Coaching veteran Matt Woodley will join the University of Pittsburgh basketball staff as a special assistant to the head coach for the 2017-18 season, head coach Kevin Stallings announced Monday. His duties will include assisting the coaching staff with game preparation, practice plans, scouting reports as well as day-to-day basketball operations.
“Matt [Woodley] has a terrific basketball mind and will be a tremendous addition to our staff,” said Stallings. “His experience at the collegiate level and in the pro ranks will be invaluable to our program as we build a winning culture. His passion for the game, attention to detail and selfless attitude mirror the core values of the Pitt basketball program.”
Woodley has been in the professional ranks for the past three seasons, helping lead the Iowa Energy (NBDL) to back-to-back 26-24 finishes before being named head coach prior to the 2016-17 season. He was relieved of his head coaching duties midway through the 2016-17 season.
Prior to his time in the NBDL, Woodley went 38-44 in three seasons as the head coach at Division II Truman State, improving the team’s win total in each of his three seasons. After winning eight games in 2011-12, the Bulldogs won 10 games and earned an MIAA tournament berth in 2012-13. He then guided the program to just the sixth 20-win season in school history with a 20-7 run last season, capped by a GLVC tournament berth. In addition, the team’s 13 conference wins last season set a new program record.
With family roots in the state of Iowa, Woodley spent the 2009-10 and 2010-11 seasons leading the Waukee High School boys’ basketball program. The school won its first ever CIML conference championship and earned a trip to the Iowa state tournament in 2011 during his tenure with the program.
Woodley spent three seasons as an assistant coach at Washington State under head coach Tony Bennett from 2006-09. During his stint at the school, the Cougars advanced to three consecutive postseason appearances, including the NCAA Sweet 16 in 2008. He served as the program’s recruiting coordinator, once again landing a top-20 recruiting class. On the court, he helped the program post back-to-back 25-win seasons and NCAA tournament appearances for the first time in school history.
He spent five seasons in the Sun Belt Conference, first the University of Denver (2001-04) before joining head coach Kermit Davis’ staff at Middle Tennessee State as an assistant coach (2004-06). Woodley’s responsibilities included recruiting, scouting, scheduling and film exchange, as well as the daily preparations for the team. At both Denver and Middle Tennessee State, Woodley supervised the men’s basketball academic programs, landing a combined 14 players on Sun Belt Conference all-academic teams.
The Des Moines, Iowa, native began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Wayne State (2000-01).
Woodley graduated with a degree in elementary education from Drake University in 2000, having played three seasons for the Bulldogs. He was a starter in every game played and ended his career as the program’s all-time leader in steals and second in three-point field goals. He twice earned honorable mention honors from the Missouri Valley Conference and was the team MVP as a senior.
Woodley comes from a coaching lineage, as his father and three brothers currently hold coaching positions at various levels. His father, Mike, is the head football coach at Grand View University, while his brother, Joe, serves as the team’s associate head coach and co-defensive coordinator. His brother, Brian, is the head football coach at Johnston (Iowa) High School, while his brother Andy, who was a starting point guard at the University of Northern Iowa, won a state championship as the head boys’ basketball coach at Iowa City High School and is now an assistant coach at Grand View.
