High school basketball: Gary McKnight of Mater Dei heads list of top 50 active coaches with most wins

Gary McKnight begins his 41st year at Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) and he begins it as the winningest active high school boys basketball coach in the country.

With the retirement of Steve Smith of Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) at the conclusion of the 2022 season, McKnight takes over as the coach with the most wins, coming in at 1,214 wins. He ranks No. 4 all-time behind Robert Hughes of Dunbar (Fort Worth, Texas) with 1,333 wins, Morgan Wooten of DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.) with 1,274 and Smith with 1,229.

McKnight is nearly 40 wins ahead of No. 2 Richard Duease of Madison-Ridgeland Academy (Madison, Miss.), who has 1,176 wins. However, it should be noted that Duease also has 592 girls basketball wins, giving him a combined total of 1,768 wins.

Freddy Johnson of Greensboro Day School (Greensboro, N.C.) comes in at No. 3 with 1,136 wins while Charles Smith of Peabody (Alexandria, La.) comes in at No. 4 with 1,121 and Tony Harper of Cathedral (El Paso, Texas) is No. 5 with 1,103 wins.



Paul Rodio of St. Augustine Prep (Richland, N.J.) is the next in line to surpass the 1,000-win milestone. He enters the 2022-23 season with 991 wins.

MaxPreps compiled the list using a variety of sources, including coaching association websites, the NFHS record book and simply contacting the coach himself to get the totals. MaxPreps was not able to contact every coach on the list, but the ones we did contact are listed as the source. Loss totals for some coaches were not available. Totals are as of the completion of the 2021-22 season and do not include the current season. Missing anyone? Email kevinaskeland65@gmail.com.
Top 50 winningest active basketball coaches

1. Gary McKnight
Current School: Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.)
Won-Loss: 1,214-127
Year Started: 1983
Source: school website

2. Richard Duease
Current School: Madison-Ridgeland Academy (Madison, Miss.)
Won-Loss: 1,176
Year Started: 1976
Source: coach

3. Freddy Johnson
Current School: Greensboro Day School (Greensboro, N.C.)
Won-Loss: 1,136-310
Year Started: 1977
Source: school

4. Charles Smith
Current School: Peabody (Alexandria, La.)
Won-Loss: 1,121-198
Year Started: 1985
Source: NFHS record book

5. Tony Harper
Current School: Cathedral (El Paso, Texas)
Won-Loss: 1,103-486
Year Started: 1970
Source: NFHS record book



6. Danny Broussard
Current School: St. Thomas More (Lafayette, La.)
Won-Loss: 1,074-340
Year Started: 1983
Source: NFHS record book

7. Mike LeDuc
Current School: Damien (La Verne, Calif.)
Won-Loss: 1,018-261
Year Started: 1980
Source: coach

8. Ron Insinger
Current School: Loyalsock Township (Williamsport, Pa.)
Won-Loss: 1,010-281
Year Started: 1974
Source: coach

9. Jerry Petitgoue
Current School: Cuba City (Wis.)
Won-Loss: 1,009-233
Year Started: 1963
Source: coach

10. Paul Rodio
Current School: St. Augustine Prep (Richland, N.J.)
Won-Loss: 991-254
Year Started: 1977
Source: coach

11. Bob Foley
Current School: St. John's (Shrewsbury, Mass.)
Won-Loss: 961-380
Year Started: 1963
Source: The Telegram



12. Ken Novak Jr.
Current School: Hopkins (Minnetonka, Minn.)
Won-Loss: 925-172
Year Started: 1982
Source: Minnesota Basketball Coaches Association
15. Tony Chapman
Current School: Holy Ghost Prep (Bensalem, Pa.)
Won-Loss: 914-338
Year Started: 1979
Source: coach

16. Aaron Straub
Current School: Elk County Catholic (St. Marys, Pa.)
Won-Loss: 913-241
Year Started: 1983
Source: coach

17. Neil Alexander
Current School: Lincoln (Ill.)
Won-Loss: 907-413
Year Started: 1977
Source: coach

17. Harvey Kitani
Current School: Rolling Hills Prep (San Pedro, Calif.)
Won-Loss: 907-287
Year Started: 1982
Source: Daily Breeze



19. Pat Eidson
Current School: Pinewood Prep (Summerville, S.C.)
Won-Loss: 888-401
Year Started: 1983
Source: The Post and Courier

20. Ron Naclerio
Current School: Cardozo (Bayside, N.Y.)
Won-Loss: 883
Year Started: 1981
Source: coach

21. J.R. Holmes
Current School: Bloomington South (Bloomington, Ind.)
Won-Loss: 880-352
Year Started: 1971
Source: coach

22. Butch Waller
Current School: Wicomico (Salisbury, Md.)
Won-Loss: 880-370
Year Started: 1966
Source: coach

23. Todd Sutherland
Current School: East Chambers (Winnie, Texas)
Won-Loss: 872-182
Year Started: 1993
Source: coach

24. Greg Wise
Current School: Yates (Houston, Texas)
Won-Loss: 871-145
Year Started: 1996
Source: coach



24. Rudy Carey
Current School: Denver East (Denver)
Won-Loss: 871-220
Year Started: 1976
Source: CHSAA Now

26. Jim Scanlon
Current School: Rock Bridge (Columbia, Mo.)
Won-Loss: 851-263
Year Started: 1976
Source: Missouri Sports Hall of Fame

