Mike Boynton, Jr. - Head Coach - Cowboy Basketball Coaches

Mike Boynton, Jr.

Title:
Head Coach
Email:
mike.boynton@okstate.edu
Phone:
(405) 744-5845

“Let’s Work!”

More than just a cliché team slogan, this defense-first, blue collar mentality is the foundation for seventh-year head coach Mike Boynton Jr.’s program at Oklahoma State, and it has ushered in the New Era of Cowboy basketball.

The 41-year-old Brooklyn native has guided the program to five postseason victories during his tenure along with three 20-win campaigns while winning the hearts and minds of the OSU community.

The 2021 Cowboys finished with a No. 11 ranking and reached the second round of the NCAA tournament, while the 2018 and 2023 squads both advanced to the NIT quarterfinals.

OSU has complied a 107-89 record under Boynton while annually competing in college basketball’s toughest league. He owns 23 wins over nationally ranked teams, including 11 against top-10 foes.

Defense has been a hallmark under Boynton. His teams have led the Big 12 in blocked shots and finished among the top-20 in KenPom’s defensive efficiency rankings in each of the last three seasons.

Known as one of college basketball’s good guys, Boynton was a finalist for the 2021 Skip Prosser Man of the Year, given annually to a head coach who exhibits strong moral character. Core values of his program center on respect, appreciation, accountability and discipline.

“They let me coach them hard, because they know that I care,” he told the audience at his introductory press conference on Mar. 24, 2017.

In his first six seasons as the helm, Boynton has mentored 10 All-Big 12 selections and 22 academic all-conference honorees, including Cade Cunningham, who earned consensus First Team All-American, National Freshman of the Year and Big 12 Player of the Year honors during a standout 2020-21 season.

Cunningham – drafted No. 1 overall by the Detroit Pistons – was one of three Boynton Era Cowboys who made their NBA debut during the 2021-22 season, joined by Cameron McGriff (Blazers) and Lindy Waters III (Thunder).

Boynton’s tireless work ethic extends to all areas of the Cowboy program but has been most evident on the recruiting trail. Since November, 2019 he’s signed three five-star and 12 four-star recruits, including Cunningham – the No. 1 recruit in the Class of 2020 and winner of the Naismith Trophy as the nation’s best high school player.

Boynton reeled in his second top-10 class in 2023 with four freshmen listed on the Rivals150: Brandon Garrison (30), Eric Dailey Jr. (35), Justin McBride (79) and Jamyron Keller (132). Garrison joined current Cowboy senior Bryce Thompson and Cunningham as former McDonald’s All-Americans have who have gone on to play for Boynton.

Boynton has been active with USA Basketball in each of the last three off seasons, serving as an assistant coach for the United States and the 2023 FIBA U19 World Cup in Hungary and the 2022 FIBA U18 Americas in Tijauna, Mexico. The latter team – which included Dailey and Garrison – won a gold medal. In the summer of 2021, Boynton served as a court coach for the U19 National Team training camp in Fort Worth, Texas.

In 2022-23, OSU ranked among the national leaders in field goal percentage defense (11^th, .395) and posted the Big 12’s top rebounding margin (+3.7). 7-foot center Moussa Cisse earned a spot on the Big 12’s all-defensive team for a second straight year after leading the league in blocks (1.9) and senior forward Kalib Boone was named third team all-conference.

Boynton added three more wins over nationally ranked opponents to his collection last season with a sweep of Iowa State (ranked 12^th and 11^th at time) and a home win over No. 15 TCU. On Feb. 1, 2023, Boynton became just the fifth head coach in OSU history to record 100 victories when he defeated Oklahoma in Norman. With another 57-49 victory over Oklahoma in the Big 12 tournament Boynton also became the first OSU head coach to defeat the Sooners three times in the same season since Henry Iba in 1964-65.

