Steve Pikiell’s place at the bottom of The College Basketball Report’s Big Ten coaching rankings says plenty about where Rutgers men’s basketball stands right now.
Pikiell was slotted No. 15 among the conference’s 15 head coaches for the 2026-27 season, a reflection of a program that has spent the last couple of years fighting uphill. The veteran Rutgers coach is heading into his 11th season with the Scarlet Knights, and the recent results have not matched the standard he helped build early in his run.
That contrast is hard to miss when you look back at the resume. Pikiell rebuilt Stony Brook from the ground up and got the program to its first NCAA Tournament.
He later brought Rutgers to its first NCAA Tournament in 30 years, then followed that up with back-to-back March appearances in 2021 and 2022 while competing in the Big Ten. He was also recognized with the 2020 Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year Award.
Rutgers’ last two seasons explain why the ranking looks the way it does. The Scarlet Knights finished 15-17 in 2024-25 with a young roster that included future NBA lottery picks Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey. Before that, Rutgers went 14-20 overall and 6-14 in Big Ten play.
There is, however, a more encouraging backdrop heading into the rebuild. Zinn said Rutgers had met its NIL fundraising goals for men’s basketball for the 2026-27 cycle, and NJ Advance Media reported the same. The program still won’t be working with the kind of NIL resources available to a school like Ohio State, but the added support gives Pikiell and his staff more room to operate as they try to reshape the roster.
Those dollars matter because Rutgers is staring at a major turnover. Harper and Bailey are gone after going in the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft, with Harper selected No. 2 overall by the San Antonio Spurs and Bailey No. 5 overall by the Utah Jazz.
The staff is changing, too. Rutgers now has a new general manager in Robert Sullivan, and Pikiell will work with him to piece together a roster built around young players, freshmen, transfer additions and players from around the world. This offseason, the emphasis has been on tightening up the defense and making Rutgers a more physical team.
So while the No. 15 ranking captures the recent slide, it doesn’t close the book on Pikiell. Rutgers has more NIL backing than before, and the veteran coach has a staff around him as the program tries to get back on track.
In Other News...
Rutgers Finally Has The Kind Of Offense Fans Dream About
Rutgers has spent too many recent seasons searching for the kind of offensive identity that can travel, and the 2026 outlook gives the Scarlet Knights a much more persuasive answer. Junior running back Antwan Raymond and junior wide receiver KJ Duff are positioned as the centerpieces, and both enter the new year with Second-Team All-Big Ten recognition in hand after forcing their way onto the conference and national radar in 2025.
Raymonds breakthrough was big enough to earn him the Jon Cornish Trophy, while Duffs rise made him one of the names included on CBS Sports list of top national offensive weapons for 2026. Add in the fact that both players have also landed in the EA Sports College Football 27 rankings, and Rutgers suddenly has a pair of skill players with the kind of credibility that changes how opponents prepare, even if the bigger question is how far that combination can carry the offense next season. [Read more 🡒]
Greg Schiano Still Holds Real Weight In The Big Ten Coaching Ranks
A recent Big Ten coaching ranking offered another reminder that Greg Schianos name still carries real weight in the conference. The Rutgers coach landed sixth on a list sorted by career victories, with 99 wins to his name, a total that still stacks up respectably in a league where job security and long rsums matter.
Kirk Ferentz sat atop the group with 213 victories, but Schianos place in the mix says plenty about how he is viewed among his peers. Even as newer faces like Ryan Day have surged with recent success, Schiano remains part of that upper tier of Big Ten coaches whose track records continue to shape the conversation around the conference. [Read more 🡒]
Rutgers Women Get A Big Summer Stage To Build Something Bigger
Rutgers womens basketball is heading into a rare kind of summer assignment, one that comes with more than just game reps. The Scarlet Knights will be in Lima, Peru, for the fourth FISU America Games from July 18-28, joining a field of university athletes from 18 countries across the Americas and the Caribbean in an event that gives college players a chance to compete on a stage bigger than the usual offseason workout setting.
For Gary Redus, the value goes beyond the travel or the international backdrop. He sees the trip as a way to speed up growth, build chemistry and help establish the teams identity well before the 2026-27 season arrives. Rutgers is also part of the broader UniUSA delegation, which includes athletes from Power Four programs and is the largest American group ever sent to the FISU America Games, giving the Scarlet Knights another chance to measure themselves against a different kind of basketball landscape. [Read more 🡒]