Michigan basketball coach Mike Boynton Jr. has been praised in his early days in charge for his ability to retain his roster and keep 13 of 14 scholarship players out of the transfer portal and in Ann Arbor ahead of the 2026-27 season.
His elite retention rate didn’t just stop with the players.
Boynton announced on the “Defend The Block” podcast with the team’s play-by-play radio analyst Brian Boesch that not only are assistant coaches Kyle Church (who is also the program’s general manager) and Akeem Miskdeen staying in Ann Arbor, but so are strength and conditioning coach Matt Aldred, special assistant to the head coach Brandon Gilbert and director of analytics Jacob Kohn.
“Matt Aldred’s elite — I think one of the best in the country by far,” Boynton said. “He’s innovative, he’s very thoughtful, he’s thorough, he’s always thinking of ways to challenge these guys. So, him being back was a major win because he’s a highly sought-after person in the market.
As far as Church, it was just last week a source told the Free Press no decision on his future was officially locked in. It was clear former coach Dusty May was trying to bring him to Dallas − the two have been together since 2013 at Louisiana Tech and bounced from there to Florida, to Florida Atlantic and then Michigan together − but in the end, Church has made the decision to stay put.
“Kyle Church, who’s been an assistant and GM with us, obviously plays a critical role being that he handles responsibilities on both sides, both internally and externally,” Boynton said. “Him sticking around is going to be big for us.”
There’s been some turnover on staff with former assistant Justin Joyner leaving to take over as Oregon State head coach and Drew Williamson departing to join May in Dallas. Plus, Mody Maor, an assistant who was going to take Joyner’s spot on staff, opted to join the Mavericks.
But Boynton was able to keep the vast majority of the team around − only one player and two staffers broke rank after May announced his decision − which includes assistants and other key staffers.
“A high-level basketball thinker, really good talent developer, great recruiter, an all-around good person,” Boynton said of keeping Miskdeen. “Jacob Kohn, our analytics director, having him here to be another brain of some of our operation, I think his success rate on challenges last year was pretty doggone good.
“You talk about games that are going to be played in the conference, which are the most important games we play, the number of possessions that he saved us didn’t go unnoticed by our staff, that’s for sure.”
Additionally, director of basketball operations KT Harrell, a former Auburn star, has been promoted to assistant coach, the program announced on Tuesday, July 21.
“He’s been around the game, was the leading scorer in the SEC,” Boynton said. “It’ll get him a chance to get on the court with our guys, being able to teach and coach them and challenge them. He’s still younger, so he can get out there with them and he can still hoop.”
Michigan has already added former Brown head coach Mike Martin to its staff and will likely make at least one more addition in order to be ready for the season opener against Oakland on Nov. 3, 2026 at Crisler Center.
Tony Garcia is the Wolverines beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan basketball keeping majority of its staff, including the GM
Reporting by Tony Garcia, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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By Tony Garcia, Detroit Free Press | USA TODAY Network
