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NCAA Basketball rewind: Most impactful coaching hires after 2015 season

DENVER, CO - MARCH 17: Chris Beard, head coach of Arkansas Little Rock Trojans reacts during the game against the Purdue Boilermakers during the first round of the 2016 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at the Pepsi Center on March 17, 2016 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images)
DENVER, CO - MARCH 17: Chris Beard, head coach of Arkansas Little Rock Trojans reacts during the game against the Purdue Boilermakers during the first round of the 2016 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at the Pepsi Center on March 17, 2016 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images) /
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NCAA Basketball Matt McMahon Murray State Racers (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
NCAA Basketball Matt McMahon Murray State Racers (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /

8. Matt McMahon (Murray State)

In recent times, Murray State has been one of the better and most consistent mid-major programs in the country. They’ve been the kings of the OVC for several decades, making a slew of postseason appearances across that timespan. The Racers’ success has also led many of their coaches to success, true again as Steve Prohm departed for Iowa State in 2015, leaving the program in the capable hands of their next leader.

Like several coaches before him, Matt McMahon had yet to serve as a head coach, picking up valuable coaching experience as an assistant at several schools. He played collegiately under Buzz Peterson at Appalachian State, and would later serve on his staff at Tennessee. He spent nearly a decade as an assistant with the Mountaineers. McMahon would spend four years on Prohm’s staff with the Racers before receiving the top job with the school.

The greatest highlight of McMahon’s early head coaching career has been recruiting unheralded Ja Morant and turning him into a star. He’s led the Racers to a quartet of regular-season titles and two NCAA Tournament appearances. The 2019 team upset 5-seed Florida State in the first round of the Big Dance. McMahon has the Racers in as a good a shape as any of his predecessors; Murray State remains the team to beat in the OVC.