Tennessee names Tyndall as coach

Southern Mississippi coach Donnie Tyndall was introduced as University of Tennessee head coach on Tuesday.

Tyndall replaces Cuonzo Martin as Volunteers’ head coach.

“I am humbled, appreciative and thankful for this tremendous opportunity,” Tyndall said in a statement. “We have great tradition at the University of Tennessee and with our men’s basketball program, and we will work tirelessly to take our program to new heights.”

Tyndall, 43, is 160-98 during his eight seasons as a head coach. He went 114-85 at his alma mater Morehead State from 2006 to 2012 and has gone 46-13 at Southern Miss since 2012, which included NIT trips after each of his two seasons. Tyndall was previously an assistant coach LSU, Idaho and Tennessee State.

“We are excited to add Donnie Tyndall to the Tennessee family,” Tennessee athletics director Dave Hart said. “He has a proven track record of success and has won at every level at which he has coached. Donnie brings tremendous positive energy and a strong work ethic to this important leadership role, and we look forward to his impact on our men’s basketball program.”

Martin left to become head coach at Cal two weeks after Tennessee went to the Sweet 16 in his third season in Knoxville. Martin was reportedly offered a two-year extension by Hart to stay at Tennessee but instead accepted a five-year deal at California.

Michael White, who was considered the leading candidate over the weekend to succeed Martin at Tennessee, decided Monday to remain as the coach at Louisiana Tech.

Tennessee loses three of its key players from the 2013-14 team, including Jarnell Stokes and Jordan McRae.