The Clement and Elizabeth Izzi Family Head Men’s Basketball Coach, Luke Murray, has officially announced the additions of Tim O’Toole, Kyle Griffin, Mathew Johnson, and Brenden Straughn to the program’s staff. O’Toole will join the Eagles as the chief of staff, with Straughn, Griffin, and Johnson serving as assistant coaches.
TIM O’TOOLE
O’Toole joins the Eagles following nine seasons at Pittsburgh as associate head coach. With 34 years of Division I coaching experience, including eight years as a head coach, his wealth of knowledge and passion has helped lead 11 teams to postseason play. In January 2026, O’Toole was named to the Silver Waves Media 100 Most Impactful High Major Assistant Coaches List, which highlights the top high major assistant coaches in the country.
O’Toole helped the Panthers post three-consecutive winning seasons from 2022-25 and was instrumental in the development of numerous frontcourt players. O’Toole oversaw the rapid growth of frontcourt players that helped propel the Panthers to an NCAA Tournament bid in 2022-23.
Prior to coming to Pitt, O’Toole spent two seasons as associate head coach at Cal, helping guide the program to the Pac-12’s best field goal defense and top scoring defense. He was crucial in the development of Cal’s frontcourt, including single-season blocks leader Kingsley Okoroh and Kameron Rooks as well as 2017 NBA second round selection Ivan Rabb. His post player development along with expert zone defensive strategies helped bring Cal back to the postseason play.
From 2013-2016, O’Toole served as an assistant coach at Stanford where his strength in player development helped Chasson Randle, Anthony Brown, Josh Huestis and Dwight Powell reach the NBA. In addition, his work helped key Stanford’s 2014 Sweet 16 run and carry the Cardinal to the 2015 NIT Championship.
O’Toole, who prides himself on player and team success, has established a reputation as a strong in-game tactician. He has coached alongside two of the winningest coaches in NCAA history in NABC College Basketball Hall of Fame inductees: Mike Krzyzewski and Jim Boeheim.
After a six-year stint as an ESPN, SNY and IMG analyst and color commentator, O’Toole re-entered the coaching realm with a second term at Syracuse for the 2012-13 season, helping the Orange to the 2013 Final Four.
O’Toole first served on the Orange staff in 1991-1995 as an assistant coach. During his initial tenure, Syracuse appeared in three NCAA Tournaments and captured the 1992 Big East Championship. In his combined five years of coaching at Syracuse he worked with many basketball standouts including John Wallace, Lawrence Moten, Dave Johnson, Michael Carter Williams, Jerami Grant, Rakeem Christmas, CJ Fair, and James Southerland all of whom continued on to play in the NBA or overseas.
O’Toole also possesses head coaching experience, spending eight seasons (1998-2006) at the helm of his alma mater, Fairfield. He led the Stags to three consecutive winning seasons for the first time since 1978, earned an NIT berth in 2003, and guided numerous players to post graduate play. O’Toole was honored as the 2003-04 MAAC Coach of the Year and enjoyed the best recruiting classes in school history.
Prior to taking over as head coach at Fairfield, O’Toole spent the 1997-98 season as an assistant coach under Tommy Amaker at Seton Hall. He helped guide the Pirates to a third-place finish in the Big East and an NIT bid.
O’Toole also spent two years at Duke as an assistant coach to Krzyzewski, coaching Jeff Capel, as well as bringing in the number one recruiting class in the country with Elton Brand, Shane Battier, William Avery, and Chris Burgess. He helped lead the Blue Devils to the 1997 ACC title, while working alongside coaches Quin Snyder of the Atlanta Hawks and Amaker now at Harvard.
A native of White Plains, N.Y., O’Toole’s coaching career began with stops as an assistant coach at Iona (1990-91) and Army (1989-90) after serving as a graduate assistant at Fordham University from 1987-89.
Honored as the Fairfield Male Athlete of the Year in 1987, O’Toole was a four-year letterwinner in basketball, leading the Stags to a pair of MAAC championship titles and back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances. He also competed for the lacrosse team going undefeated in 1987.
O’Toole has received numerous honors and awards including CT Multiple Sclerosis 2005 Person of the Year. In 2004, he was inducted into the Westchester County Sports Hall of Fame and he was a 2008 inductee into the Archbishop Stepinac High School Hall of Fame. In 2017, O’Toole was inducted into the Fairfield Hall of Fame.
KYLE GRIFFIN
Kyle Griffin joins Murray’s staff after finishing his fourth season overall with FGCU, and third season as associate head coach for the FGCU men’s basketball team in 2025-26. Griffin became associate head coach for the Eagles in 2023-24. Prior to FGCU, he served four years at La Salle – including two years as associate head coach on the Explorers sideline.
