Head coach Mark Turgeon announced Matt Brady was elevated to the role of assistant coach in June of 2018 and has spent the last three seasons in the role. He was previously hired by Turgeon as the director of player personnel on July 10, 2017.
Brady, who has over 30 years of experience as a coach at the Division I level, including 12 as a head coach, came to Maryland after serving as an assistant coach at La Salle the previous season.Â
In three seasons as an assistant coach, the Terrapins have advanced to two NCAA Tournaments (three if you count the Covid-shortened 2019-20 season) and captured the 2020 Big Ten Championship.
In 2020-21, the Terrapins overcame a 4-9 hole in Big Ten Conference play to advance to the NCAA Tournament Round of 32. Guards Aarron Wiggins, Eric Ayala and Darryl Morsell each earned All-Big Ten selections, with Morsell being named the conference's defensive player of the year. Wiggins was later selected in the NBA Draft by the Oklahoma City Thunder.
In 2019-20, Brady helped lead the Terrapins to the 2020 Big Ten Championship and a 24-7 overall record, before the season was cut short (no postseason) due to the coronavirus pandemic. Brady helped develop All-Big Ten First Teamers Anthony Cowan Jr. and Jalen Smith. Smith was also a unanimous All-American and top-10 draft pick in the NBA Draft. The Terps finished the season ranked No. 12 in the Associated Press poll.
In Brady's first season as an assistant (2018-19), he helped lead the Terps to the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament and a 23-11 overall record despite being the fourth-youngest team in the country according to KenPom.
Prior to La Salle, Brady was the head coach at James Madison for eight seasons, racking up 139 wins, including four seasons with 20 or more victories. In 2013, he led the Dukes to a CAA Championship and an NCAA Tournament bid. He also guided the Dukes to three additional postseason appearances and the 2015 CAA regular season title.
Brady was recognized as State Coach of the Year by the Virginia Sports Information Directors in 2013 following his NCAA Tournament campaign and was also tabbed District 10 Co-Coach of the Year by the National Association of Basketball Coaches.
Brady inherited a JMU program that finished last in the conference in scoring, field goal and three-point percentage in 2007. The following season, Brady had the Dukes atop the conference in all three statistical categories. While at JMU, Brady coached 10 all-CAA players and four all-district honorees. Brady mentored three of the top 10 scorers in program history as well as three of the top 10 three-point shooters.
Prior to leading the program at James Madison, Brady was the head coach at Marist for four seasons from 2004-08 where compiled a 73-50 record with the Red Foxes and improved their win total during each of his first three seasons with the team. Marist set a program record for wins during its 25-9 season in 2006-07 when Brady was the MAAC and New York City-area coach of the year. Marist had dramatic statistical improvements under his direction, ranking in the top three in the 10-team MAAC in overall field goal percentage, three-point percentage and three-pointers per game during each of his four seasons. While at Marist, Brady mentored MAAC Player of the Year Jared Jordan, who was a two-time NCAA Division I assists champion and the 45th overall choice in the NBA draft by the Los Angeles Clippers.
A 1987 Siena graduate and a native of Haddon Heights, N.J., Brady was a Division I assistant coach for 17 seasons at Rhode Island (1987-89), Wagner (1989-93) and Saint Joseph's (1993-04).
While Brady was at Saint Joseph's, the Hawks appeared in the NCAA Tournament four times, the NIT three times and won four Big 5 championships and three Atlantic 10 titles.
Saint Joseph's was 27-0 during the regular season in 2003-04, earned a No. 1 national ranking and a No. 1 seed for the NCAA Tournament, ultimately reaching the Elite Eight. Brady was involved in recruiting several of the top players in Saint Joseph's history, including 2004 National Player of the Year Jameer Nelson and Delonte West, an honorable mention Associated Press All-America selection. Nelson, who was selected in the first round of the 2004 NBA Draft and has gone on to play 12 seasons in the NBA, continues to be mentored and trained by Brady during his offseason.
As a player at Siena, Brady appeared in 114 career games, including 92 as a starter. He completed his career as the program's all-time assists leader (593), and he was inducted into the school's hall of fame in 1993. For his career he accumulated 1,106 points (9.7 points per game) and was a 45.9 percent shooter from the field.
Brady was a standout at Paul VI High School in Haddon (N.J.) Township and was named to the 1980s South Jersey All-Decade Team. He was enshrined in the Camden County Sports Hall of Fame in 2012. Brady and his wife Mary have three sons, Logan - who is a student at Maryland and manager on the team - and twins Cole and Griffin.
