ESPN Lists Mike Boynton on 40-Under-40 List

Oklahoma State's Mike Boynton was added to ESPN's top 40 coaches under the age of 40 list earlier this week

STILLWATER -- While there hasn't been basketball in two months, there's still been quite a bit of news for Oklahoma State. Mike Boynton and Co. signed a top-five recruiting class in the country and have been successfully putting together one of the best non-conference schedules in college basketball.

But earlier this week, another bit of information came out and I don't think it should come as a surprise to any Cowboy fan. ESPN came out with their '40 Under 40' list and Mike Boynton didn't just make the cut, but he checked in as the No. 4 listed coach behind some of the best up and comers in the game.

Wes Miller of UNC Greensboro made the top spot, while Xavier's Travis Steele came in second and LSU's Will Wade was in the third spot.

This is what ESPN had to say about coach Boynton:

Signing Cade Cunningham (his brother, Cannen, is an Oklahoma State assistant), the No. 2 prospect in the 2020 recruiting class per ESPN, has elevated Boynton's profile entering the 2020-21 season. Now the rising star who made stops at Furman, Coastal Carolina, Wofford, South Carolina and Stephen F. Austin before his stint at OSU has a chance to capitalize on that momentum and secure his first trip to the NCAA tournament. -- Myron Medcalf

There's no doubt that Mike Boynton is one of the best up and coming coaches in the country. While his team's haven't had tremendous success on the court, he's had to overcome some insane obstacles and he's proved that he can handle that adversity very well.

He took over the program shortly after the abrupt departure of former coach Brad Underwood, meaning he had short time to try and put together a recruiting class.

2018 was his first signing class and he did great with signing under-the-radar prospects in Yor Anei and Isaac Likekele. More than half the class didn't pan out, but he had the unenviable job of getting rid of a good amount of players and did so very well.

Not to mention the fact he had to deal with an FBI and NCAA investigation less than six months into his tenure, and he got the program through virtually unscathed.

Fast forward to his next two classes and they went from the No. 60 ranked class in the country for 2018, to the No. 24 ranked class in the 2019 and No. 4 ranked class in 2020.

Great recruiting pays dividends on the court and Mike Boynton and Co. have recruited very well in the past three years. The entire current roster is players that Boynton and Co. have brought in. It's an insanely talented and athletic roster that should have a lot of success in the upcoming season.