Western Kentucky men’s basketball head coach Hank Plona has been named as one of 16 finalists for the 2024-25 Joe B. Hall Award, announced by CollegeInsider.com on Monday. The award is presented annually to the top first-time head coach in NCAA Division I college basketball.

In his first season as head coach at WKU, Plona has guided the Hilltoppers to a winning record of 16-13 highlighted by wins over Lipscomb (Nov. 17), Marshall (Nov. 30), historic rival Murray State in overtime (Dec. 14) and Conference USA opponents Liberty (Dec. 2) and UTEP (Feb. 27) on the road. Plona has also led the Tops to a 12-4 record at home with seven victories in conference play despite a bevy of injuries to key starters and reserves on the team’s roster.

The Joe B. Hall Award is named in honor of longtime Kentucky men’s basketball coach Joe B. Hall, who was given the task of following the legendary Adolph Rupp at the school. In his first season, Hall finished 20-8, won the SEC and advanced to the NCAA Tournament Regional Finals.

Hall coached the Wildcats from 1972 to 1985, finishing with wins in two-thirds of his games (297-100) while earning SEC Coach of the Year four times and leading UK to a national championship in 1978. Hall led the Wildcats to two other Final Fours, won eight SEC regular-season titles and one SEC tournament championship in 1984.

Hall died on Jan. 15, 2022.

The recipient of the annual award is determined by a 10-member voting committee consisting of current and former head coaches, as well as two senior staff members of collegeinsider.com. The 2025 award will be announced in San Antonio, Texas, site of the NCAA men’s division I basketball championship.

JOE B. HALL AWARD FINALISTS

Patrick Crarey II – Florida A&M

Mike DeGeorge – Cal Poly

Ethan Faulkner – Youngstown State

Kahil Fennell – UT Rio Grande Valley

Cornelius Jackson – Marshall

John Jakus – FAU

Jon Jaques – Cornell

Mike Jones – Old Dominion

Donny Lind – Mount St. Mary’s

Jonathan Mattox – Morehead State

Ben McCollum – Drake

Gerry McNamara – Siena

Hank Plona – Western Kentucky

Clint Sargent – Wright State

Ivan Thomas – Hampton

Kevin Young – BYU