Griffin helped FGCU to numerous accomplishments during the 2025-26 season, including the first ASUN semifinal appearance since 2021 and the first time winning multiple games in the ASUN Tournament since 2018.
Griffin worked closely with and was instrumental in the development of first team All-ASUN forward Keeshawn Kellman in 2024-25. The Eagles won 13 ASUN games in 2024-25, the program’s most since the 2013-14 season.
In the summer of 2024, Griffin was selected to participate in the 2024 TopConnect Basketball Symposium in Las Vegas, Nevada. The program identifies the top assistant basketball coaches in the country and connects them with mid-major Athletic Directors, providing tremendous networking and leadership development opportunities for both parties
In addition to his stint at La Salle, Griffin has been a member of the staffs at Lehigh (2013-16) and Robert Morris (2016-18). He started as an assistant coach with the Explorers in 2018-19 before being elevated to associate head coach in 2020-21.
In his two seasons with head coach Andy Toole at Robert Morris, Griffin was a key member of a staff that recruited 10 new student-athletes to RMU prior to the 2017-18 season. Despite the roster turnover, Griffin helped develop the Colonials into a contender in the Northeast Conference, advancing the team to the NEC Tournament semifinals in back-to-back years.
Prior to his time in Pittsburgh, Griffin served three years as an assistant coach under Dr. Brett Reed at Lehigh. During his three seasons there, he helped guide the Mountain Hawks to the 2016 Patriot League Tournament championship game and was instrumental in the development of Tim Kempton and Kahron Ross, who were named 2015 Patriot League Player of the Year and 2015 Patriot League Rookie of the Year, respectively.
MATHEW JOHNSON
Johnson makes his way to Chestnut Hill following one season as an assistant at Princeton and six years at Connecticut.
Johnson’s time with the Huskies was defined by winning. Along with the two national titles and five NCAA Tournament appearances, the Huskies won the Big East Regular Season and Tournament Championships in 2024. UConn went 149-52 for a winning percentage of 74.13% during his time on staff.
Johnson has worked with nine players who made the NBA, including 2024-25 Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle. Additionally, players Johnson has worked with have been named all-conference 12 times. At UConn, Johnson shared responsibility for the on-court skill development of all guards in the program and led individual and group skill instruction in the off-season. He also met with student-athletes weekly to analyze practice and game film.
Johnson assisted in the recruitment of top-five recruiting classes at UConn in 2025 and 2023. He collaborated with and supported the assistant coaches with daily recruiting efforts and planned and executed the operations of official and unofficial visits on campus.
Johnson was a four-year letterman and a two-year captain at the University of Tampa. He ended his career ranked fourth all-time in program history in assists and was part of a Spartan team that went to the NCAA Tournament in 2014. Johnson was a College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District honoree and was named to the three-time Sunshine State Conference (SSC) Commissioners Honor Roll three times.
BRENDEN STRAUGHN
Straughn arrives on The Heights following three seasons as an assistant coach at Syracuse.
Straughn earned his first collegiate assistant coaching job at Loyola Maryland (2018-19), and the Greyhounds increased their win total from the previous season. Straughn moved on to Saint Joseph’s (2019-22). In Straughn’s time with the Hawks, he was responsible for managing the offense, on-court coaching and player development, opponent scouting, and serving as the recruiting coordinator.
During the 2022-23 season, Straughn was an assistant on Chris Caputo’s staff at George Washington. The Colonials posted the program’s most season wins (16) and Atlantic 10 Conference victories (10) since 2016-17. George Washington led the Atlantic 10 in scoring offense (76.3 ppg.).
While coaching Team Takeover, Straughn helped develop five players who earned McDonald All-America honors and 70 Division I performers.
In the college ranks, he worked closely with eight student-athletes who earned all-conference recognition, including two first-team all-league selections and four all-rookie team honorees. Straughn mentored a conference scoring champion at all three schools –- Andrew Kostecka won the Patriot League scoring crown at Loyola Maryland, Ryan Daly captured the Atlantic 10 title at Saint Joseph’s and James Bishop finished first among Atlantic 10 performers in points-per-game at George Washington.
Straughn spent his collegiate career at Hood College (2008-12), a Division III program in Frederick, Md. A four-year starter at guard for the Blazers, Straughn served as a captain for three seasons. In his four years he started 78 games while appearing in 94 total contests. At the conclusion of his collegiate career, he was ranked among Hood’s Top 10 in scoring and was second in assists and steals.
https://bceagles.com/news/2026/4/13/mens-basketball-murray-announces-four-staff-additions