27. Lester King
Current School: Goodrich (Texas)
Won-Loss: 845-525
Year Started: 1979
Source: coach

28. Ken Bianchi
Current School: Abington Heights (Clarks Summit, Pa.)
Won-Loss: 845-386
Year Started: 1975
Source: Illinois Basketball Coaches Association

29. Jim Murphy
Current School: Hope Christian (Albuquerque, N.M.)
Won-Loss: 841-253
Year Started: 1984
Source: coach

30. Ronnie Stapler
Current School: Westminster Christian (Huntsville, Ala.)
Won-Loss: 838-480
Year Started: 1974
Source: Alabama High School Athletic Association



31. Sandy Pyonin
Current School: Golda Och Acadmey (West Orange, N.J.)
Won-Loss: 836
Year Started: N/A
Source: NJ.com

32. Tom Bonfigli
Current School: St. Vincent de Paul (Petaluma, Calif.)
Won-Loss: 833-333
Year Started: 1981
Source: Cal-Hi Sports Record Book

33. Richard Hoogendoorn
Current School: Schulenburg (Texas)
Won-Loss: 822-525
Year Started: 1976
Source: Newspapers.com

34. Steve Buckelew
Current School: Pearland (Texas)
Won-Loss: 817-303
Year Started: 1981
Source: coach

35. Tim Whipple
Current School: Irmo (Columbia, S.C.)
Won-Loss: 817-299
Year Started: 1981
Source: coach

36. Dave Rogers
Current School: Martinsburg (W. Va.)
Won-Loss: 816-235
Year Started: 1975
Source: coach



37. Joe Fenlon
Current School: Tampa Prep
Won-Loss: 814
Year Started: 1983
Source: Tampa Bay Times

38. Rick Mills
Current School: Northwest (Hughesville, Mo.)
Won-Loss: 810-468
Year Started: 1972
Source: coach

39. Roy Johnston
Current School: Beaverton (Mich.)
Won-Loss: 808-338
Year Started: 1967
Source: coach

40. Jody Wright
Current School: Fulton (Knoxville, Tenn.)
Won-Loss: 803-366
Year Started: 1984
Source: coach

40. Ken Shaw
Current School: Regis Jesuit (Aurora, Colo.)
Won-Loss: 803
Year Started: 1976
Source: The Sentinel

42. Joe Hosman
Current School: Massac County (Metropolis, Ill.)
Won-Loss: 802-431
Year Started: 1979
Source: coach



43. Bobby Carson
Current School: Marshall (Texas)
Won-Loss: 798
Year Started: 1983
Source: coach

44. Kevin Boyle
Current School: Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.)
Won-Loss: 797
Year Started: 1989
Source: school website

45. Mike Bartee
Current School: JW North (Riverside, Calif.)
Won-Loss: 792
Year Started: 1982
Source: Cal-Hi Sports

46. Dan Carr
Current School: Linton/Hazelton-Moffit-Braddock (Linton, N.D.)
Won-Loss: 785
Year Started: 1978
Source: Jamestown Sun

47. Rodney Woods
Current School: Wayne County (Monticello, Ky.)
Won-Loss: 783-448
Year Started: 1984
Source: Kentucky High Schools Athletic Association

48. Tom Hofman
Current School: La Canada (La Canada, Calif.)
Won-Loss: 779-249
Year Started: 1986
Source: Pasadena Star News



49. Larry Kostelac
Current School: Trinity (Camp Hill, Pa.)
Won-Loss: 777
Year Started: 1985
Source: Mike Drago Sports

50. Dave Galovich
Current School: Crosby-Ironton (Crosby, Minn.)
Won-Loss: 774-369
Year Started: 1979
Source: coach

51. David Page
Current School: Pawnee (Okla.)
Won-Loss: 770
Year Started: N/A
Source: IWasAtTheGame.com

52. Ken Esterly
Current School: Reading (Pa.)
Won-Loss: 769-212
Year Started: 1990
Source: Mike Drago Sports

53. Doug Schumbert
Current School: Anadarko (Okla.)
Won-Loss: 768
Year Started: N/A
Source: IWasAtTheGame.com

54. Dave Neier
Current School: St. Francis Borgia (Washington, Mo.)
Won-Loss: 766-249
Year Started: 1987
Source: coach



55. Dennis Reuter
Current School: Gibault Catholic (Waterloo, Ill.)
Won-Loss: 765-438
Year Started: 1981
Source: Illinois Basketball Coaches Association

56. Glenn Arnold
Current School: Klein (Texas)
Won-Loss: 760
Year Started: 1970
Source: coach

57. Doug Mitchell
Current School: Bishop Montgomery (Torrance, Calif.)
Won-Loss: 759-189
Year Started: 1990
Source: Cal-Hi Sports

58. Rocky Rawls
Current School: Bronte (Texas)
Won-Loss: 741-393
Year Started: 1984
Source: coach

59. Gene Miller
Current School: Washington (Ind.)
Won-Loss: 739-363
Year Started: 1975
Source: coach

Note: Adjustments have been made to Steve Smith's career record (1,229) and Tom Bonfigli of St. Vincent de Paul was added to the list.

Additional Note: On Jan. 5, 2023, Doug Mitchell, Mike Bartee, Jim Scanlon, Greg Wise, Sandy Pyonin, Jeff Bell, Ken Esterly, Larry Kostelac added to list.