Basketball fan here looking to combine my sports passion with academics! Do you guys know which D1 college basketball programs have had the most success lately? I'm mainly looking at tournament appearances, but any other aspects of success are welcome.
Sure, I can help you out with that!
First, there's perennial powerhouse Duke, under the continued leadership of Coach K, that always seems to be in the mix come tournament time. Gonzaga is another program that has been successful recently under Coach Mark Few. They haven't missed a tournament in over two decades, and made it to the championship game two times in the last five years (as of 2025).
Kansas, under Coach Bill Self, has also been extremely competitive, winning the national championship as recently as 2022. Similarly, Baylor (under Coach Scott Drew) had an impressive run in recent years, securing their first national championship in 2021 and continuing with high-level performance and tournament appearances.
Villanova has been another standout with two national championships under Coach Jay Wright during the past decade. Michigan State under Tom Izzo and University of Kentucky under John Calipari have also seen consistent success.
Apart from tournament appearances, you may also want to consider the historic significance and prestige of the programs, quality of the facilities, coaching staff stability and excellence, player development, and the basketball culture on-campus. Consider what's most important to you in a program and how that aligns with your academic goals. Happy hunting!
Again, these are broad generalizations and much of the success can shift from year to year, but hopefully this gives you a good starting point!
CollegeVine’s Q&A seeks to offer informed perspectives on commonly asked admissions questions. Every answer is refined and validated by our team of admissions experts to ensure it resonates with trusted knowledge in the field.