Mark Byington (born April 22, 1976) is an American basketball coach and former player who is currently the head men's basketball coach at Vanderbilt University.[1] He previously served as the head basketball coach at James Madison University.
| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Head coach |
| Team | Vanderbilt |
| Conference | SEC |
| Record | 0–0 (–) |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | April 22, 1976 Salem, Virginia, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1994–1998 | UNC Wilmington |
| Position(s) | Guard |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 2002–2004 | Charleston (asst.) |
| 2004–2005 | Virginia (asst.) |
| 2005–2012 | Charleston (asst.) |
| 2012 | Charleston (interim HC) |
| 2012–2013 | Virginia Tech (asst.) |
| 2013–2020 | Georgia Southern |
| 2020–2024 | James Madison |
| 2024–present | Vanderbilt |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 220–137 (.616) |
| Tournaments | 1–1 (NCAA Division I) 0–1 (CBI) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| CAA regular season (2021) Sun Belt tournament (2024) | |
| Awards | |
| CAA Coach of the Year (2021) | |
High school playing career
editMark Byington played high school basketball at Salem High School located in Salem, Virginia. He led the Salem Spartans coached by former Dobyns-Bennett head coach Charlie Morgan to a 26–1 record in the 1993–94 season and to the Group AA state championship defeating Louisa County. His #32 jersey has since been retired by Salem High School along with #11 Richard Morgan, who was an All-American.
College playing career
editByington was a three-year starter for the UNC Wilmington basketball team. He was awarded 2nd-team All-Colonial Athletic Association and All-CAA Defensive Team honors his senior year. In his four years at UNCW, he was a two-time CAA All-Academic selection and scored more than 1,000 points during his career.[2]
Coaching career
editByington spent nine seasons as an assistant coach at the College of Charleston, including seven as Bobby Cremins’ top assistant. The College of Charleston compiled a record of 194–100 and a 108–51 record in the Southern Conference during the years when Byington was an assistant coach. During those seasons, they also recorded six 20-win seasons, logged three Southern Conference South Division regular-season titles, advanced to the league's tournament championship game three times and made two appearances in the NIT.
After a one year assistant coaching stop at Virginia Tech, Byington was hired as the head coach at Georgia Southern.[3][4] In seven seasons with the Eagles, he guided them to a 131–97 overall record, with three-straight 20-win seasons in his final three seasons. On March 20, 2020, Byington was named the 11th head coach in James Madison history, replacing Louis Rowe.[5][6]
Head coaching record
edit| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| College of Charleston Cougars (Southern Conference) (2011–2012) | |||||||||
| 2011–12 | College of Charleston | 7–4* | 6–3* | 4th (South) | |||||
| College of Charleston: | 7–4 (.636) | 6–3 (.667) | |||||||
| Georgia Southern Eagles (Southern Conference) (2013–2014) | |||||||||
| 2013–14 | Georgia Southern | 15–19 | 6–10 | T–7th | |||||
| Georgia Southern Eagles (Sun Belt Conference) (2014–2020) | |||||||||
| 2014–15 | Georgia Southern | 22–9 | 14–6 | T–2nd | |||||
| 2015–16 | Georgia Southern | 14–17 | 10–10 | 5th | |||||
| 2016–17 | Georgia Southern | 18–15 | 11–7 | T–3rd | CBI first round | ||||
| 2017–18 | Georgia Southern | 21–12 | 11–7 | 3rd | |||||
| 2018–19 | Georgia Southern | 21–12 | 12–6 | T–2nd | |||||
| 2019–20 | Georgia Southern | 20–13 | 12–8 | T–4th | No postseason held | ||||
| Georgia Southern: | 131–97 (.575) | 78–54 (.591) | |||||||
| James Madison Dukes (Colonial Athletic Association) (2020–2022) | |||||||||
| 2020–21 | James Madison | 13–7 | 8–2 | T–1st | |||||
| 2021–22 | James Madison | 15–14 | 6–12 | 8th | |||||
| James Madison Dukes (Sun Belt Conference) (2022–2024) | |||||||||
| 2022–23 | James Madison | 22–11 | 12–6 | 4th | |||||
| 2023–24 | James Madison | 32–4 | 15–3 | 2nd | NCAA Division I Round of 32 | ||||
| James Madison: | 82–36 (.695) | 41–23 (.641) | |||||||
| Vanderbilt Commodores (Southeastern Conference) (2024–present) | |||||||||
| 2024–25 | Vanderbilt | 0–0 | 0–0 | ||||||
| Vanderbilt: | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | |||||||
| Total: | 220–137 (.616) | ||||||||
|
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
| |||||||||
*Byington served as interim head coach after Bobby Cremins took a medical leave of absence.
References
edit- ^ "Mark Byington – Head Coach – Staff Directory". James Madison University Athletics.
- ^ "Georgia Southern Names Mark Byington Men's Basketball Coach". Georgia Southern Eagles. Archived from the original on 2013-04-11. Retrieved 2013-06-06.
- ^ "Georgia Southern hires new coach". ESPN. Retrieved 2013-06-06.
- ^ "Mark Byington – Men's Basketball Coach". Georgia Southern University Athletics.
- ^ "Mark Byington Named Men's Basketball Head Coach". James Madison University Athletics.
- ^ Sports, WHSV. "JMU hires Mark Byington as men's basketball head coach". www.whsv.com.