Luke Mackay, who spent the previous two seasons as a graduate assistant at Oklahoma, joined the UTRGV men’s basketball program as an assistant coach on April 11, 2016.
In 2019-20, Mackay helped the forwards to rank third in the WAC and 121st in the nation in offensive rebounds per game (10.67).
In 2018-19, Mackay helped the forwards to rank 110th in the NCAA in rebounds (1,215) and 168th in offensive rebounds per game (10.11).
In 2017-18, Mackay worked primarily with the forwards, helping UTRGV rank 75th in the NCAA and fifth in the WAC in rebounding (37.64).
In 2016-17, Mackay worked primarily with the guards, helping UTRGV rank 68th in the NCAA and third in the WAC in assists per game (15.1) and 92nd in the NCAA and fourth in the WAC in total assists (484).
While at Oklahoma, Mackay worked with recently hired UTRGV Men’s Basketball Head Coach Lew Hill and former Pan American University head coach and current Oklahoma head coach Lon Kruger, helping them to lead the team to two NCAA Tournament appearances, including a berth in this year’s Final Four, while going 53-19 (.736).
Mackay’s responsibilities included working with individual student-athletes on skill development, scouting, defensive alertness, preparing recruiting materials, and assisting with recruiting visits.
Prior to joining Oklahoma, Mackay spent four years as the varsity head coach at McCollum High School in San Antonio. During his final season, Mackay simultaneously served as an advance scout for the Orlando Magic.
Originally from Perth, Australia, Mackay is the all-time leading scorer in Western Australian high school basketball history. He played his senior season at North Jackson High School in Alabama, for whom he earned All-State honors. Mackay went on to play at Lon Morris College from 2000-02, earning NJCAA Region 14 All-Tournament First Team honors, before playing two seasons at East Carolina.
Mackay started to gain coaching experience in 1999 as a coach in the Perth Basketball Association, and continued to develop his skills as a basketball camp counselor at East Carolina in 2003 and 2004.
He then became an assistant coach with the Perth Redbacks in 2006-07, a team that he was also playing for.
At the same time, Mackay began spending the academic years in Texas, serving as the boys’ basketball coach at Corsicana High School.
Mackay earned his Bachelor of Arts in Physical Education from East Carolina in May 2006 and his Master of Human Relations at Oklahoma in 2016.
