# Mark Turgeon
**Mark Turgeon** (born 1965) is an American college basketball coach, currently the head men's basketball coach at the [University of Missouri](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-missouri) - Kansas City, who previously led Jacksonville State, Wichita State, Texas A&M, and Maryland over 24 seasons with a career record of 476-275 (.634).[1](https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/coaches/mark-turgeon-1.html) • [2](https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/mark-turgeon-kansas-city-coach-maryland-texas-a-m/) A Topeka, Kansas native and former Kansas point guard, he won conference coach of the year honors in two conferences and was inducted into the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame in 2024.[3](https://umterps.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/coaches/mark-turgeon/1896)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Career record | 476-275 (.634) over 24 seasons as a Division I head coach[1](https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/coaches/mark-turgeon-1.html) |
| Head coaching stops | Jacksonville State (1998-2000), Wichita State (2000-07), Texas A&M (2007-11), Maryland (2011-21)[3](https://umterps.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/coaches/mark-turgeon/1896) |
| Maryland tenure | 226-116 (.661), five NCAA Tournament appearances, 2016 Sweet 16, 2020 Big Ten regular-season title[3](https://umterps.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/coaches/mark-turgeon/1896) |
| Wichita State breakthrough | 128-89 record; 2006 Missouri Valley regular-season title and Sweet 16, the school's first NCAA berth since 1988[3](https://umterps.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/coaches/mark-turgeon/1896) |
| Texas A&M | 97-40 in four seasons, four NCAA Tournament berths, Big 12 Coach of the Year in 2010 and 2011[3](https://umterps.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/coaches/mark-turgeon/1896) |
| Playing career | Point guard at Kansas 1984-87; first Jayhawk to play in four consecutive NCAA Tournaments; 1986 Final Four[3](https://umterps.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/coaches/mark-turgeon/1896) |
| Current position | Ninth head coach in Kansas City men's basketball history, hired February 2026 on a five-year contract[2](https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/mark-turgeon-kansas-city-coach-maryland-texas-a-m/) |
| Honors | Kansas Sports Hall of Fame (2024); coach of the year in the Missouri Valley (2006) and Big Ten (2015)[3](https://umterps.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/coaches/mark-turgeon/1896) • [4](https://www.kansascity.com/sports/college/umkc/article314535669.html) |
## Playing career and early coaching
Turgeon played point guard at the [University of Kansas](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-kansas) from 1984 to 1987 under [Larry Brown](https://www.edgepedia.org/larry-brown), serving as team captain in his junior and senior seasons. He was the first player in Jayhawks history to appear in four straight NCAA Tournaments, and the 1985-86 team finished 35-4 and reached the Final Four. Kansas went 108-33 during his playing career, and he earned a bachelor of science degree in personnel administration in 1987.[3](https://umterps.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/coaches/mark-turgeon/1896)
Before that, he led Hayden High School in Topeka to back-to-back Class 4A state titles in 1982 and 1983, with Hayden going 47-3 in his high school career.[3](https://umterps.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/coaches/mark-turgeon/1896)
**Assistant roles.** Turgeon spent five seasons on the Kansas staff, first under Larry Brown (1987-88) and then under [Roy Williams](https://www.edgepedia.org/roy-williams-basketball-coach) (1988-92). [The Jayhawks](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-jayhawks) won the 1988 national championship, finished as runner-up in 1991, and took Big Eight titles in 1991 and 1992 with Turgeon on staff. He then served as top assistant under Jerry Green at Oregon from 1992 to 1997, a period in which the Ducks reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 34 years. In 1997 he left college coaching for a year to work as an assistant for the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers.[3](https://umterps.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/coaches/mark-turgeon/1896)
## Head coaching career
**Jacksonville State.** Turgeon accepted his first head coaching position in 1998 at [Jacksonville State University](https://www.edgepedia.org/jacksonville-state-university) in Alabama. His first team went 8-18 and tied for 10th in the Trans America Conference; the next season the Gamecocks improved to 17-11 overall and 12-6 in conference play, finishing third. He left with a two-year record of 25-29.[3](https://umterps.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/coaches/mark-turgeon/1896) • [1](https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/coaches/mark-turgeon-1.html)
**Wichita State.** In seven seasons at Wichita State (2000-07), Turgeon rebuilt a program that went 9-19 in his first year into a [Missouri Valley Conference](https://www.edgepedia.org/missouri-valley-conference) power, compiling a 128-89 record, the third-most wins in school history.[3](https://umterps.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/coaches/mark-turgeon/1896) After three straight NIT appearances from 2003 to 2005, the Shockers won the Missouri Valley regular-season championship in 2005-06 with a 26-9 record, made the school's first NCAA Tournament since 1988, and beat Seton Hall and Tennessee before losing to eventual Final Four participant [George Mason](https://www.edgepedia.org/george-mason) in the Sweet 16.[3](https://umterps.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/coaches/mark-turgeon/1896) He was named Missouri Valley Coach of the Year that season.[4](https://www.kansascity.com/sports/college/umkc/article314535669.html)
**Texas A&M.** Turgeon coached the Aggies from 2007 to 2011 and reached the NCAA Tournament in all four seasons, going 97-40, the highest four-year win total in program history. His debut team went 25-11, matching the record for most wins by a first-year coach at any Big 12 school, and he earned Big 12 Coach of the Year honors in 2010 and 2011. Players he coached at Texas A&M included future NBA players [Khris Middleton](https://www.edgepedia.org/khris-middleton), DeAndre Jordan, and Donald Sloan.[3](https://umterps.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/coaches/mark-turgeon/1896)
## Maryland
Turgeon led Maryland men's basketball from 2011 to 2021, compiling a 226-116 (.661) overall record and a 105-79 mark in conference play across the ACC and Big Ten. His overall winning percentage is the second-best in program history, and he is the only Maryland coach to finish every season above .500.[3](https://umterps.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/coaches/mark-turgeon/1896) His teams made five NCAA Tournament appearances, reaching the Sweet 16 in 2016, and won the Big Ten regular-season title in 2020, a 24-7 season whose postseason was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.[3](https://umterps.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/coaches/mark-turgeon/1896) He won Big Ten Coach of the Year in 2015, Maryland's first season in the conference, after a school-record 26 regular-season wins and 28 total victories.[3](https://umterps.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/coaches/mark-turgeon/1896)
