Ryan Miller Officially Hired at Murray State

Editor: The following is part of a press release from goracers.com.

Ryan Miller, who is regarded as one of the nation’s top recruiters and boasts a winning pedigree that included stops at Creighton, TCU, Auburn and others, has been named the 18th head coach of the Murray State men’s basketball program, it was announced on Monday. The contract is subject to approval by the Murray State Board of Regents.

Miller, who currently serves as a top assistant for the NCAA Tournament-bound Creighton Bluejays, has coached in eight NCAA Tournaments, won five regular-season championships and has one league tournament title on the sidelines over the course of his career.

He is regarded as one of the top recruiters in the country, having assembled multiple top-15 recruiting classes nationally throughout his tenure. He has also developed numerous NBA standouts, including Desmond Bane, Derrick Jones, Baylor Scheierman, Christian Wood, Rashad Vaughn, Christian Wood, and Patrick McCaw.

“Coach Ryan Miller stood out among a talented field of worthy candidates for a number of reasons. We knew our next leader of the Racers needed to be someone who can evaluate and develop talent, is a proven winner, is a relentless recruiter and can build positive relationships. Coach Miller has proven throughout his career that he can accomplish each of those objectives at an elite level, and that is why he is our new Murray State men’s basketball head coach,” Director of Athletics Nico Yantko said. “He is a nationally-renowned recruiter and coach. His fiery competitiveness and infectious personality make him the perfect leader to guide us toward competing for and winning championships.”

“We are thrilled to welcome Coach Miller and his family to Murray State,” MSU President Dr. Bob Jackson said. “Coach Miller has a highly successful pedigree and is a proven winner and talented recruiter.”

During his tenure at Creighton, Miller helped guide the Bluejays the Big East Championship game in 2024-25 and to four-straight NCAA Tournament appearances, including two Sweet Sixteen showings and a visit to the Elite 8.

“It is a tremendous honor to have been named the next head coach of the Murray State Racers,” Miller said. “I want to thank Director of Athletics Nico Yantko, University President Dr. Bob Jackson, and all those involved in this process, for putting their faith in me to lead this storied program. The winning tradition set over the last 100 years is a testament to the outstanding people that have poured so much into this team. I am committed to recruiting highly-talented players and staff to return us to those winning ways.”

He helped coach three players who earned Big East All-Conference honors, including Ryan Kalkbrenner, who finished with First Team honors and was named the Defensive Player of the Year in the league. The team was one of the best shooting programs nationally, ranking second in the Big East and 47^th nationally in field goal percentage (41.2).

Miller helped CU secure the nation’s No. 7 recruiting class shortly after arriving on campus in the spring of 2021. That group ultimately included three members of the BIG EAST’s All-Freshman team — Trey Alexander, Ryan Nembhard and Arthur Kaluma. The 2024 class was another Top 20 haul.

Prior to his arrival in Omaha, Miller spent five seasons at TCU as an assistant coach (2016-18) and as an assistant head coach (2018-21). The Horned Frogs reached the postseason three times with Miller on staff, including a 2018 NCAA Tournament trip that was the program’s first bid to the Big Dance in 20 seasons. TCU’s nine Big 12 wins that season remain a program record.

Before his time in Fort Worth, Miller was part of a UNLV staff that landed the nation’s No. 11 and No. 5 ranked recruiting classes in 2015 and 2014, respectively.

During his time at UNLV, Miller developed and coached Rashad Vaughn, who was selected No. 17 overall by the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2015 NBA Draft. A 2014 McDonald’s All-American and five-star recruit, Vaughn was ranked as high as No. 8 nationally coming out of Findlay College Prep. He was named Mountain West Freshman of the Year at UNLV after averaging 17.8 points and 4.8 rebounds per game.

Miller was named the fourth-best recruiter outside the Power 5 while at UNLV by ESPN’s Jeff Borzello and Adam Finkelstein and had a hand in the Rebels garnering commitments from two Top-100 signees in 2015 in five-star Stephen Zimmerman, who was rated the nation’s No. 12 player by ESPN, and Derrick Jones, a four-star recruit who was ranked in the top-50 nationally. Another notable student-athlete during Miller’s stay at UNLV was Christian Wood, who played for the Los Angeles Lakers.

Miller has also been an assistant coach at Auburn, New Mexico, Pepperdine and Memphis.

Prior to his time at UNLV, Miller spent two years as an associate head coach at Auburn between 2012-14. Before that, Miller served five seasons as an assistant coach at New Mexico under Steve Alford. During his tenure, the Lobos went 126-46 overall and made five consecutive postseason trips, including a pair of NCAA Tournament berths. New Mexico also won two regular-season Mountain West Conference Championships and one league tournament crown. Miller spent 2006-07 as an assistant coach at Pepperdine before joining the New Mexico staff.

He began his college coaching career as the video coordinator and Assistant Director of Basketball Operations at Memphis under John Calipari between 2003-06. During his three years with the Tigers, Memphis compiled a 77-28 record and appeared in three postseasons, including two NCAA Tournament trips.

Miller attended Northern State, where he was a two-time Northern Sun All-Conference selection and finished his career eighth on Northern State’s all-time scoring list after leading his teams to four-straight league championships and the 1998 regional title. He was named a Division II All-American and an Academic All-NSIC member as a senior in 1997-98 and earned his bachelor’s degree in physical education from Northern State in 2000.

Miller and his wife Marna have two daughters, Melia and Halle. His brother, Mike, played 17 years in the NBA and was named NBA Rookie of the Year in 2001 and the NBA Sixth Man of the Year in 2006. Mike also won back-to-back NBA Championships with the Miami Heat in 2012 and 2013, respectively.

 

Editor: Cover photo of Ryan Miller, courtesy of gocreighton.com.