3:31 pm ET
Pete ThamelESPN
LSU is expected to hire Murray State’s Matt McMahon as the school’s next basketball coach, sources told ESPN.
McMahon comes to LSU after an adorable game at Murray State, where he hired and coached Ja Morant and won NCAA tournament games in 2019 and 2022.
After leading Murray State to a 31-3 record and winning his fourth regular season high school conference championship in five years, McMahon heads to Baton Rouge as the Tigers’ next coach.
McMahon, 43, has established himself as one of the nation’s brightest young coaches. He has won just under 70% of his games at Murray State (154-67) in seven seasons there and has reached three NCAA Tournaments in the last five seasons.
He will replace Will Wade, who was fired by LSU ahead of the NCAA tournament after receiving a lengthy notice of charges from the NCAA related to his tenure.
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The uncertainty surrounding LSU’s future in the NCAA violations process means McMahon will inherit one of the most uncertain situations in all of college basketball. LSU’s notification of charges by the Complicated Independent Liability Resolution Panel includes seven Level I violations and a Level II violation related to Wade’s tenure. The IARP’s decision must be made in the coming months, and it is impossible to predict the extent of potential violations.
While the school has yet to release the terms of the deal, McMahon is expected to receive a long-term contract that includes possible NCAA sanctions due to allegations related to Wade’s tenure.
McMahon’s teams at Murray State have won a couple of NCAA Tournament victories during his time there. Moran’s 2019 team, which finished 12th, sent Marquette home wearing the 5th seed. This year, the No. 7 Racers beat No. 10 San Francisco in the first round, which ended up being an SEC preview as Florida hired USF’s Todd Golden shortly after the game. McMahon’s 2018 team at Murray State lost to No. 5 West Virginia in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
McMahon comes to LSU after receiving significant interest from other positions, including one still open in South Carolina.
McMahon’s profile doesn’t quite match LSU athletic director Scott Woodward’s penchant for hiring big-name coaches like Chris Petersen, Jimbo Fischer, Buzz Williams and Brian Kelly. But McMahon entered March as arguably the hottest young coach on the market who is not yet in high school.
McMahon has experience with the Securities and Exchange Commission, having spent two seasons in Tennessee as an alumnus assistant to Buzz Peterson. He also briefly took a job at Louisiana State as an assistant, joining the Louisiana Tech staff for two weeks before Steve Prohm’s departure to Iowa State opened the door for him to become Murray State head coach in 2015.