New UMKC basketball coach bets on KC talent

State of play: Turgeon takes over a team that went 4-27 this past season and finished near the bottom of all D-1 schools.

• He tells Axios his priority is recruiting players from the KC area, which will shape how the program grows.

Zoom in: Turgeon returns to coaching men's basketball after more than four years away with a winning track record at the highest level of college basketball.

• He spent 24 seasons as a head coach at Wichita State, Texas A&M and Maryland, and his teams have reached the NCAA Tournament 10 times.
• "I knew that to come out of retirement, I'd need leadership I could depend on," he says, pointing to athletics director Brandon Martin and Chancellor Mauli Agrawal.

Context: Turgeon has handled this type of job before. At Wichita State, he took over a struggling program and led it to the NCAA Tournament, advancing to the regional semifinals.

• He has said the UMKC role is similar, though college basketball has changed in recent years.

What they're saying: "This city is full of talented players and keeping them at home will be the foundation for building a competitive program," Turgeon tells Axios.

• "We want to build the best team that Roos Basketball has ever seen," he says. "In turn, we'll need KC to show up and support its hometown team."
• He added, "I came here to win. We want to compete for championships, and we want the KC community to be proud to be fans of the Roos."

What's next: Turgeon will spend the coming months building his roster and staff before the Roos open the 2026-27 season in November, his first games leading the program.