The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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24 THE WOLVERINE ❱ AUGUST 2026 BY CLAYTON SAYFIE W hen it was reported that Mike Boynton Jr. was taking over as the in- terim men's basketball head coach following Dusty May's de- parture in June, nobody around Michigan or the college basketball world batted an eye. It made too much sense. Boynton was the only assistant coach on Michigan's staff with head-coaching experience, having spent seven years in charge of Oklahoma State from 2017-24. Posting a 119-109 record (.522), Boyn- ton led the Cowboys to only one NCAA Tournament appearance in his tenure, that coming as a No. 4 seed in 2021, fall- ing in the round of 32. However, he and his staff were held back by sanctions stemming from violations by a previous staff, and Boynton was up front about how the pro gram lacked the resources to compete with the best in the sport. Context matters. On July 10, Boynton agreed to a two- year deal to become Michigan's 19th head coach on a full-time, permanent basis. The 44-year-old is a better coach now than he was the last time he com- manded a bench at Oklahoma State, too. He learned from May but also provided invaluable insight to his former boss. "He's just as good as I am," May said during Michigan's run to the NCAA title. "The best part about him is he covers my blind spots before they're blind. There's not a day that goes by that he doesn't call me and want to take something off my plate that I haven't thought of. And that's what he is, he's a forward thinker. He's got a great feel for people. "I don't know if I've ever met anyone that didn't say positive things about him, especially in this climate when we love to say negative things about anyone and everyone. He's just a professional." "This has been like an unbelievable sabbatical for me," Boynton said before last season. "If I'm ever a head coach again, whatever success I have will be a big part of me being here working for him. "... There is a desire for me to be a head coach again. No one wants their last coaching job — whatever it was, but I got fired, at the end of the day. As a competi- tor, there's a desire, at some point again, A FORWARD THINKER Mike Boynton Jr. Takes Over Michigan's Program Boynton, an assistant coach and U-M's defensive coordinator the last two seasons, was head coach at Oklahoma State from 2017-24, posting a 119-109 record. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL