LSU basketball hires Murray State's Matt McMahon as new coach

LSU basketball has hired Murray State's Matt McMahon as its next coach.

McMahon, 43, guided Murray State to a 154-67 record in seven seasons. The Racers have made the NCAA Tournament three times, including this season when Murray State was a No. 7 seed and reached the Round of 32, defeating 10th-seeded San Francisco before falling to 15th-seeded Saint Peter's on Saturday.

Murray State posted a 31-3 record this season, winning the regular season and conference tournament championships in the Ohio Valley Conference. McMahon becomes the 25th coach in LSU history.

“It was essential for us to hire a coach with a winning standard of performance, as well as the consistency and character to elevate our men’s basketball program to new heights,” LSU athletic director Woodward said in a school release Monday. “Matt is exactly what we were looking for. His vision for our program and his values as a leader align perfectly with ours as an institution, and he has a proven track record of identifying talent, developing student-athletes, and building championship basketball programs.” 

McMahon's hiring comes after LSU fired coach Will Wade on March 12, days after the university was handed a Notice of Allegations from the NCAA that revealed that Wade had committed five Level I violations, indicating a severe breach of conduct. LSU assistant Kevin Nickelberry became the Tigers' interim coach for the NCAA Tournament, where the Tigers were upset by No. 11 seed Iowa State in the first round Friday.

“My family and I are extremely excited to join the Baton Rouge community and lead the LSU Basketball program forward," said McMahon . "I look forward to building relationships with our current players and recruiting elite student-athletes to LSU, and I’m excited to join the best athletic department – and the most iconic brand – in all of college sports. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me, and I cannot wait to get to work.”

Before becoming the coach at Murray State, McMahon was briefly the associate head coach at Louisiana Tech in June 2015. He held the position for two weeks because Murray State coach Steve Prohm left for the opening at Iowa State, opening the door for McMahon to take the head job. McMahon had been an assistant at Murray State from 2011-15.

McMahon started his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Appalachian State in 2000 before leaving to become a graduate assistant to Tennessee coach Buzz Peterson in 2001. McMahon returned to Appalachian State as an assistant coach and held that position until 2010, when he reunited with Peterson at UNC-Wilmington.

As a player, McMahon helped Appalachian State win three consecutive Southern Conference regular-season championships and an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2000. McMahon is a native of Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

McMahon's first challenge at LSU will be navigating any fallout from the NCAA investigation. 

Wade had been under fire from the NCAA since 2019 when an FBI wiretap revealed that he had made an unspecified monetary offer to former LSU guard Javonte Smart, a recruit at the time. 

The Notice of Allegations supported those findings, as Wade was accused of providing impermissible recruiting benefits in the form of cash payments and job offers. Wade also is accused of paying off a former fiancee of a player to silence her knowledge of the impermissible benefits. 

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