Michigan Basketball Hires Mike Boynton Jr. as Head Coach — His First Big Task

The Wolverines found their new coach, but he has a large task.

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As Mike Boynton Jr. wanted, the interim tag is off. Michigan has hired Boynton Jr. as its new head coach. The two sides agreed on a two-year deal.

"Mike is a veteran assistant with strong head coaching experience and a clear understanding of the standard we expect at Michigan," Warde Manuel 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."

A championship foundation. A familiar leader.

Mike Boynton Jr. has been appointed head coach of Michigan Men’s Basketball.

Read more about the next chapter in Ann Arbor. ⬇️ https://t.co/RRpjUwYEnH#GoBlue pic.twitter.com/JQmm2giggo

— Michigan Men's Basketball (@umichbball) July 10, 2026

Dusty May took staff with him

Although you can't fault Dusty May for living out his dream and heading to the NBA to coach the Dallas Mavericks, it's also fair for some Michigan fans to believe he put the Wolverines in a bind. The transfer portal was closed when May left and the worry of Michigan's roster leaving was a real concern.

Quickly, Warde Manuel named Mike Boynton Jr. as the Wolverines' interim head coach and he went to work retaining the roster. And that he has done — quite impressively. As of this writing, Boynton Jr. has received commitments from every player on the roster, while waiting on L.J. Cason to go public with his intentions.

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But if retaining a roster wasn't hard enough, Boynton Jr. is now faced with another big task as the new head coach. On Thursday, Michigan assistant coach Drew Williamson was spotted on a video working with Morez Johnson Jr., decked out in Dallas Mavericks gear.

Later on, reports indicated Williamson had left the Wolverines to join May in Dallas. And he wasn't the only one. Prior to May leaving Michigan, he had hired overseas coach Mody Maor to come to Ann Arbor as his assistant. But Maor won't be on the sidelines in Ann Arbor this season, as he also accepted a job with May.

Boynton Jr. will have three spots to fill

Entering the new season, now that he has his roster nearly retained, Boynton Jr. will have to start looking at the staff. And there are three spots to fill.

With Boynton Jr. himself no longer an assistant, he has to fill his old role, along with the roles of Williamson and Maor.

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While Maor has never coached at Michigan, these are three big spots to fill. The Wolverines had an all-star staff in Ann Arbor. Justin Joyner had already accepted a head coaching role at Oregon State prior to May leaving for the NBA.

As of now, Boynton Jr. still has Akeem Miskdeen, Kyle Church, and KT Harrell around, along with strength and conditioning coach Matt Aldred. It will be interesting to see who Boynton Jr. targets to fill the roles after being named head coach.