the Stars" last year.

4 days ago in Entertainment

Multiple gunshots fired near Rihanna’s LA home and a woman is taken into custody

Los Angeles police took a woman into custody after she fired gunshots outside Rihanna 's gated home, according to authorities and news reports on Monday.