Jim Larrañaga
Jim Larrañaga (born October 2, 1949)
Teams coached: American International Yellow Jackets, Bowling Green Falcons, George Mason Patriots, Miami Hurricanes
American International record: 27-26 (.509)
Bowling Green record: 170-144 (.541)
George Mason record: 273-164 (.625)
Miami (FL) record: 274-174 (.612)
Overall record^: 744-508 (.594)
Career Accomplishments:
- NCAA National Championships: 0
- NCAA Tournament Appearances: 11 (1999, 2001, 2006, 2008, 2011, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2022, 2023)
- NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen: 5 (2006, 2013, 2016, 2022, 2023)
- NCAA Tournament Final Four: 2 (2006, 2023)
- NIT Championships: 0 (Runner-up in 2015)
- NIT Appearances: 8 (1990, 1991, 1997, 2002, 2004, 2009, 2012, 2015)
- CIT Appearances: 1 (2010)
- ACC Regular Season Champion: 2 (2013, 2023)
- CAA Regular Season Champion: 4 (1999, 2000, 2006, 2011)
- MAC Regular Season Champion: 1 (1997)
- ACC Tournament Champion: 1 (2013)
- CAA Tournament Champion: 3 (1999, 2001, 2008)
Awards:
- AP Coach of the Year: 1 (2013)
- Naismith Coach of the Year: 1 (2013)
- Henry Iba Award: 1 (2013)
- Gene Bartow Award: 1 (2024)
- Clair Bee Coach of the Year: 1 (2006)
- ACC Coach of the Year: 2 (2013, 2016)
- CAA Coach of the Year: 2 (1999, 2011)
- MAC Coach of the Year: 1 (1997)
Coaching Career (head coach, unless noted):
| 2011-2024 | Miami (FL) |
| 1997-2011 | George Mason |
| 1986-1997 | Bowling Green |
| 1979-1986 | Virginia (asst) |
| 1977-1979 | American International |
| 1971-1976 | Davidson (asst) |
Jim Larrañaga Facts
- James Joseph Larrañaga
- Born October 2, 1949
- Hometown: The Bronx, New York
- Alma Mater: Providence College (BS, 1971)
- Grew up in the Bronx and attended Archbishop Molloy HS in Queens, where he played for legendary head coach Jack Curran
- Played for the Providence Friars under head coaches Joe Mullaney and Dave Gavitt
- Started his coaching career in 1971, spending five seasons as an assistant at Davidson – first under Terry Holland and then Robert Brickels
- Was head coach at Division II American International (MA) for two seasons, compiling an overall record of 27-26
- Returned to Division I in 1979 as one of Holland’s assistants at Virginia, staying there for seven seasons
- Spent eleven seasons as the head coach at Bowling Green, leading the Falcons to three NITs
- Moved on to George Mason in 1997, where he would serve as head coach for the next fourteen seasons
- Won 273 games, four CAA titles, three CAA Tournaments and went to nine postseason tournaments during his tenure
- Led the 11-seed Patriots on an improbable run to the NCAA Final Four in 2006 – the second such seed to ever do so – beating Michigan State, North Carolina and UConn along the way
- Hired in April 2011 to become the new head coach of the Miami Hurricanes
- Won the ACC regular season and Tournament titles in year two and went to two Sweet Sixteens in his first five seasons; took the Hurricanes to the Elite Eight for the first time in program history in 2022
- Claimed another ACC regular season co-championship in 2023 following a 24-6 (15-5 ACC) campaign
- Has been to the NCAA Tournament six times with the Hurricanes; the program overall has only been 12 times
- In 2023, 17 years to the day after his trip there with Mason, Larrañaga led the 5-seed Hurricanes to their first-ever NCAA Final Four
- Larrañaga announced in December 2024 that he was stepping down as head coach after 13+ seasons with the Canes and more than 50 years total as a college basketball coach; he leaves Coral Gables as the program’s winningest head coach (274)
Jim Larrañaga Coaching Tree
- Chaisson Allen (Wisconsin Herd)
- Chris Caputo (George Washington)
- Scott Cherry (High Point)
- Bill Courtney (Miami FL, Cornell)
- Kent Dernbach (Wisconsin Stevens Point, Wisconsin La Crosse)
- Brian Ellerbe (Michigan, Loyola MD)
- Adam Fisher (Temple)
- Mike Gillian (Longwood)
- Stan Heath (Eastern Michigan, Lakeland Magic, South Florida, Arkansas, Kent State)
- Michael Huger (Bowling Green)
- James Johnson (Virginia Tech)
- Derek Kellogg (LIU, UMass)
- Eric Konkol (Tulsa, Louisiana Tech)
- Jay Larrañaga (Erie BayHawks, Ireland national team)
- Steve Merfeld (Evansville, Hampton)
- Tony Skinn (George Mason)
- Anthony Solomon (St. Bonaventure)
- Ricky Stokes (East Carolina, Virginia Tech)
^ overall record includes head coaching positions at both the Division I and Division II levels