Wyoming Assistant Coach Allen Edwards Named Shyatt's Successor

After five years on the Wyoming sideline and one trip to the NCAA Tournament, Wyoming head coach Larry Shyatt made a surprise move when he announced his immediate resignation on Monday. It didn't take long for the Cowboys to name his successor. Athletic Director Tom Burman announced later in the day that assistant coach Allen Edwards has been promoted to the head coach role, effective immediately.

The Cowboys were coming off a trying 14-18 season but just one year removed from the program's first NCAA Tournament trip since 2002, the overall measure of the program was trending in the right direction. Shyatt's departure immediately sent shockwaves through the Mountain West landscape, with sudden uncertainty lingering over the Cowboys program. The swift hiring of Edwards looks to be a quick way to plug the dam for Wyoming.

Edwards has been as assistant coach on the Wyoming staff since 2011, when Shyatt took over the program and previous to his arrival in Laramie, he held assistant coaching roles at VCU, Western Kentucky, Towson and Morehead State. Edwards played his collegiate basketball at the University of Kentucky from 1995-1998, where he won two national championships under two legendary coaches in Rick Pitino and Tubby Smith.

In his first head coaching job at the collegiate level, Edwards will be tasked with developing a Wyoming roster that says goodbye to the Mountain West's leading scorer in senior Josh Adams. However, the Cowboys return a multitude of young talent, including Jason McManamen, the team's second leading scorer during the 2015-2016 season.