If you like winning, it’s hard to win at a higher rate than Matt Logie has during his head coaching career.
Between his eight seasons as the head coach at Division III Whitworth and his four seasons at Division II Point Loma Nazarene, Logie boasts the fifth-highest winning percentage in NCAA college basketball history. He is 247-54, meaning he’s won 82.1 percent of his games. Only two active coaches (Mark Few of Gonzaga & Jim Crutchfield of Nova Southeastern) have higher win percentages than Logie, whose winning percentage surpasses coaching legends such as John Wooden (UCLA), Dean Smith (UNC), and Mike Krzyzewski (Duke). Coach Logie’s teams have qualified for the NCAA Tournament in 10 of his 11 years as a head coach at two different institutions.
Now, Logie will face the challenge of continuing that success for a Montana State basketball program coming off arguably its most successful three-year stretch in program history.
On Monday, Skyline Sports confirmed with three sources that Montana State will hire Logie as its head men’s basketball coach. Montana State confirmed the news in a press release around 1 p.m. on Monday.
“I am excited to welcome Coach Logie, his wife Julia and children Addy and Luke to the Bobcat family,” Montana State athletic director Leon Costello said. “Matt brings a highly successful basketball background as a player and coach. He is a proven winner demonstrated by his exceptional coaching record, a dynamic program builder, and a relentless student of the game. He has a clear vision and plan to continue to build on the momentum of Bobcat Basketball. I am excited about our future of Bobcat Basketball with Matt at the helm.”
Logie takes over for Danny Sprinkle, who led MSU to 81 wins over the last four years, including consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament.
After leading MSU to three straight appearances in the Big Sky title game, Sprinkle, a Helena native who starred for the Bobcats in the late 1990s, left last week to take the head coaching job at Utah State. Sprinkle hired Bobcat assistant coaches Andy Hill and Chris Haslam to work for his staff at USU.
Logie has been the head coach at Division II Point Loma Nazarene for the last four seasons. He led the Sea Lions to a 29-4 record that included an appearance in the Division II Elite Eight last season.
The last time the Montana State position was open, Ryan Looney was in the mix. Looney was the head coach at Point Loma at the time and had just led the Sea Lions to a runner-up finish in the Division II national tournament. Montana State ultimately hired Danny Sprinkle and Looney pivoted, landing at Idaho State as the head coach, where he is 39-76 over the last four seasons.
Looney leaving Point Loma opened the door for Logie to take over in San Diego. In his first year at the helm, Logie guided the Sea Lions to a 24-6 record (18-4 PacWest) and made conference history by becoming the first men’s basketball team to win back-to-back PacWest Tournament Championships.
Logie landed at Point Loma after an impressive eight-year run at Whitworth. Logie was the head coach at Whitworth from 2011 until 2019, establishing a reputation was one of the top small-school coaches in the Northwest. He compiled a record of 194-35 in eight seasons, winning five NWC titles and advancing to seven Division III national tournaments.
If Logie’s name is familiar to those in Montana, it’s because he has connections to both the Big Sky Conference and the Montana Grizzlies. Logie took over at Whitworth after Jim Hayford left the D-III ranks to become the head coach at Eastern Washington. While at Whitworth, Logie’s Pirates often played the University of Montana in early-season exhibition games or non-conference contests.
Logie is the grandson of Ed Pepple, the legendary high school coach who led Mercer Island High in Seattle for 42 years. Montana head coach Travis DeCuire played for Pepple in high school. DeCuire, Montana’s 10th-year head coach, has said many times Peppel was one of his biggest coaching influences.
“Having followed the recent success of the program under coach (Danny) Sprinkle, it was very clear that Bobcat basketball is on an upward trajectory and is extremely exciting,” Logie said in a press release. “When the process began we were thrilled to learn more about MSU and the Bozeman community. The things that stick out most are the culture that Coach Sprinkle and his staff has laid, and the community support. Those two things are extremely powerful and tangible when you’re there on the ground in Bozeman. It is exciting to be a part of that.”
Logie, who was a standout guard at Lehigh in the early 2000s, began his coaching career at his alma mater in 2004. He worked as an assistant coach for five seasons at Lehigh before being promoted to associate head coach for two years.
While there, Logie recruited CJ McCollum, the 2013 NBA Draft pick and current member of the New Orleans Pelicans, and helped lead the Mountain Hawks into the 2010 NCAA Tournament. The team that Logie helped build at Lehigh before leaving for Whitworth in 2011 would go on to beat Duke in the 2012 NCAA Tournament in one of March Madness’ greatest upsets.
Logie was the head coach at Whitworth from 2011 until 2019, establishing a reputation was one of the top small-school coaches in the Northwest. He compiled a record of 194-35 in eight seasons, winning five NWC titles and advancing to seven national tournaments.
In his 12 seasons as a head coach, Logie has led his teams to seven regular season conference championships and five tourney titles.
“It starts and ends with culture,” Logie said in the press release. “We have prided ourselves in relationship building, with student-athletes and people in the athletic department and the community. That, combined with a sound process and core values that we believe in, are the tenets of the success we’ve enjoyed. When you look at Montana State, the blue collar, chip-on-the-shoulder approach they’ve had success with matches my journey in the game. We’re excited to pour into the relationships with former and current players.”
A 2003 graduate of Lehigh, Logie finished his playing career (1999-2003) with 1,524 career points, seventh-most in Mountain Hawks history. He began his coaching career at Lehigh as Director of Operations in 2003-04 before being elevated to assistant coach (2004-06 and 2007-09) and then associate head coach (2009-11). He also worked as operations director at Kent State in 2006-07.
Logie capped his four seasons at Point Loma in 2022-23 with a 29-4 season, including a 20-0 PacWest Conference record. His Sea Lions teams won PacWest regular season titles in 2022 and 2023, and won the league tournament in 2020 and 2023. Logie’s Whitworth teams never finished lower than second in the Northwest Conference, winning the league regular season crown five times.
While acknowledging that the recruiting process is ever-changing, Logie said his values in that area remain unchanged.
“The college basketball world today is a very fluid environment and that’s where relationships begin,” he said. “The network of relationships we’ve built are very important, particularly on the West Coast, but it all begins with student-athletes in Bozeman. Those guys have built this program with their blood, sweat and tears. Helping them to achieve their goals is what we’re about.”
This story will be updated.