The 2015-16 team won 27 games and opened 15-1, the best start in program history, and Maryland led the Big Ten and ranked fifth nationally in attendance, averaging 17,863 fans per game.[3](https://umterps.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/coaches/mark-turgeon/1896) Across his career Turgeon coached 11 future NBA players, including [Alex Len](https://www.edgepedia.org/alex-len), selected fifth overall by the [Phoenix Suns](https://www.edgepedia.org/phoenix-suns) in 2013, [Kevin Huerter](https://www.edgepedia.org/kevin-huerter), Bruno Fernando, Jalen Smith, and Aaron Wiggins.[3](https://umterps.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/coaches/mark-turgeon/1896)
**Tournament results.** A Washington Post analysis before the 2021 tournament counted Turgeon among coaches to be wary of in bracket play: through that point he had nine NCAA Tournament appearances and two Sweet 16 trips, with Maryland a single-digit seed five times since 2011 and only four tournament wins to show for it, and was rated two wins below seed-based expectations.[5](https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2021/03/18/coaches-ncaa-tournament-bracket-picks/)
**Departure.** On December 3, 2021, Maryland and Turgeon mutually agreed to part ways after a 5-3 start to the season, with [Danny Manning](https://www.edgepedia.org/danny-manning) named interim head coach. The school noted that his teams had reached the NCAA Tournament in five of the previous six seasons.[6](https://umterps.com/news/2021/12/3/mens-basketball-maryland-athletics-mark-turgeon-mutually-agree-to-part-ways-danny-manning-named-interim-head-coach) The Washington Post reported that the midseason resignation followed back-to-back losses, including a home defeat to [Virginia Tech](https://www.edgepedia.org/virginia-tech) in what became his final game, and that fan disapproval had grown during his later seasons in College Park.[7](https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2021/12/03/mark-turgeon-resigns-maryland-basketball/)
## Return to coaching at Kansas City
After more than four years away from the sideline, during which he worked as a [CBS Sports Network](https://www.edgepedia.org/cbs-sports-network) college basketball analyst beginning in 2023, Turgeon was named the ninth head coach in Kansas City men's basketball history in February 2026, agreeing to a five-year contract.[3](https://umterps.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/coaches/mark-turgeon/1896) • [2](https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/mark-turgeon-kansas-city-coach-maryland-texas-a-m/) He took over a program that had gone 4-27 the previous season and finished near the bottom of Division I, and that has never reached the NCAA Tournament; Kansas City is the city's only Division I men's basketball program.[8](https://www.axios.com/local/kansas-city/2026/03/20/umkc-hires-mark-turgeon-recruit-kc-talent) Turgeon said his plan is to build the roster around Kansas City-area talent, and the Roos were scheduled to open the 2026-27 season in November, his first games leading the program.[8](https://www.axios.com/local/kansas-city/2026/03/20/umkc-hires-mark-turgeon-recruit-kc-talent)
## Recognition and personal life
Turgeon was selected to the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame in 2024 and is also a member of the Topeka Sports Hall of Fame and the Hayden High School Hall of Fame; he was named 2015 Kansan of the Year.[3](https://umterps.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/coaches/mark-turgeon/1896) He served as a court coach for USA Basketball's Pan-American Team in 2015 and as an assistant for the Under-18 Team that won a gold medal in 2016.[3](https://umterps.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/coaches/mark-turgeon/1896) He and his family run The Leo Fund, a nonprofit supporting organizations dedicated to ending Alzheimer's disease.[3](https://umterps.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/coaches/mark-turgeon/1896)
## References
1. [Mark Turgeon Coaching Record, Sports-Reference College Basketball](https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/coaches/mark-turgeon-1.html)
2. [Kansas City hires former Maryland, Texas A&M coach Mark Turgeon, CBS Sports](https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/mark-turgeon-kansas-city-coach-maryland-texas-a-m/)
3. [Mark Turgeon bio, University of Maryland Athletics](https://umterps.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/coaches/mark-turgeon/1896)
4. [Veteran coach Mark Turgeon will take over at UMKC basketball, The Kansas City Star](https://www.kansascity.com/sports/college/umkc/article314535669.html)
5. [Coaches with the best and worst NCAA tournament records, The Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2021/03/18/coaches-ncaa-tournament-bracket-picks/)
6. [Maryland Athletics, Mark Turgeon Mutually Agree to Part Ways; Danny Manning Named Interim Head Coach](https://umterps.com/news/2021/12/3/mens-basketball-maryland-athletics-mark-turgeon-mutually-agree-to-part-ways-danny-manning-named-interim-head-coach)
7. [Mark Turgeon out as Maryland men's basketball coach, The Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2021/12/03/mark-turgeon-resigns-maryland-basketball/)
8. [New UMKC basketball coach bets on KC talent, Axios Kansas City](https://www.axios.com/local/kansas-city/2026/03/20/umkc-hires-mark-turgeon-recruit-kc-talent)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Other team and ball sports › Basketball and court team sports › US college basketball (NCAA, NAIA) › Men's team programs › Titles L to X*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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