Six Coaching Candidates for Michigan Men’s Basketball Search After Dusty May’s Departure
Six Coaching Candidates for Michigan Men’s Basketball Search After Dusty May’s Departure
The Wolverines have a capable coach already on their bench in Mike Boynton and a few high-level options to consider.Kevin Sweeney|
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Michigan WolverinesCollege basketball’s defending national champions just lost their superstar head coach.
Dusty May, whose meteoric rise in the profession crescendoed in April by leading Michigan to the national championship, is headed to the Dallas Mavericks to be that organization’s next head coach. It’s a move that sent shock waves through college basketball Monday morning, both because of losing one of the sport’s top young minds and because of the potential for a late-June coaching search at an elite program like Michigan.
The Wolverines find themselves in an incredibly tricky situation now. It has been hard enough for schools to poach sitting head coaches from top-tier situations in recent years, let alone this late in the cycle when most teams have already begun summer practice. And the carousel has largely already been tapped of its up-and-coming talent by other jobs this cycle. Plus, Michigan has to contend with keeping its roster together, a group that includes Final Four Most Outstanding Player Elliot Cadeau and a number of top transfers. Those players will have 15 days to enter the transfer portal starting five days after Michigan hires a successor to May, should those players elect to make a move.
Who could Michigan look to as a replacement? Here’s a look at six potential candidates Sports Illustrated expects to hear in connection with the job.
Mike Boynton, Michigan associate head coach
This is the continuity play, and perhaps the safe choice for at least a year before hitting the market in the spring. Boynton has seven years of experience as a power-conference head coach after being the man in charge at Oklahoma State from 2017 to ’24. He coached Cade Cunningham and took the Cowboys to the NCAA tournament that season, but otherwise had a middling track record albeit with poor resources relative to the rest of the league. He has earned rave reviews for his work as Michigan’s defensive coordinator and seemed likely to get a good head coaching gig again soon. But Michigan would be a huge leap, without a doubt. And Michigan’s experience promoting Sherrone Moore to replace Jim Harbaugh after winning the national championship in football went poorly, although Boynton is more qualified than Moore was.
Josh Schertz, Saint Louis head coach
Schertz was the belle of the ball in this year’s spring coaching carousel cycle, but elected to stay put at Saint Louis with a massive jump in resources rather than take more mid-level power conference gigs. Michigan is different. If Schertz was going to leave SLU, he wanted to go somewhere he felt confident he could win a national championship. Ann Arbor certainly qualifies. He’s also extremely close friends with May, which might make the transition a bit smoother. If there’s an outside candidate, he’s likely the top realistic choice.
Billy Donovan, former Chicago Bulls head coach
Donovan parted with the Bulls this spring and was expected to be in the mix for several NBA vacancies this cycle, but as of now is still without a job. Coaxing him back to a college lifestyle won’t be easy, but Michigan is the caliber of program that could entice him to consider it. He’s also unencumbered by leaving his current job late in the job cycle, which is a plus in Michigan’s situation.
Nate Oats, Alabama head coach
There are a lot of reasons why this marriage wouldn’t work, starting with Oats’s $15 million buyout to leave Alabama before April 2027. That’s an enormous figure that makes Oats hard to move, even if he was pining for the Michigan job, which is no guarantee given the setup he has at Alabama. That said, if he wanted to move, it’d be worth Manuel exploring whether he can find the money. Oats spent the early part of his coaching career as a high school coach in the state and has proven himself to be one of the best coaches in college basketball.
Mark Byington, Vanderbilt head coach
Byington has crushed it thus far at Vanderbilt, taking the Commodores to consecutive NCAA tournaments to begin his tenure and winning the most games in a season this past year that the program has seen since 1993. His trajectory is similar to May’s, residing in obscurity for a handful of years rebuilding programs seen as mediocre jobs before exploding lately. Since Vanderbilt is a private school, exact buyout figures aren’t known, but sources have indicated it wouldn’t be cheap to move him. He’s also well positioned to win this coming season with star guard Tyler Tanner coming back to the Commodores.
