WICHITA, Kan. - Wichita State head men's basketball coach
Paul Mills has been named one of 25 finalists for the Skip Prosser Man of the Year Award by CollegeInsider.com.
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The award is presented annually to the Division I coach who wins with integrity on and off the court. The Skip Prosser Man of the Year award honors those who not only achieve success on the basketball court but who display moral integrity on and off it as well.
Mills has led the Shockers to their first 20-win season since 2020 and has improved his win total in each of his three seasons at Wichita State. His 54 wins are tied for third most in program history through a coach's first three seasons at Wichita State. Wichita State is one win away from securing a top-2 seed in next week's American Conference Championship.
ABOUT SKIP PROSSER
In six years at Wake Forest, Prosser posted a 126-68 record. For his career, he was 291-146 in 14 seasons including six as the head coach at Xavier and one year at Loyola (Md.).
At Wake Forest, Prosser's teams averaged 21 wins per season. Prosser won 100 games at an ACC school quicker than all but two coaches in the 55-year history of the conference. He coached NBA stars Chris Paul and Josh Howard, led the Demon Deacons to the first No. 1 national ranking in school history and earned ACC Coach of the Year honors in 2003.
Prosser passed away of an apparent heart attack on July 26, 2007, in his office at Wake Forest.Â
The recipient of the annual award is determined by a 10-member voting committee, which consists of current and former head coaches, as well as two senior staff members of collegeinsider.com.
The 2026 award will be announced in Indianapolis, Ind., site of the men's Division I Basketball Championship.
SKIP PROSSER AWARD FINALISTS
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| Lennie Acuff |
Samford |
| Casey Alexander |
Belmont |
| Jase Coburn |
Portland State |
| Johnny Dawkins |
UCF |
| Mike DeGeorge |
Cal Poly |
| Greg Gard |
Wisconsin |
| Kyle Gerdeman |
Lindenwood |
| Chris Holtmann |
DePaul |
| Donte' Jackson |
Alabama A&M |
| James Jones |
Yale |
| Greg Kampe |
Oakland |
| Eric Konkol |
Tulsa |
| Mark Madsen |
California |
| Mike Magpayo |
Fordham |
| Gerry McNamara |
Siena |
| Paul Mills |
Wichita State |
| Dave Moore |
West Georgia |
| Ryan Odom |
Virginia |
| Antoine Pettway |
Kennesaw State |
| Brett Reed |
Lehigh |
| Ryan Ridder |
Mercer |
| Patrick Sellers |
Central Connecticut State |
| Duane Simpkins |
American |
| Zach Spiker |
Drexel |
| Dedrique Taylor |
Cal State Fullerton |
PREVIOUS AWARD WINNERS
Mark Byington, Vanderbilt (2025); Niko Medved, Colorado State (2024); Pat Skerry, Towson (2023); Jay McAuley, Wofford (2022); Lew Hill, UTRGV (2021); Mark Prosser, Western Carolina (2020); Robert Jones, Norfolk State (2019); Casey Alexander, Lipscomb (2018); Danny Manning, Wake Forest (2017); Zack Spiker, Army (2016); Keno Davis, Central Michigan (2015); Brian Wardle, Green Bay (2014); Joe Mihalich, Niagara (2013); Jimmy Patsos, Loyola MD (2012); Chris Mack, Xavier (2011); Bob Marlin, Sam Houston State (2010); Ed Conroy, The Citadel (2009); Mike Brey, Notre Dame (2008).
ABOUT COLLEGEINSIDER.COM
Established in 1996, CollegeInsider.com has been at the forefront of promoting college basketball online. In the July 27, 1998, issue of ESPN the Magazine, College Insider was ranked No. 24 on the magazine's list of 99 Things to do Before you Die. College Insider created the Mid-Major Top 25®, the measuring stick for men's and women's programs outside of the proverbial power leagues, and has 18 national awards presented annually, including the Lute Olson Award, Lou Henson Award, and the John McLendon Award. The CollegeInsider.com All-Access series has been nominated for 5 Emmy Awards and won 2013 Emmy, for its' feature on New York City Basketball (Iona, LIU-Brooklyn and Manhattan). CI also created This Game No Secret, which debuted during the 2016 CIT and now has become an annual event, which has included programs like Duke, Houston, Miami, Ohio State, Ole Miss, Texas and Virginia.
