The 2023-24 season is Mike Peck’s eighth as associate head coach on Steve Henson’s staff at UTSA. Peck is UTSA’s defensive coordinator and works with the post players, while also assisting in game preparation and all aspects of the Roadrunner program.
A native of Gaylord, Mich., Peck’s impact on the Roadrunners is immense, shining over the last four seasons with dynamic guard play from standouts Jhivvan Jackson and Keaton Wallace. The pair finished their careers as two of the top scorers in NCAA history and the tops in UTSA annals, while ranking as the No. 2 duo of any recruiting class in college basketball history.
UTSA wrapped up the careers of Jackson and Wallace in 2020-21 winning 10 of its final 13 games, with Jackson becoming the only three-time scoring champ in league history.
In 2019-20, Jackson finished second in the nation in scoring (26.9 points per game), setting C-USA and UTSA single-season records, in addition to shattering school marks for career and season scoring. Wallace starred alongside Jackson in the backcourt, assuming more point guard duties after the departure of three-year starter Giovanni De Nicolao, and still boasting 18.8 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. Senior wing Byron Frohnen, Peck's first recruit at UTSA, capped his do-it-all career as the program record in career starts, games played and rebounds.
In 2018-19, he helped direct UTSA to a second-place finish in Conference USA with a guard-hefty lineup that featured the nation’s top scoring backcourt in Jackson and Wallace. Peck worked directly with the duo as they each averaged over 20 points per game, helping to implement an exciting, fast-paced style of play that saw UTSA rank 19th in the NCAA in pace of play.
In 2017-18, Peck’s second season in San Antonio, the Roadrunners produced their most successful season of the decade. The team finished 20-15 overall, including an 11-7 C-USA record, a 12-4 home mark and only the program’s second postseason victory. UTSA placed fifth in the C-USA standings, defeated UTEP in the opening round of the league tournament, then earned an invitation to the 2018 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) where they hosted and defeated Lamar before bowing out in the event’s quarterfinal.
In addition to the 20 wins, which were the most for UTSA since the 2010-11 season, the program ranked sixth in the NCAA with an average of 28.9 defensive rebounds per game, 13th in overall rebounding at 39.8 per game, 16th with 353 made 3-pointers and in the top 20 percent with a scoring average of 78.3 points per game. Among C-USA teams UTSA ranked third in scoring, tops in rebounding and 3-pointers made per game (10.1) along with second in defensive field goal percentage (41.6).
Peck helped the Roadrunners collect numerous awards throughout the season and postseason. Jackson was named the C-USA Freshman of the Year, Second Team All-Conference USA, All-Freshman Team and also garnered seven Freshman of the Week plaudits; forward Deon Lyle earned C-USA Sixth Player of the Year honors and guard Keaton Wallace was named to the C-USA All-Freshman team along with picking up three C-USA Freshman of the Week awards. Moreover, Jackson set the UTSA freshman scoring record with 534 points, while also ranking as the sixth-leading frosh scorer in the NCAA, while Lyle tied the UTSA single-season 3-point record with 96, which ranked 44th in the nation.
In Peck’s first season with UTSA, the 2016-17 Roadrunners more than doubled its win total from the year prior from five to 14. Included in the 14 wins were a school record-tying eight Conference USA victories, the program’s first C-USA tournament win and a triumph over I-35 rival Texas State. Moreover, UTSA defeated three of the C-USA’s top four team with its wins over Louisiana Tech, Old Dominion and UTEP.
Peck aided the Roadrunners to one of the best defensive turnarounds in the nation in 2016-17. The team improved its defensive field goal percentage 8.5 percentage points and lowered its points allowed per game by nearly 15.0 points per game. Moreover, the team’s 69.4 points allowed ranked in the top third of Division I and UTSA limited opponents to fewer than 60 points nine times after doing so just once the year prior. In addition to its defensive improvement, the 2016-17 squad also ranked among the best in the nation on the glass, where it led Conference USA with 39.2 rebounds per outing, ranking 27th in NCAA.
Peck also helped mentor Jeff Beverly, who averaged 15.8 points per game and was a finalist for the Conference USA Newcomer of the Year award, along with freshmen Giovanni De Nicolao and Byron Frohnen, who were the only freshmen in Conference USA to start all of their team’s games during the season. Frohnen averaged 8.5 points and led all league rookies with 6.7 rebounds per game on his way to five double-doubles and C-USA All-Freshman Team honors, while De Nicolao averaged 8.2 points per game, including 9.1 points per outing in league contests.
With coaching experience at the professional, collegiate and high school levels, Peck came to UTSA after spending the 2015-16 season as an assistant coach at Santa Clara. In a short time with the Broncos, he mentored guard K.J. Feagin, who started all but one contest, was second on the team in scoring (11.4 ppg), led the squad in assists (3.8 apg) and earned West Coast Conference All-Freshman Team honors. Prior to that he was the head coach of the Las Vegas Prospects AAU Team in 2015 that competed in the prestigious Nike Elite Youth Basketball League.
Peck spent two seasons as the head coach of the NBA D-League's Idaho Stampede (2012-14), which was the affiliate of the Portland Trail Blazers. He was instrumental in the development of Pierre Jackson, who averaged 29.1 points per game and was named to the Futures All-Star roster for the 2014 NBA D-League All-Star Game. In all, seven of his former players with the Stampede were on NBA rosters, including current Portland starter C.J. McCollum.
Additionally, he assisted the Trail Blazers' NBA Summer League team in 2013 and he coached in a pair of Trail Blazers pre-season training camps.
Peck entered the professional ranks after a six-year stint (2006-12) at Findlay Prep in Henderson, Nev., where he spent the final five years of his tenure as head coach.
During his five seasons at the helm, Peck built the program into a national powerhouse. His teams combined for a 157-8 (.950) record, including a perfect 33-0 season in 2009, three ESPN National High School Championships (2009, '10, '12) and a national runner-up finish (2008).
Peck's teams were ranked in the top 10 of the USA Today and ESPN polls for all five of his seasons and the Pilots produced seven McDonald's All-Americans, seven Jordan Brand All-Americans and eight Parade All-Americans. Peck mentored seven current NBA/NBA D-League players, four of which were first-round picks, including Anthony Bennett, who was the No. 1 overall pick of the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2013 NBA Draft, and Tristan Thompson, who was taken No. 4 overall by the Cavaliers in 2011.
The winningest coach in program history, Peck became the first inductee of the Findlay Prep Hall of Fame in 2015. In addition to the success of his teams on the court, every graduate of Findlay Prep was an NCAA Division I qualifier for their freshmen year of college.
His success at Findlay Prep came following a three-year tenure at UNLV (2003-06), where he served as the video coordinator and administrative assistant under head coaches Charlie Spoonhour and Lon Kruger.
Peck also was an assistant coach at Saginaw Valley State (1998-2003) and Northwood University (1997-98). He got his start in coaching as the junior varsity head coach at St. Mary Cathedral School in his hometown of Gaylord, Mich., where he guided the Snowbirds to a 20-0 record in his lone season (1994-95) before he joined the Saginaw Valley State staff as a graduate assistant (1996-97).
As a player, Peck was a four-year letterwinner and two-time Academic All-American at Northwood and he graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor's degree in business administration in 1993. He went on to earn a master's degree in education from Saginaw Valley State in 1998.
Peck and his wife, Terri, have a daughter, Madison, and a son, Gavin.