Ben McCollum, Iowa head coach
McCollum taking Iowa to the Elite Eight in his first season on the job only added to the hype about one of the best young coaches in the sport. He has won at every level, including multiple national championships at Division II Northwest Missouri State. He’s also considered a tactical genius, someone who could win big with Michigan’s resources. And his buyout, relative to other sitting power-conference coaches Michigan could target, is more manageable at $5 million. It will be extremely hard to get McCollum to leave his home state of Iowa, but he has been speculated about for Kansas when Bill Self retires and could be at least worth a call here.
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Published Jun 22, 2026 | Modified Jun 22, 2026
KEVIN SWEENEYKevin Sweeney is a staff writer at Sports Illustrated covering college basketball and the NBA draft. He joined the SI staff in July 2021 and also serves host and analyst for The Field of 68. Sweeney is a Naismith Trophy voter and ia member of the U.S. Basketball Writers Association. He is a graduate of Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism.
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Badenoch blasts 'moaning' female Labour MPs over Burnham jobs 'quota'
Kemi Badenoch has told Labour women to earn a job in Andy Burnham's Cabinet instead of demanding they are handed jobs because of their gender.
The Tory leader lashed out today amid reports that female MPs are demanding the de-facto new prime minister introduce a 50:50 gender split 'quota' in his government.
Amid reports that former foreign secretary David Miliband is being lined up to return to the role, possibly with his brother Ed as Chancellor, one female minister also complained that Burnham could not have 'more Milibands than women' in the top posts.
But in a scathing article in the Times today Mrs Badenoch told them to 'stop moaning' and get chosen on merit instead of retreating into 'more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country'.
'There are many, many reasons why you shouldn't have any Milibands in the cabinet,' she said.
'But complaining that the boys haven't given them the right jobs or that the boys are taking all the jobs, just shows that Labour's women still don't get it.'
The idea of quotas was also attacked by Baroness Jacqui Smith, Labour's Skills Minister.
Asked by Times Radio if Mr Burnham should reserve jobs for women, she said: 'No, I think what Andy Burnham should be doing is building the very best team around him to change this country.'
A letter written by the Women's Parliamentary Labour Party has called on Mr Burnham to ensure a 50:50 split between men and women in government jobs
Amid reports that former foreign secretary David Miliband (above, right, in 2010) is being lined up to return to the role, possibly with his brother Ed as Chancellor, one female minister complained that Burnham could not have 'more Milibands than women' in the top posts
But Mrs Badenoch told them to pipe down and get chosen on merit instead of retreating into 'more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country'
A letter written by the Women's Parliamentary Labour Party and seen by the BBC has called on Mr Burnham to ensure a 50:50 split between men and women in government jobs after he succeeds Sir Keir Starmer.
'We are asking you to demonstrate this change from day one and address the toxicity and misogyny within our own party and government,' it said.
Labour has never had a female leader, while the Conservatives have had three, and Mrs Badenoch urged the government to follow its meritocratic example.
'If you run a meritocracy, then you do not have to worry about jobs for the boys,' she wrote.
'Every woman who is a Conservative MP, every woman who has ever won the leadership, has had to fight to get where she is.
'By contrast, Labour women are demanding guarantees from Burnham. But the truth is he doesn't have to give any guarantees.
'If none of Labour's women are prepared to get their hands dirty and challenge him for the leadership, their demands are toothless.'
'In fact, it's quite revealing that the women's parliamentary Labour Party has written to Burnham asking him to commit himself to at least 50 per cent female ministers.
'This has nothing to do with meritocracy. It is yet more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country.'
Venezuela Fury and Noah Price subsidising their life by livestreaming
Venezuela Fury and her husband Noah Price look to be making their own way in the world by raking it in from their lucrative social media accounts.
The influencer daughter of Tyson and Paris Fury, 16, has become an internet sensation after tying the knot with her husband Noah, 19, earlier this year.
