It's official! The Mavericks hire Dusty May as head coach: He led Michigan to this year's NCAA title.

Beijing time, June 22 — Per insider Shams, several sources confirmed that Michigan's Dusty May has agreed to terms with the Mavericks to take over as head coach. The decorated college coach, fresh off a 2026 NCAA title run, is set for a big transition from collegiate basketball to the NBA, representing a high-stakes bet by newly appointed Mavericks president Masai Ujiri.

Dusty May, born in 1976 in Indiana and a graduate of Indiana University, is now 50 years old. He is currently the hottest championship-winning coach in the NCAA, with nearly two decades of complete college basketball coaching experience. During his college years, he served as a student manager for the team, studying under legendary coach Bob Knight, which laid a solid foundation in tactics and recruiting. After graduation, he started as a video coordinator and administrative assistant, gradually working his way up to a coaching position.

May's assistant coaching career took him to multiple schools, including Eastern Michigan, Murray State, UAB, Louisiana Tech, and the University of Florida, where he specialized in developing wings and guards. He helped his teams win multiple conference championships, and many of his players went on to the NBA, building strong skills in roster construction and defensive coaching. In 2018, he got his first head coaching job, taking over Florida Atlantic University (FAU), a perennial underdog. Over six seasons, his team never had a losing record, setting a school record with 126 wins. In the 2022-23 season, they posted a stellar 35-4 record, making the program's first-ever NCAA Final Four, sweeping the conference regular-season and tournament titles, and earning May the National Coach of the Year award.

In 2024, after Michigan fired Juwan Howard, they heavily recruited May to take over, at a time when the Wolverines had fallen to a program-low 8-24 record. May orchestrated an epic rebuild in just two seasons: In his first year, they went 27-10 and reached the Sweet Sixteen. In the 2025-26 season, he led the team to a 37-3 record, defeating defending champion UConn in the final to win the NCAA national championship for the first time in 37 years, ending the Big Ten's 26-year title drought. He became one of only a few head coaches in history to win a national title within their first two seasons at a school.

His tactical approach is well-balanced, adept at using the transfer portal to quickly strengthen the roster, emphasizes zone defense and team free-throw consistency, and displays calm, efficient in-game adjustments.