Wise named assistant coach, returns to Wyoming

LARAMIE – University of Wyoming head men's basketball coach Allen Edwards announced the addition of Matt Wise as assistant coach on Wednesday. Wise returns to Wyoming after spending last season as an assistant at Little Rock. He was on the Cowboy coaching staff as the assistant director of player development from 2013-2018.

"We are very excited to bring Matt Wise back to the University of Wyoming," Edwards said. "He did an excellent job on the staff under both myself and coach Shyatt. He is very familiar with what we want to do here in Laramie and has tremendous potential. Coach Wise has one of the best basketball minds I have been around and it was a no brainer to bring him back to our program."

During his only season in Little Rock, Wise helped mentor All-Sun Belt selection Rajon Tucker. He ranked fourth in the Sun Belt Conference in scoring average at 20.3 points per game while becoming just the fifth player in program history to score 600 points in a season.

Wise was part of a Cowboy staff that helped lead Wyoming to three postseason appearances, including a Mountain West Conference tournament title and NCAA tournament berth in 2014-15 and a College Basketball Insider title in 2017.

"My wife and I are so happy about rejoining the Cowboy Basketball Family," Wise said. "What we missed most about Laramie was the family atmosphere. Coach Edwards and I had a great connection and bond during my five years on the staff. We are so grateful for this opportunity and excited to get to work."

Prior to Wyoming, Wise was a graduate assistant at the University of Florida. He helped head coach Billy Donovan and the Gators advance to the NCAA tournament's Elite Eight both seasons. His responsibilities with the Gators included conducting advanced statistical research, assisting with on-court workouts, helping with video editing, promoting and marketing summer camps and assisting UF's Director of Operations with daily tasks for the program.

Wise played is a graduate of Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky, where he helped the Pioneers win a conference title and advance to the NCAA DIII tournament. He graduated with his bachelor's degree in business administration in 2011 and master's degree in sport management from Florida.

Wise and his wife Katie have one daughter Addison. Matt is the son of Mark Wise, a college basketball broadcaster and Mary Wise, head volleyball coach at Florida.

He replaces Jermaine Kimbrough, who accepted a job at Loyola-Chicago last week.