OU Hires Lucas McKay as Men's Basketball General Manager

NORMAN — University of Oklahoma Vice President and Director of Athletics Roger Denny and Head Men's Basketball Coach Porter Moser announced Monday the hiring of Lucas McKay as OU's first-ever men's basketball general manager.

McKay joins the Sooners with more than two decades of experience as a basketball support staff member, administrator, coach and general manager. Fourteen of those years were spent at Clemson under head coach Brad Brownell.

McKay was the Tigers' men's basketball general manager in 2025-26 after serving five seasons as the program's director of recruiting (2018-19 and 2021-25), four as director of operations (2014-18) and four as video coordinator (2010-14). He also served as an assistant coach at UMKC (now Kansas City) in 2019-20 and 2020-21.

As OU Men's Basketball's chief front-office strategist and roster architect, McKay's responsibilities will include:

Roster management, player acquisition and alignment to head coach vision;
Player valuation, analytics and market intelligence;
NIL and revenue-share strategy;
Recruiting operations and relationship management;
Player retention, experience and professional pathways; and
Governance, compliance and risk management

The OU general manager role brings professional-grade structure, analytics and market awareness to roster management and player acquisition, enabling the head coach to maximize on-court development and competitive performance. McKay will be supported by NBA star and former Sooner Trae Young, particularly in the offseason. Young was announced last spring as assistant general manager.

McKay's general manager duties at Clemson included agent relations, player relations, NIL and revenue-share strategy and developing a system for player evaluation and valuation.

In March, McKay was recognized by The College Front Office as one of the nation's top nine men's basketball general managers. The online publication noted that McKay "replaced virtually all meaningful production outside of Dillon Hunter with six transfers, four of whom came from the mid-major ranks, and all four acclimated immediately to ACC competition. The Tigers finished the season with the fourth-best conference record, with challenging roster turnover."

In the five seasons after McKay's return to Clemson following his two-year stint at UMKC, the Tigers won 115 games. They registered at least 23 wins each of the last four seasons (averaged 24.5), including a 27-7 performance in 2024-25 when they finished second in the ACC with a program-best 18-2 (.900) record. The Tigers participated in each of the last three NCAA Tournaments and in 2023-24 reached the Elite Eight for the first time in 44 years (second time ever). Their 98 victories over the last four campaigns represent the most over any four-year stretch in program history (the next most was 93 from 2006-07 through 2009-10).

In four seasons as Clemson's director of operations, McKay helped the program to 35 ACC regular season wins, including a then-school-record 11 in 2017-18. That season resulted in a then-school-record-tying 25 overall victories and a trip to the NCAA Sweet 16. The Tigers finished tied for third in the ACC after being picked 13th in the league's preseason media poll.

While McKay served as Clemson's video coordinator, the 2013-14 team made a 10-win improvement over the previous season by finishing 23-13 overall.

In 2011-12, the Tigers were 16-15 overall but rallied to an 8-8 conference record. They beat three eventual NCAA Tournament foes, including Sweet 16 participant NC State.

As a first-year video coordinator in 2010-11, the Tigers finished 22-12 overall and registered the school's first NCAA Tournament win in 14 years.

Prior to Clemson, McKay spent two seasons (2007-09) as a graduate assistant and one season (2009-10) as an administrative assistant under Brownell at Wright State. The Raiders amassed a 61-35 record over those three campaigns.

McKay first worked under Brownell as a student manager at UNC Wilmington from 2003-06 and was part of a team his final season that won the Colonial Athletic Association championship and participated in the NCAA Tournament.

McKay earned his undergraduate degree in political science from UNC Wilmington in December 2006. After graduation, he spent the 2006-07 season as an assistant varsity coach at Harrells Christian Academy in Harrells, N.C. He earned his master's degree in student affairs in higher education from Wright State in June 2009.

McKay is married to the former Lindsay Martin of Newton, N.C. They have a son, Ethan, and a daughter, Emerson.

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING

OU VICE PRESIDENT AND DIRECTOR OF ATHLETICS ROGER DENNNY:

"As this season ended, we took a critical look at how we must equip our men's basketball program to compete for championships. We did so with a firm belief that sustained success requires not just continuity, but meaningful investment in the people, structure and resources around our program. The addition of Lucas McKay as general manager is a direct reflection of that commitment.

"Lucas has extensive experience in college basketball roster construction and crafting targeted player retention and acquisition strategies. He has a track record of building winning teams, and he will be invaluable as we modernize and strengthen our basketball infrastructure in this new era of the sport. We're excited to welcome him and his family to Norman and are confident he will have an immediate and lasting impact on our program."

OU HEAD MEN'S BASKETBALL COACH PORTER MOSER:

"I'm extremely excited for Lucas and his wife and children to join the OU family. He's a relentless worker who is extremely respected in the profession and who has an intimate understanding of the current college basketball landscape and what it takes to succeed in recruiting. He's well-connected and is a great fit in terms of our culture and our vision to be a championship program.

"Organization is another trait that excites me about Lucas. He brings organization and structure to the portal and to recruiting. For coaches, especially in the current landscape and during the season, that can be challenging. Lucas thrives in that realm and will be critical to our success in attracting – and retaining – quality players.

"I'm grateful to Roger Denny for approving this position for OU Men's Basketball. Today is Lucas's first day on the job and he's already attacking it. I'm excited for what he brings to our program."

OU GENERAL MANAGER LUCAS McKAY:

"It is with great humility that I accept the responsibility to serve OU Athletics and its men's basketball program in the role of general manager. OU has a rich basketball history and tradition, and it was truly exciting to hear the vision Roger Denny, Marcus Bowman (deputy AD and men's basketball administrator) and Coach Moser have for the program moving forward and what we need to do to remain competitive in the best basketball conference in the country.

"I am grateful for the trust of the OU administration and Coach Moser to be named to this position. Porter has achieved tremendous success over his career, and I am excited for the opportunity to work closely with him; to learn more about him, his system, his coaching style and the impressive program culture he has fostered.

"I would like to thank Coach Brad Brownell for the incredible opportunity to serve on his staff at Clemson for 14 of the last 16 years. I will always be grateful for the chance to follow and fulfill a lifelong dream of working in college basketball, and for Coach giving me the opportunity to do so with him at three different schools.

"To Sooner Nation, please know we will work tirelessly to help attract and retain top talent and build rosters that not only fit OU and Coach Moser, but also represent this great state and be a source of pride for everyone. I'm excited to get started."

LUCAS McKAY'S BASKETBALL WORK HISTORY

2003-06: UNC Wilmington, Student Manager
2006-07: Harrells Christian Academy, Varsity Assistant Coach
2007-09: Wright State, Graduate Assistant
2009-10: Wright State, Administrative Assistant
2010-14: Clemson, Video Coordinator
2014-18: Clemson, Director of Basketball Operations
2018-19: Clemson, Director of Recruiting
2019-21: Missouri-Kansas City, Assistant Coach
2021-25: Clemson, Director of Recruiting Operations
2025-26: Clemson, General Manager
2026-: Oklahoma, General Manager