Dawn Staley, Kim Mulkey, Kenny Brooks top SEC women's basketball coach rankings | Toppmeyer

• A yawning chasm separates Dawn Staley and Kim Mulkey from their SEC peers, but the caliber of coaches will improve in 2024-25.
• Kentucky made a bold, aggressive hire by plundering Kenny Brooks from Virginia Tech.
• Vic Schaefer will return to the SEC with Texas. The Longhorns should be a top program in the conference.

Dawn Staley and Kim Mulkey tower as twin peaks over SEC women’s basketball. Their programs pulled away from the rest of the conference, while the overall depth of top-tier SEC coaches eroded.

A yawning chasm separates Staley and Mulkey from their SEC peers.

Maybe, that’s about to change, after Kentucky acted boldly and aggressively to make the best hire so far in the coaching carousel.

The Wildcats plundered Kenny Brooks from Virginia Tech. This marks the best SEC women’s hoops hire since LSU seized Mulkey from Baylor three years ago.

Mulkey’s Tigers and Staley’s top-seeded Gamecocks are the SEC’s only programs in the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16.

Kentucky had spiraled under Kyra Elzy. It fired her earlier this month. The Wildcats previously had been an NCAA Tournament fixture under Matthew Mitchell.

Brooks enjoys an opening to rapidly re-establish the program on solid footing. By my reckoning, he’s already within the top five SEC coaches for 2024-25. The arrival of Texas and its coach, Vic Schaefer, adds more quality to the conference’s coaching roster.

Here are my top five SEC women’s basketball coaches, entering next season.

1. Dawn Staley (South Carolina)

If I based this ranking on career achievement, I’d need to flip my Nos. 1 and 2, but I constructed this list on the here and now, and there’s no coach I’d rather have in this moment than Staley, a recruiting maestro who knows how to develop players and get the most out of her talent.

Although Mulkey’s Tigers won the national championship last season, South Carolina maintains a 16-game winning streak over LSU.

Staley signed more five-star prospects for next season. Considering how well she assembles talent, her juggernaut will keep threshing.

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2. Kim Mulkey (LSU)

Mulkey earned her place on the Mount Rushmore of women’s basketball coaches by capturing her fourth career national championship last season. This feather-wearing, heel-stomping coach magnetizes attention. She’s been a boon for LSU’s game attendance. The eyeballs are good for her program. Top athletes want to play – and earn NIL deals – at LSU.

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Love her? Loathe her? You can’t deny Mulkey can coach – and she manages a mix of big personalities. She’s masterfully positioned LSU as the destination for elite transfers.

3. Vic Schaefer (Texas)

Only one line missing from Schaefer’s résumé: a national championship – unless you count the title he won as Texas A&M’s associate coach in 2011 under Gary Blair.

Schaefer took Mississippi State to its highest moments in program history, including two national runner-up finishes. Then, he left to rejuvenate Texas. He’s one win away from his sixth Elite Eight appearance.

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Watch Schaefer’s teams, and you’ll understand why he’s nicknamed the “Secretary of Defense.” They force turnovers, they rebound, and they’ll assert their presence in the SEC.

4. Kenny Brooks (Kentucky)

Brooks has never coached in the SEC. That doesn’t mean he won’t thrive against SEC competition. His Hokies beat Tennessee twice last season, including in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament en route to the program’s first Final Four appearance.

Brooks elevated James Madison, his alma mater, into a premier midmajor. Then, he established Virginia Tech as a March Madness fixture. He started his career as a men’s assistant. His credentials are polished. He should be an instant success in the SEC.

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5. Yolett McPhee-McCuin (Ole Miss)

The Rebels called the doldrums home before their 2018 hire of McPhee-McCuin, better known as “Coach Yo.” Now, they call the NCAA Tournament home, making three straight trips to March Madness. Her teams play stifling defense.

The pride of the Bahamas, Yo’s career featured no shortcuts. As a player, she climbed from junior college to Rhode Island. As a coach, she earned her way. She’s juggled coaching the Bahamian national team with her college positions.

Just missed: Oklahoma's Jennie Baranczyk nearly cracked my top five. While at Drake, Baranczyk's Bulldogs were the Missouri Valley's best program. At Oklahoma, her Sooners keep peaking in the NCAA's second round. Reviewing my list, three of the SEC's top six coaches for 2024-25 weren't in the conference this season. The league needed an influx of coaching talent. It arrives next season.

Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network's SEC Columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @btoppmeyer.

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