Mike Boynton Jr. - Men's Basketball Coach - University of Michigan Athletics

Mike Boynton Jr.

Title:
Assistant Coach

With two decades of collegiate coaching experience, including seven years as the head coach of Oklahoma State, Mike Boynton Jr. joined Dusty May's staff in 2024 as an assistant coach and the program's defensive coordinator.

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In his first season at Michigan, Boynton helped U-M more than triple its win total from the previous season, posting a 27-10 record. After finishing tied for second in the Big Ten with a 14-6 record, the Wolverines earned the three seed in the Big Ten Tournament.

After a dominant 86-68 win over Purdue in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals, U-M defeated Maryland on a last second coast-to-coast layup from Tre Donaldson, sending Michigan to the championship game. Michigan came away with the Big Ten Tournament title after a gritty 59-53 win over Maryland.

Earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, Michigan was given the No. 5 seed in the south region and escaped the Round of 64 with a narrow 68-65 win over UC San Diego. Michigan advanced to its sixth Sweet 16 in its last six tournament appearances after defeating No. 4 Texas A&M, 91-79, in the second round. Michigan ultimately fell to No. 1 seed Auburn in the Sweet 16.

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Before coming to Ann Arbor, Boynton spent eight years at Oklahoma State (2017-24), with the final seven as the Cowboys' head coach. After serving as an assistant under Brad Underwood at Stephen F. Austin for three seasons, Boynton followed him to Oklahoma State in 2016-17. After the season, Underwood moved on to Illinois and Boynton took over as head coach.

During his seven seasons, Boynton led the Cowboys to a 119-109 record, including a trip to the 2021 NCAA Tournament and two NIT quarterfinal appearances in 2018 and 2023. He had three 20-plus win seasons and helped guide OSU to a runner-up finish at the 2021 Big 12 Tournament. His 119 wins rank fourth all-time in Oklahoma State history.

Boynton coached 10 All-Big 12 selections and 22 academic all-conference honorees. He also has 24 wins over nationally-ranked teams, the third most in OSU history, including 11 wins against top-10 teams.

In the 2020-21 season, Boynton led the Cowboys to a 21-9 record and an NCAA Tournament bid. They won their first tournament game in six years against Liberty (69-60) and Boynton was named a finalist for the Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year award and the 2021 Skip Prosser Man of the Year award.

During that same season, Boynton mentored Cade Cunningham, who became a consensus first-team All-American and won the Big 12's Player and Freshman of the Year honors. Cunningham also won the Wayman Tisdale Award and the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) and the Sporting News National Freshman of the Year awards. Cunningham was later drafted first overall in the 2021 NBA Draft by the Detroit Pistons.

Boynton has also coached two other NBA players, Lindy Waters III and Cameron McGriff.

In his first season as head coach in 2017-18, Boynton led OSU to a 21-15 record and a bid to the NIT. They won their first two games against Florida Gulf Coast (80-68) and Stanford (71-65) before losing to Western Kentucky (92-84) in the quarterfinal. In 2022, the Cowboys had their third 20-plus win season under Boynton (20-16) and earned a trip to the NIT. They won their first two games against Youngstown State (69-64) and Eastern Washington (71-60), before losing to eventual champion North Texas (65-59) in the quarterfinal.

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During his tenure at Stephen F. Austin, the Lumberjacks had an exceptional run under Coach Underwood. SFA had three consecutive seasons with more than 25 wins, including a 32-3 record in 2013-14. The team had a record of 89-14, including a 53-1 record in conference play. The Lumberjacks won three straight Southland regular-season and tournament championships, which helped them qualify for the NCAA Tournament for three consecutive years.

However, in 2020, the NCAA imposed sanctions on SFA for improper eligibility certification from 2013-19, which resulted in the removal of wins from nine programs, including basketball.

In the NCAA Tournament, the Lumberjacks made it to the second round twice, in 2014 and 2016. In 2014, the 12th-seeded Lumberjacks recorded the program's first-ever NCAA win by upsetting No. 5-seed VCU in a 77-75 overtime victory. However, in the second round, they lost to No. 4 UCLA, 77-60.

In 2015, they exited in the first round, but in 2016, the 14th-seeded Lumberjacks caused another upset by defeating third-seeded West Virginia in the first round with a score of 70-56. Unfortunately, they just fell short of the Sweet 16 in a thrilling second-round match-up with sixth-seed Notre Dame, losing 76-75 to the Irish.

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After completing his college career at South Carolina from 2001 to 2004, Boynton began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Furman under Larry Davis for the 2004-05 season. Following that, he joined Buzz Peterson as an assistant coach at Coastal Carolina for two seasons from 2006 to 2007. During his time there, the team achieved a record of 35-29, including 19 Big South wins, and finished as runner-up in both the regular season and postseason tournament in 2006.

After spending a year as an associate head coach at Wofford from 2007 to 2008, working with Mike Young, Boynton returned to his alma mater, South Carolina, where he worked as an assistant coach for five seasons. He served under Darrin Horn and then Frank Martin. During his tenure, the Gamecocks earned 53 wins and made an appearance in the 2009 NIT.

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During his college playing career, Boynton spent four seasons (2001-04) at South Carolina playing under legendary coaches Eddie Fogler (one season) and Dave Odom (three seasons). He set a program record by playing 125 career games, with 47 starts, and compiled a career record of 72-57, including two trips to the NIT tournament - finishing as the runner-up in 2002.

