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Courtesy of John McPhail<\/p>\n
UTA women\u2019s wheelchair basketball announced in a press release Wednesday that volunteer assistant John McPhail will be promoted to head coach of the program. <\/p>\n
McPhail, who held the volunteer assistant role since 2022, will take over the job of previous head coach Morgan Wood, who stepped down in June to spend more time with her family, according to previous Shorthorn reporting. <\/p>\n
McPhail\u2019s relationship with UTA dates back to his stint as a player for the men\u2019s wheelchair basketball team from 2009 to 2014. <\/p>\n
\u201cI am extremely excited about the opportunity to be the next head coach for the Lady Movin\u2019 Mavs,\u201d McPhail said in a UTA Athletics press release. \u201cI\u2019m not shy in saying that this is my dream job. I\u2019m exactly where I need to be right now.\u201d <\/p>\n
Hailing from Peakhurst, Australia, McPhail played for his national team from 2009 to 2013, and 2019 to 2022. With the team, nicknamed the Australian Rollers, he won gold at the 2010 world championship and participated in the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics. <\/p>\n
McPhail also played professionally in Germany with the K\u00f6ln 99ers in 2015-16 and Rhine River Rhinos from 2016-17. <\/p>\n
During his time as a volunteer assistant with the Lady Movin\u2019 Mavs, McPhail was a player-coach of the professional Dallas Wheelchair Mavericks, where he led the team to national championships in 2024 and 2026. A notable teammate of his is Movin\u2019 Mavs head coach Aaron Gouge. <\/p>\n
The upcoming season won\u2019t be McPhail\u2019s first opportunity to lead the program. In the early part of 2026, Wood went on maternity leave, and McPhail took an interim head coaching role, according to the press release. <\/p>\n
\u201cI leave with immense pride in the legacy we\u2019ve built together and complete confidence that, under John\u2019s leadership, the future of the Lady Movin\u2019 Mavs is in great hands,\u201d Wood said in the release. <\/p>\n
In each of McPhail\u2019s four seasons on the Lady Movin\u2019 Mav sidelines, the team made it to the national championship and lost to The University of Alabama. His biggest task will be trying to finally get over that final hump and bring the program its third national title, and first since 2018. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s one of the best programs for wheelchair basketball in the country,\u201d McPhail said in the release. \u201cTo be able to come back and already have a vision from when I was here as a player and now to see what it’s changed into and getting to add my touches to an already amazing program is something that I can’t wait for.\u201d <\/p>\n
@TyRoland06<\/p>\n