Injuries to key starters kept the Cowboys from reaching their full potential. Cisse was sidelined for most of January and starting guard Avery Anderson III missed the final 13 games. Despite a top-40 KenPom ranking, OSU was the last team out on Selection Sunday, however the Cowboys regrouped with a run to the NIT quarterfinals, downing Youngstown State and Eastern Washington to finish the year at 20-16.

The 2021-22 team posted a 15-15 record despite navigating the nation’s fifth-toughest schedule (per NCAA NET) and a postseason ban, handed down just days before the season opener. The Cowboys ranked fourth in defensive efficiency, per KenPom, while holding opponents to a paltry 39.1% from the field (16^th nationally). Collectively the Cowboys averaged 5.4 blocks – second-most in school history behind the 1988-89 squad. Cisse swatted a league-best 1.9 shots-per-game to earn a share of the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year honor.

Boynton notched another signature win on Jan. 15, 2022 when the Cowboys defeated No. 1 Baylor 61-54 in Waco, marking OSU’s first-ever win over a top-ranked opponent on its home floor. In the road finale at Iowa State on Mar. 2, 2022, the Cowboys limited the Cyclones to just 16 second-half points in a 53-36 win. It was the fewest points allowed by OSU in a conference road game in more than 70 years.

Boynton was a finalist for the Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year award in 2020-21 after guiding OSU to a 21-9 record and its first NCAA tournament victory in a dozen years. Afterward, Seth Davis of The Athletic placed Boynton highly on his list of the top-40 coaches under the age of 40.

Cunningham, the first Associated Press First Team All-American in program history, swept the Big 12’s player and freshman of the year awards after averaging 20.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.6 steals. Later that month he took home the Wayman Tisdale Award as the nation's top freshman and was also a finalist for the Naismith Trophy, the Wooden Award and the Bob Cousy Award (national point guard of the year).

The 2021 Cowboys weren’t just a one-man show. Seven different Cowboys averaged at least 7.0 points. Anderson tripled the scoring output from his freshman year (12.2 ppg) and made the All-Big 12 tournament team.

The 2020-21 Cowboys won nine games against nationally ranked teams (9-5 overall) – six of them during a magical 19-day stretch from Feb. 22 to Mar. 12 when they took down No. 18 Texas Tech (Home), No. 7 Oklahoma (Away), No. 15 Oklahoma (Home), No. 6 West Virginia (Away), No. 10 West Virginia (Neutral) and No. 2 Baylor (Neutral). The last two wins vaulted OSU into the Big 12 title game for the first time since 2005.

The 2021 NCAA tournament will be remembered for its “bubble” setup, with all 67 games played in the Indianapolis area under strict quarantine due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Fourth-seeded OSU dispatched Liberty in the first round at Indiana Farmers Coliseum, 69-60, before running into a red hot Oregon State team in the second round at Butler’s Hinkle Fieldhouse.

The COVID-19 pandemic spoiled what could have been a fantastic finish for the 2019-20 Cowboys who won eight of their last 11 games before the early cancelation of the 2020 postseason. Do-it-all guard Isaac Likekele was a breakout performer, averaging 10.9 points, 5.6 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.9 steals and joined McGriff on the honorable mention All-Big 12 team.

In 2018-19, the trio of Lindy Waters III, McGriff and Thomas Dziagwa stepped into leadership roles as captains. Waters and McGriff earned All-Big 12 recognition and Dziagwa became just the fifth Cowboy to nail 100 three-pointers in a season, finishing with 105 on 42.5% accuracy. Led by Dziagwa and Waters, OSU led the Big 12 in three-point shooting by both volume (8.7) and percentage (.372). Boynton’s knack for player development was on full display as freshman center Yor Anei, a raw and unheralded prospect, tied the program’s single-season blocks record (85).

Another success story, Jeffrey Carroll, transformed from role player to two-time All-Big 12 honoree under Boynton’s watch. He earned third team honors as a senior in 2017-18 to help the Cowboys (21-15) tie a school record with 15 home wins and advance to the quarterfinals of the NIT. Boynton’s first year as head coach included four victories over eventual Elite Eight squads. OSU also became the first Big 12 team since 2001 to sweep a regular season series from Kansas.