In his senior year (2003-04), Boynton started in 33 of 34 games, averaging 9.9 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game. He led the Gamecocks with 79 three-point field goals (40.7 percent), 44 steals, as well as 115 assists, nearly doubling his prior three-season total (140).

Before his college career, Boynton played at Bishop Loughlin Memorial in Brooklyn, N.Y. As a senior, he guided the Lions to a 24-4 record and an appearance in the city semifinal. He averaged 15.0 points and 11.0 assists per game, earning All-New York City first-team honors. In 2011, he was inducted into the Bishop Loughlin's Athletic Hall of Fame.

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Over the past three summers, Boynton has remained active with USA Basketball. He served as an assistant coach for the United States team at the 2023 FIBA U19 World Cup in Hungary and the 2022 FIBA U18 Americas in Tijuana, Mexico. Also, in the summer of 2021, Boynton worked as a court coach for the U19 National Team's training camp in Fort Worth, Texas.

In the summer of 2024, Boynton was one of the Big 12 basketball coaches who participated in the conference's inaugural Big 12 Hoops in the Park program. This program featured a select group of coaches who led youth clinics at Rucker Park. Boynton, who grew up watching games at the famous venue, was happy for the chance to give back to his home city. He was joined by Scott Drew (Baylor), Mark Pope (BYU), Wes Miller (Cincinnati), Jerome Tang (K-State), Jamie Dixon (TCU), and five others from the women's side.

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Boynton and his wife, Jenny (Hill), have two children together -- son, Ace, and daughter, Zoe.

Jenny is originally from Holland, Michigan. She was an All-State volleyball player while attending West Ottawa High School. She continued her volleyball career at Virginia Tech, where she earned her degree in human nutrition, foods and exercise. Jenny has worked as a sports nutritionist at both South Carolina and Oklahoma State, where she met Boynton.

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The Mike Boynton, Jr. File
Born: December 12, 1981
Hometown: Brooklyn, New York
High School: Bishop Loughlin High School
College: South Carolina University (2003)
Degree: African American Studies
Wife: Jenny (Hill)
Children: son, Ace and daughter, Zoe

Career Resume

Seasons	Program	Position
2004-05	Furman University	Graduate Assistant
2005-07	Coastal Carolina University	Assistant Coach
2007-08	Wofford College	Associate Head Coach
2008-13	University of South Carolina	Assistant Coach
2013-16	Stephen F. Austin University	Assistant Coach
2016-17	Oklahoma State University	Assistant Coach
2017-24	Oklahoma State University	Head Coach
2024-present	University of Michigan	Assistant Coach

Career Breakdown

Season	Program	Overall	Conf.	Finish	Tournament	Postseason
2004-05	Furman	16-13	9-7	4th	SoCon: First Round	–
2005-06	Coastal Carolina	20-14	12-4	2nd	Big South: Runner-up	–
2006-07	Coastal Carolina	15-15	7-7	4th	Big South: Quarterfinal	–
2007-08	Wofford	16-16	8-12	4th (South)	SoCon: Second Round	–
2008-09	South Carolina	21-10	10-6	2nd (East)	SEC: Second Round	NIT: First Round
2009-10	South Carolina	15-16	6-10	5th (East)	SEC: First Round	–
2010-11	South Carolina	14-16	5-11	6th (East)	SEC: First Round	–
2011-12	South Carolina	10-21	2-14	12th	SEC: First Round	–
2012-13	South Carolina	14-18	4-14	12th	SEC: First Round	–
2013-14	Stephen F. Austin	32-3	18-0	1st	Southland: Champions	NCAA: Second Round
2014-15	Stephen F. Austin	29-5	17-1	1st	Southland: Champions	NCAA: First Round
2015-16	Stephen F. Austin	28-6	18-0	1st	Southland: Champions	NCAA: Second Round
2016-17	Oklahoma State	20-13	9-9	5th	Big 12: Quarterfinal	NCAA: First Round
2017-18	Oklahoma State	21-15	8-10	6th	Big 12: Quarterfinal	NIT: Quarterfinal
2018-19	Oklahoma State	12-20	5-13	9th	Big 12: First Round	–
2019-20	Oklahoma State	18-14	7-11	7th	Big 12: Quarterfinal (canceled C19)	canceled (C19)
2020-21	Oklahoma State	21-9	11-7	5th	Big 12: Runner-up	NCAA: Second Round
2021-22	Oklahoma State	15-15	8-10	5th	Ineligible (NCAA)	Ineligible (NCAA)
2022-23	Oklahoma State	20-16	8-10	7th	Big 12: Quarterfinal	NIT: Quarterfinal
2023-24	Oklahoma State	12-20	4-14	13th	Big 12: First Round	–
2024-25	Michigan	27-10	14-6	t-2nd	Big Ten: Champions	NCAA: Sweet 16
	Career Totals	395-282	190-176

Career Seasons

School	Year	Games	Overall	Conf.
Furman	1	29	16-13	9-7
Coastal Carolina	2	64	35-29	19-11
Wofford	1	32	16-16	8-12
South Carolina	5	155	74-81	27-55
Stephen F. Austin	3	103	89-14	53-1
Oklahoma State	8	261	139-122	60-84
Michigan	1	37	27-10	14-6
Career	21	677	395-282	190-176