Since getting married and moving in together the couple have been earning thousands of pounds a month, livestreaming their life as newlyweds in their static caravan in the East Riding of Yorkshire.
And fans can't get enough of their regular life updates on TikTok and Kick, which have proved to be very profitable for the pair.
They look to be supporting themselves after Noah denied that he was given £5million by Venezuela's family as a wedding gift.
Despite his wife's huge family wealth, an estimated combined £160 million, Noah recently told his Kick followers that he 'pays for everything' for the couple.
Making light of the claims about Venezuela's millionaire financial status, Noah said: 'I actually pay for everything unfortunately. You'd expect the millionaire to pay for it wouldn't you.'
Venezuela Fury and Noah Price are earning thousands livestreaming their caravan life - after her new groom insisted he pays all the bills and denied he had £5m handout from her dad
The influencer daughter of Tyson and Paris Fury , 16, has become an internet sensation after tying the knot with her husband Noah, 19, earlier this year
Venezuela then asked their fans: 'Do you think I am a millionaire?'
Noah joked: 'She isn't a secret millionaire guys', before she broke into song and sang: 'But I live like a millionaire!'
But it seems according to estimated calculations from their social media work, Noah and Venezuela can more than afford to support themselves.
Noah has been livestreaming on platforms such as Kick and TikTok, where viewers can send paid gifts or donations.
He was previously encouraging viewers to send gifts on his honeymoon during livestreams, suggesting this is one revenue stream.
Both Noah and Venezuela have built substantial followings on Instagram and TikTok. They can potentially earn money through sponsored posts, brand collaborations, affiliate links and creator payouts.
Kick allows its creators to take home 95 per cent of the £4.99 subscription cost that fans pay.
Streamers keep 100 per cent of direct tips and donations, minus minor standard payment processing fees.
It is unclear how many subscribers Noah currently has because this information is hidden, but he does have 7,200 followers which is publicly viewable.
An industry insider has suggested Noah is making around £400 per video on TikTok, while Venezuela is likely to make £2,000 due to her following count of 1.3 million.
An industry insider has suggested Noah is making around £400 per video on TikTok, while Venezuela is likely to make £2,000 due to her following count of 1.3 million
In one video on their honeymoon, Noah asked his followers if they'd give them some more gifts now that they were married.
In a TikTok live viewed by 20,000 he said: 'Keep liking our videos people, keep sending gifts.'
After saying thank you to several of his followers he joked they should stick around on the livestream and 'watch Venezuela punch me in the mouth'.
The other half of the honeymooning couple said: 'I am, honestly!'
Noah previously confirmed that the pair don't share their finances after they were asked whether they have a shared bank account.
'She earns her money, I earn mine,' said Noah, as Venezuela joked: 'Yeah, what you gonna do about it.'
Noah went on to debunk the rumour that Tyson gave him £5million when he tied the knot with his daughter as he insisted: 'No Tyson did not give me £5million'.
Meanwhile Venezuela is being eyed up by executives for a fly on the wall TV series.
Noah went on to debunk the rumour that Tyson gave him £5million when he tied the knot with his daughter as he insisted: 'No Tyson did not give me £5million'
Boasting 1.3 million TikTok followers, Venezuela is already entertaining fans with her honest musings and candid moments, from cooking to kitting out her and Noah's static caravan home.
And following the success of the Netflix series At Home With The Furys, it is no wonder bosses are wanting to draw on the Fury popularity.
A TV insider said: 'The couple are not A-list celebrities but everyone has become obsessed with their love story.
'People are genuinely intrigued by them. Whether it’s the fact they have married so young, Venezuela’s famous family or their gypsy lifestyle, they have the ‘X factor'.
'Several TV executives think a proper fly-on-the-wall series following their lives as newlyweds in the gypsy community would be fascinating,' they told The Sun.
It is thought Netflix would be likely to produce the series due to their already established relationship with the Furys.
Venezuela's representatives told The Daily Mail: 'We have many offers on the table regarding Venezuela which we are discussing.'
