After being voted SEC Coach of the Year in the postseason awards, University of Tennessee Coach Rick Barnes is now being considered for Men's College Coach of the Year.
The Atlanta Tipoff Club announced its four finalists for the Werner Ladder Naismith Trophy for Men's College Coach of the Year Thursday, and Coach Barnes made the cut.
Fans will be allowed to cast their votes between March 19 and 30 for their choice of Coach of the Year. The fan vote will account for five percent of the final tally.
The winner will be announced April 1 at Pearl Stable in San Antonio, Texas. Coach Barnes is going up against Virginia's Tony Bennett, Villanova Coach Jay Wright and Ohio State Coach Chris Holtmann.
The Vols were quick to point out that Barnes, in his third season now at Tennessee, took a team picked in the preseason to finish 13th in the 14-team Southeastern Conference to a 25-8 (10-5 SEC) record to both a regular-season SEC Championship and to the SEC Tournament Championship Game.
Tennessee earned a No. 3 seed in the South Region of the NCAA Tournament. They defeated Wright St. in the first round, but were eliminated in a close game against Loyola-Chicago in the second round.