Montana State’s Matt Logie completes first men’s basketball coaching staff

University of Montana assistant coach Zach Payne, San Diego State staff member Sam Scholl and Point Loma assistant Julius Smith each join Logie’s first staff. Logie, who was previously the head coach at Point Loma, also announced the retention of Director of Basketball Operations Colin McGettigan.

“I couldn’t be more excited about the staff we’ve built here at Montana State during this transition,” Logie said. “Obviously anytime you take over a program there are many factors to consider in building your staff: experience, recruiting ties, conference familiarity, trust level, and institutional knowledge, etc., and I think we hit it out of the park in all of those areas with this staff.”

Payne brings five seasons of experience in the Big Sky Conference to his new post, enjoying four winning campaigns during his time at Montana (2019-23) and a winning regular season at Portland State (2018-19). He helped recruit and develop productive freshman classes at UM while managing the program’s academics. That effort produced grade point averages over 3.15 and the National Association of Basketball Coaches Team Academic Awards throughout his time in Missoula.

Originally from Danville, California, Payne graduated from Whitworth in 2014 and began his coaching career at his alma mater in 2013-14 as a volunteer assistant before becoming a Pirates graduate assistant the next two seasons. Payne moved to Western Oregon in 2016-17, when the Wolves advanced to the GNAC championship game. The next year WOU finished with a 31-2 record, winning the GNAC regular season and tournament titles and rising to a No. 3 NCAA Division II ranking. 

“Zach was on the ground floor of my basketball dreams as a head coach, first as a player at Whitworth during my first two seasons as a head coach, followed by three seasons on my bench at Whitworth. I truly wouldn’t be in this position without his investment into our basketball family,” Logie said, adding, “He is an exceptional mentor, especially with front court players, and knows exactly the type of players that will succeed competing for us. I’m thrilled that he will be joining us.”

A long-time college coach in San Diego, Scholl enjoyed a first-hand look at San Diego State’s run to the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship Game as the Aztecs’ Basketball Performance…