The Wolverines officially have a new strength coach.
Dusty May and the Michigan Wolverines have rounded out their coaching staff for the 2024-25 season with the hiring of strength and conditioning coach Matt Aldred, the program announced on Monday afternoon.
“Matt only bolsters the goal of creating a staff of great teachers and genuine people who can help our players away from the game,” May said in a press release. “I met Matt six years ago and have always been impressed with him. His forward thinking, work at Furman, and academic teachings make him a unique coach who will enhance our strength and conditioning program.”
Aldred was the Assistant Head Coach and Director of Basketball Performance at Furman since last August, while also being the strength and conditioning coach the past five years.
During Aldred’s five seasons with the Paladins, Furman had a 116-44 overall record, which is the best of any team in the Southern Conference. In 2022-23, he helped Furman to a school-record 28 wins, along with regular season and tournament titles, the school’s first NCAA Tournament bid since 1980, and a first-round upset against the Virginia Cavaliers .
On the strength side, Aldred has been credited with the development of a number of All-SoCon performers, including Mike Bothwell, Noah Gurley, Jordan Lyons, Clay Mounce, Matt Rafferty and Jalen Slawson. In particular, Slawson saw his production increase each season on his way to earning SoCon Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2022, SoCon Player of the Year and SoCon Male Athlete of the Year accolades in 2023. He was also selected in the second-round of the NBA Draft by the Sacramento Kings.
It’s also worth noting that Furman’s top two scorers, Bothwell and Slawson, did not miss any games due to injury during their five-year careers and finished as Furman’s all-time winningest players with 116 career victories.
“It’s an honor to be joining Dusty May’s staff at one of the premier universities in the world,” Aldred said in the same press release. “The opportunity to work with Dusty, and his staff and represent the University of Michigan is a blessing. I will give my all to help develop our student-athletes into some of the best in the country. As a staff, we are committed to excellence, and working as one to ensure the Wolverines are a national championship contender. My family and I cannot wait to get to Ann Arbor and start.”
The Wolverines have been without a permanent strength and conditioning coach since Jon Sanderson resigned on March 1. Sanderson had been with the program the last 15 years, overseeing the strength and conditioning aspect of the Wolverines under John Beilein and Juwan Howard. But everything changed after a confrontation between Sanderson and Howard on Dec. 7.
Since May took over, he has created a coaching staff that has knowledge in offensive efficiency, defense, and pick-and-roll. The hiring of Aldred completes his first coaching staff at U-M.
When speaking with assistant coach Akeem Miskdeen on Tuesday, he mentioned how important a strength coach is in the recruiting cycle.
“What’s the first thing the players, recruits, whoever asked you about Michigan? Minutes,” Miskdeen said. “Okay, that makes sense. You are in the transfer portal, you’re gonna get X amount of minutes, right? So they asked about minutes and they asked about our staff. Believe it or not, they asked about a strength coach. A lot of them asked about strength coach. That’s their main concern.”
With Aldred finally in the building, the newly conformed basketball team can get to work in the weight room through the summer and fall so the team is in ready condition for the season.