While
Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) head coach
Gary McKnight is still at least two years away from catching
Robert Hughes as the nation's all-time winningest high school boys basketball coach, he can achieve a significant milestone during the 2025-26 season – 1,300 career wins.
McKnight, who began coaching at Mater Dei in 1983, led the Monarchs to a 22-9 record this season, moving him past
Morgan Wootten of
DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.) and into second place on the all-time wins list with 1,294. Hughes, who spent most of his career at
Dunbar (Fort Worth, Texas), is still 39 wins away at 1,333.
Freddy Johnson of
Greensboro Day School (Greensboro, N.C.) joined Hughes, McKnight, Wootten,
Richard Duease of
Madison-Ridgeland Academy (Madison, Miss.) and
Steve Smith of
Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) with over 1,200 wins. Johnson's Bengals went 31-5 during the 2024-25 campaign and captured a state championship. With 1,221 wins, he is seven wins away from tying Smith (1,228) for No. 5 on the list.
Duease, with 1,257 wins, is also still active and has a chance to move past Wootten (1,274) into third place.
After 54 years on the sideline, Tony Harper of Cathedral (El Paso, Texas) is retiring with 1,159 wins – the second-best total in state history. (PHOTO: Chris Stanley)
With 1,184 wins,
Charles Smith of
Peabody (Alexandria, La.) is poised to surpass
Bobby Hurley of
St. Anthony (Jersey City, N.J.), who has 1,185 all-time wins. However Smith's totals are somewhat in doubt. A story on Crescent City Sports listed the Louisiana coach with 1,236 wins (and 219 losses). However, a year-by-year examination of Smith's win-loss records via online archives of the Town Talk (Peabody's hometown newspaper) comes up with a record of 1,184-211. MaxPreps has reached out to Peabody school officials in an attempt to verify the data.
As a result of the difference in official wins for Smith,
Danny Broussard of
St. Thomas More (Lafayette, La.) is closing in on the Peabody coach for the all-time lead in Louisiana. Broussard is 17 wins away at 1,167.
At No. 10,
Tony Harper of
Cathedral (El Paso, Texas) has retired after 54 seasons on the sideline. He ends his career as the No. 2 all-time winningest coach in Texas with 1,159 wins.
No. 15
Mike LeDuc of
Damien (La Verne, Calif.) closed in on 1,100 wins at 1,095. He has a chance to move up past
Ralph Tasker of
Hobbs (N.M.) at No. 11 with 1,122 wins with 27 victories next year. Damien was 21-11 this year.
Jeff Bell of
Graford (Texas) went over 1,000 career wins this year after his Rabbits went 25-10. He finished in 29th place with 1,011 wins.
Several coaches will go over 1,000 career wins next year.
Ken Novak Jr. of
Hopkins (Minnetonka, Minn.) needs just seven wins (993-189) while
Aaron Straub of
Elk County Catholic (St. Marys, Pa.) needs 11 wins (989-249).
Harvey Kitani of
Rolling Hills Prep (San Pedro, Calif.) also has a chance with 21 wins (979-306) while
Neil Alexander of
Lincoln (Ill.) needs 22 wins (978-440).
Meanwhile in New York,
Ron Naclerio needs just 12 wins to become the all-time winningest coach in state history. The
Cardozo (Bayside, N.Y.) coach has 961 wins, which is just 11 behind all-time state leader
Jack Curran of
Archbishop Molloy (Queens, N.Y.) with 972.
