Getting to know new Michigan interim head coach Mike Boynton

Mike Boynton Jr. Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Getting to know new Michigan interim head coach Mike Boynton

By Andrew Kulha | Last updated Jun 22, 2026 8:22 PM ET

The leadership of the Michigan Wolverines had to have hit maximum "scramble mode" on Monday when news broke that head basketball coach Dusty May departed for a gig in the NBA.

May is now the head coach of the Dallas Mavericks, and though he did leave Michigan after he brought a national championship to Ann Arbor, the Wolverines will undoubtedly have a tough time replacing him.

The first thing they needed to do was find an interim head coach. Someone who could man the ship while they looked at their options.

For that, they turned to assistant coach Mike Boynton Jr. He was the Wolverines' "defensive coordinator," and a vital piece of their 2025 NCAA Tournament run.

Plenty of names will be thrown around to replace May, and there are some interesting options for Michigan. There is absolutely a world in which Boynton can win the job full-time, though.

Source says there is the possibility Boynton will be promoted from interim head coach to full-time head coach at Michigan in the days/weeks ahead. https://t.co/OPVf6me5Ky
— Matt Norlander (@MattNorlander) June 22, 2026

So, who is Boynton?

Mike Boynton Jr. could be Michigan's next men's head basketball coach

If Michigan went with him for the full-time job, it's worth noting that he already has plenty of experience on his resume.

He's been a top assistant to May in Ann Arbor since 2024, but before that, he was the head coach of the Oklahoma State Cowboys. That's a job he held from 2017 to 2024.

Boynton went 119-109 in those seven seasons but had the Cowboys in the NCAA Tournament just once.

Interestingly enough, in that 2020-2021 season, he was the head coach for consensus All-American point guard Cade Cunningham, who ended up going No. 1 overall in the 2021 NBA Draft to the Detroit Pistons. Cunningham is now one of the best overall players in the NBA.

Originally from Brooklyn, New York, Boynton was a point guard himself. He played college ball at South Carolina from 2000 to 2004 before immediately getting into coaching after his playing career was complete.

He was a disciple of Brad Underwood and followed Underwood from Stephen F. Austin as an assistant to Oklahoma State. When Underwood left Oklahoma State after just one season for Illinois, the Cowboys promoted Boynton.

Could history repeat itself now that Boynton is up for consideration in Ann Arbor?

We'll have to wait and see, but it is certainly an interesting parallel.

Andrew Kulha

Andrew Kulha is probably the only sports writer you know who also doubles as a mortician. Spooky! @KulhaSports

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