Report: LSU makes move, hires next head coach

LSU has tabbed its next coach, a crucial decision with the expected sanctions from the NCAA for the fallout from Will Wade’s Notice of Allegations. The Tigers are expected to hire Murray State’s Matt McMahon as the school’s next head coach, per ESPN’s Pete Thamel.

The decision comes after On3’s Billy Embody reported McMahon was favorite on Sunday night. The Racers won their opening round NCAA Tournament game against San Francisco before being bounce in the second round by Saint Peter’s this past weekend. McMahon picked LSU over South Carolina.

 Since taking over the Racers prior to the 2015 season, McMahon has led Murray State to a fantastic 154-67 record. Additionally, the program has made three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. 

Moreover, McMahon is coming off his best season yet at Murray State. The Racers amassed a record of 31-3, while winning all 18 of their conference games. As you can see, his team was one of the most dominant in the nation. However, it didn’t carry over into the NCAA Tournament — Murray State was eliminated by upstart Saint Peter’s in the 2nd Round on Saturday.

McMahon’s 31-win season at Murray State is tied for most wins in a single season in program history. The Racers have won 31 games on two other occasions, in 2011-12 and 2009-10.

Since taking over Murray State in 2015, McMahon has turned the program around. After hovering around .500 in each of his first two seasons at the helm, Murray State has since gone 26-6, 28-5, 23-9, 13-13 (during the COVID-19 season) and 31-3. He’s established Murray State as an OVC power not just through his record but also his recruiting. McMahon is the coach responsible for recruiting, identifying and developing Ja Morant, who was a completely unranked recruit coming out of high school, according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

McMahon has developed one consensus All-American in Morant, the only such honoree in Murray State program history, and he was named the OVC Coach of the Year in the 2021-22 season.

A native of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, McMahon played four seasons as a guard at Appalachian State. He immediately joined the coaching ranks after gradation, spending time as a graduate assistant at both Appalachian State and Tennessee, before being hired back by Appalachian State in 2002 as a full-time assistant coach. He spent nine seasons as an assistant at Appalachian State, before moving on to UNC Wilmington in the same role for two seasons, then accepting the assistant role at Murray State. He spent five years as an assistant at Murray State before being promoted to head coach.