Pete Nakos recently broke down the coaches sitting on the hottest seats heading into 2026. Now, industry sources are identifying the Group of 6 head coaches who look ready to jump into power conference jobs. Several of the names on the list are already building something this fall.
Dan Mullen, UNLV
Mullen returned to coaching last season and immediately got UNLV to a 10-4 record and a Mountain West championship game appearance. He turned Virginia transfer quarterback Anthony Colandrea into the league's Offensive Player of the Year, and he's now building around Jackson Arnold. A career record north of 110 wins between stops at Florida and Mississippi State suggests he already knows how to win at a higher level.
Brian Hartline, USF
Hartline spent nearly a decade coaching wide receivers at Ohio State and built a reputation as one of the sport's top position coaches along the way. He's stepping into his first head coaching job this fall at USF, and a loaded transfer portal class has people around the program believing in fast results.
Pete Nakos flagged 14 other Group of 6 coaches as prime candidates to make that same jump this cycle. The list ranges from proven winners angling for one more step up to early-career coaches already making a statement.
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- The USA Today preseason coaches poll dropped Tuesday, and it's already shaping the strength-of-schedule conversation heading into 2026.
- Ohio State sits at No. 1 in the rankings, and its slate includes trips against Oregon and Texas, but notably does not face the most ranked opponents.
- One team's road ahead stands above the rest, stacked with ranked opponents from top to bottom, and On3 has the full breakdown of who's facing the toughest gauntlets in the country.
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Women's College Basketball
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- On3's Talia Goodman talked to more than a dozen women's basketball general managers anonymously to get a real read on how NIL valuations shook out during the 2026 transfer portal cycle.
- Point guards emerged as this cycle's most coveted position, a sharp turn from the post-player premium that defined the market just two years ago.
- GMs are also sounding the alarm on a market with no formal structure and no ceiling in sight, and Goodman has the full breakdown of the numbers below.
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Rivals Basketball Recruiting |
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