COWBOYS IN THE CLASSROOM:

As a first-generation college graduate, academics are near and dear to Boynton’s heart and play an important role within his program.

The Cowboys collectively posted a 3.01 GPA during the 2022-23 academic year to earn the NABC’s coveted Academic Team Excellence Award for the third time since Boynton’s arrival in Stillwater (2017, 2020, 2023). Rising seniors Carson Sager and Weston Church became the latest individuals to a spot on the NABC Honors Court – both finishing with perfect 4.0 GPA’s.

In his first six years, Boynton has had 22 Academic All-Big 12 selections, including a school-record seven honorees in 2022-23. Kalib Boone and Avery Anderson were both selected for a third consecutive season.

Trey Reeves – son of legendary Cowboy Bryant “Big Country” Reeves – left Stillwater as the Boynton Era’s most-decorated scholar. He was one of just 16 members of OSU’s Class of 2020 to earn Outstanding Senior honors. The two-time Academic All-Big 12 selection also captured the prestigious Dr. Prentice Gautt Postgraduate Scholarship and in 2019 took home the Big 12’s highest academic honor – the Dr. Gerald Lage Academic Achievement Award.

AS AN ASSISTANT:

When he arrived in Stillwater in the spring of 2016, Boynton already carried a reputation as one of the nation’s up-and-coming coaches. He was instrumental in the Cowboys’ success during the 2016-17 season when they posted 20 wins and reached the NCAA tournament. He aided in the day-to-day training of All-American Jawun Evans, as well as the program’s all-time three-point king, Phil Forte III. Jeffrey Carroll was one of college basketball’s most-improved players, averaging 17.5 points (9.3 more than he had the previous year) in what was the second-largest single year leap in program history behind that of Bryant “Big Country Reeves.”

When Brad Underwood left to become head coach at Illinois following the 2016-17 season, OSU administrators didn’t have to look far for his replacement, tabbing Boynton as the 20^th head coach in program history.

Boynton helped engineer similar success at SFA, where he and Underwood teamed up for 89 wins in just three seasons while racking up three Southland Conference titles and three NCAA tournament bids. The Lumberjacks scored a pair of first round tournament upsets over No. 5 seed VCU (2014) and No. 2 seed West Virginia (2016).

Boynton made the move to SFA after four years as an assistant coach at his alma mater, South Carolina, under Darrin Horn (2008-12) and later Frank Martin (2012-13). In 2010 he played a part in one of the best recruiting classes in Gamecock history with a group that was ranked 17^th nationally by Scout.com, No. 22 by Rivals and No. 25 per ESPN.com.

Prior to USC, Boynton coached at three other South Carolina schools. He broke in as a graduate assistant under Larry Davis at Furman (2004-05) then served two years as assistant coach to Buzz Peterson at Coastal Carolina (2005-07) and one more at Wofford (2007-08) as Mike Young’s associate head coach.

AS A STUDENT-ATHLETE:

Boynton was a four-year letterwinner for South Carolina, appearing in 125 games from 2000-04 under head coaches Eddie Fogler and Dave Odom. As a senior point guard he led the Gamecocks to an NCAA tournament berth while averaging 9.9 points and 3.5 assists per game. He also sank 79 threes that year on better than 40% accuracy.

Boynton graduated from South Carolina with a degree in African American studies in 2003 and was awarded the Southeastern Conference’s Community Service Post-Graduate Scholarship.

A native of Brooklyn, N.Y., Boynton attended Bishop Loughlin High School, where he earned first-team All-New York City honors after leading his team to a 24-4 mark and a berth in the city semifinals. That year he averaged 15.0 points and 11.0 assists. In 2011 he was inducted into the school’s athletics hall of fame.

PERSONAL:
Boynton and his wife Jenny have a son, Ace, and a daughter, Zoe.