Luke Mattson has been hired as an assistant coach, and Charlie Wallrapp has been promoted to associate head basketball coach at Northern Michigan.
Coming off of a four-year playing career in college with a couple of stops, this is Mattson’s first collegiate coaching stint after coaching three years of AAU and finishing out his college basketball career.
“We are thrilled to add Luke to our coaching staff,” said head coach Matt Majkrzak. “He’s someone that is highly respected in the UP and I’ve heard great things about the last four years. He’s got a great future in coaching and we are very excited that his journey will start at NMU.”
Mattson coached the 14U and 16U Great Northern Elite AAU teams, including 2023 MHSAA state champion Trevor Nolan of Munising. His 14U team is now incoming juniors, and they’re a group on the rise in the UP basketball scene.
After playing at nearby Negaunee High School, Mattson stayed in the UP to play his college basketball at Bay Community College. In his two years with the Norse, Mattson helped the team to a record of 39-20 with two conference titles. In his sophomore year, he started 23 games and was a team captain. He graduated from Bay with an Associate’s Degree in Business in 2020.
For his final two years of college, Mattson transferred to Finlandia University to finish his career. He played 45 games for the Lions as a team captain, starting seven of them and providing veteran leadership. He graduated from Finlandia in 2023 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Sports Management.
In the 2022-23 season, Wallrapp helped lead the Wildcats to its first GLIAC Championship in 23 years after defeating the Saginaw Valley State Cardinals 75-66 to advance to the semifinals, triumphing over the host Ferris State Bulldogs 67-59 to advance to the GLIAC Championship, then besting the Michigan Tech Huskies 79-66 en route to a championship win. The Wildcats secured an NCAA tournament win against Hillsdale, as well as posting the most wins in program history with a 25-8 record. Along with the program earning Wildcat Awards for Coach of the Year and Team of the Year, Max Weisbrod was named GLIAC Freshman of the Year, Max Bjorklund was named to the All-Region team while leading the Midwest in scoring and selected as a member of the All-GLIAC First Team, and Dylan Kuehl was named All-GLIAC First Team and All-Defensive team. The team was excellent in the classroom as well, with eight earning spots on the 2022-23 GLIAC All-Academic Team.
Wallrapp helped guide the ‘Cats to a stellar 18-12 season in 2021-22, winning nine of their last ten to reach the GLIAC Championship game for the first time since 2000. The Wildcats earned the three seed in the GLIAC Tournament. NMU defeated UP rival Lake Superior State 99-94 in OT to open up the GLIAC Quarterfinals. The Wildcats then traveled to Houghton and defeated host Michigan Tech 78-71 to advance to the championship. Wallrapp aided in coaching the Wildcats to the most three-pointers in program history (292) as well as tying the record for most threes in a game (18 vs. UW-Stout). He coached Max Bjorklund, who turned in a historic finish on the Wildcats season, including a 46-point performance (40 in the second half) at nationally ranked Ferris State to end the regular season as NMU won 93-87. Bjorklund and teammate John Kerr earned All-GLIAC Second Team honors, who also claimed All-Defense accolades.
The Wildcats went 8-8 during the 2020-21 season, which featured a conference-only schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The team had two All-GLIAC Second Team members and had the fewest turnovers of any team in the GLIAC.
A 2020 NABC Under Armour 30-Under-30 Recipient, Wallrapp came to the Wildcats after serving as an assistant coach at NAIA Clarke University for two seasons. In the 2019-2020 season, he aided the team to a school-record 24 wins and a berth in the National Tournament for the first time in program history after reaching their first ever Heart Conference Championship game. The team also achieved their first ever national ranking in school history, finishing #22 in the country, and the program’s first ever win over a top 5 team. In his first year with the Pride, his efforts guided the team to three victories over top-15 teams as they improved from tenth to fourth in the league. In addition, he coached two All-Americans and seven All-Conference players at Clarke.
Prior to Clarke, Wallrapp served as an assistant coach at Kansas Wesleyan University for two seasons. Playing a large role in the team’s defensive strategy, Wallrapp’s efforts helped the team finish 14th nationally and second in the conference for scoring defense, and also helped student-athlete Terell Gandy earn KCAC Defensive Player of the Year honors. During his first season, the team nearly doubled their win total from the previous season, going from seven wins to 13 wins before a 16-win season in his second year with the Coyotes. He coached three All-Conference players and one All-Freshman Team member as well.
Before his collegiate coaching career began, he was an assistant coach for West Oaks Academy where he coached over 30 future college players, several of whom went on to compete at the NCAA Division I level.
Wallrapp was a two-time All-American and a two-time Team Captain for Benedictine College in Kansas. A three-time All-Conference player, he finished his career 11th all-time with 1,443 career points. His efforts helped the program to a Heart Conference Championship in 2013-14 and a National Tournament Sweet 16 appearance. He was also named an NAIA Daktronics Scholar-Athlete and the Heart Conference Liston Award Representative.
He then went on to play for the Newcastle Knights in England and averaged 22 points per game while leading the squad to a 40-3 record and numerous championships.
Wallrapp completed his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Benedictine in 2014, a Postgraduate Certificate in Writing from Newcastle University in 2016, and earned a Masters of Business Administration from Kansas Wesleyan in 2018.
Wallrapp resides in Marquette with his wife, Bre.
