ANN ARBOR, Mich. (WNEM) — The University of Michigan director of athletics announced Mike Boynton Jr. will be the new head coach of the men’s basketball program.
Boynton agreed to a two-year contract after two seasons on the Michigan Wolverines staff. During that time, the Wolverines compiled a 64-13 record and won the 2025 Big Ten Tournament championship, the 2026 Big Ten regular-season title and the program’s second NCAA national championship.
“Mike is a veteran assistant with strong head coaching experience and a clear understanding of the standard we expect at Michigan,” Warde Manuel, director of athletics, said. “Over the past two seasons, he has been an invaluable member of our staff, bringing stability, leadership and perspective during an important period of success. Our players and staff believe in his vision, are committed to his leadership and are excited for the opportunity to pursue great success together this season.”
Boynton helped mentor four first-round NBA draft selections in just two seasons at Michigan, including three lottery selections in the 2026 NBA draft. Morez Johnson Jr. (No. 9), Yaxel Lendeborg (No. 11), Aday Mara (No. 12) and Danny Wolf (No. 27, 2025) all developed into first-round selections. Michigan became just the fifth program since the NBA draft lottery expanded in 2004 to produce three lottery selections in a single draft.
As a veteran coach with more than two decades of experience, Boynton arrived in Ann Arbor in April 2024 following seven seasons as head coach at Oklahoma State. He posted a 119-109 record with the Cowboys, leading the program to an NCAA Tournament appearance and two NIT quarterfinal appearances while developing Cade Cunningham, the Detroit Pistons point guard, into the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 NBA draft.
Before leading Oklahoma State, Boynton served as an assistant coach with the Cowboys and at Stephen F. Austin under current Illinois head coach Brad Underwood. He also had coaching stops at his alma mater, South Carolina, as well as Wofford and Coastal Carolina after beginning his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Furman.
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