Mike Neighbors joined ESPN ahead of the 2025 women’s college basketball season as an analyst. Neighbors most recently served as the head coach of the Arkansas Razorbacks for eight seasons before stepping down in March 2025.

Additionally, Neighbors currently serves as an assistant coach for the L.A. Sparks WNBA franchise.

During his time back home at his alma mater Arkansas, Neighbors guided his Hogs to the best eight-year period of sustained success in program history with 148 wins and six postseason qualifications in that time. The proof of his success, and the success of his system, lies in the numbers – Neighbors has accumulated 246 wins during his 12 seasons as a head coach, the most of any Power 5 head coaches in 12 or fewer seasons, as well as one of only two NCAA Division I Head Coaches.

Prior to his homecoming, Neighbors guided Washington to four seasons of unprecedented success, highlighted by the 2016 NCAA Final Four and two NCAA Sweet 16 appearances. Named the program’s head coach after two years as an assistant, Neighbors led the Huskies to a 98-41 record that was fueled by three consecutive 23-plus win seasons and included four postseason tournament appearances (3 NCAA, 1 WNIT). His stellar work with the Huskies didn’t go unnoticed, as Neighbors was a Werner Ladder Naismith National Coach of the Year Semifinalist in 2017.

Before his time in Seattle, Neighbors was hired by then head coach Kevin McGuff at Xavier in time for the 2007-08 season, using his time with Musketeers to learn from McGuff about being the head coach of a program. During his tenure at Xavier, Neighbors was a part of a staff that compiled a 108-22 record, captured three A-10 Tournament Championships, earned three A-10 Regular Season Championships and competed in four straight NCAA Tournaments. For his efforts, Neighbors was selected as one of the best assistant coaches in the country, becoming one of five recipients for the BasketballScoop.com and ONS Performance Rising Star award in 2009. In what was the pair’s best season together in 2009, Neighbors’ and McGuff’s Musketeers posted a 30-4 record, including a flawless 14-0 season in A-10 Conference play before advancing to the Elite Eight and narrowly falling to national runner-up Stanford. Xavier ended that season ranked No. 5 in the polls, the best final ranking in program history and the best finish by a mid-major team in the polls that century.

A native of Greenwood, Arkansas, Neighbors received his associate degree at the University of Arkansas – Fort Smith and his bachelor’s degree from the University of Arkansas in 1993. Following graduation, Neighbors went on to coach in the high school ranks, as he coached at both Cabot and Bentonville High School. His Bentonville team completed a historic turnaround under his watchful eye: his first team finished 1-24, but by year three, they were competing for a state championship.

Following his run as a high school coach, Neighbors became the director of basketball operations for the Razorbacks, serving under legendary coach Gary Blair, who won the NCAA Championship in 2011 with Texas A&M. Neighbors also spent time as an assistant coach on Kathy McConnell-Miller’s staff at Tulsa and Colorado, before returning to Arkansas as an assistant under Susie Gardner.

Neighbors is married to Jayci Stone. He has four children, a daughter, Abby and three sons, Alec, Bowen and Barrett.