THE FLATS – Georgia Tech women’s basketball head coach Nell Fortner announced today Michael Scruggs has joined the Yellow Jackets as an assistant coach. Scruggs brings nearly 15 years of collegiate coaching experience to The Flats, most recently spending the last four years at Purdue.
“We are excited to welcome Michael Scruggs to our women’s basketball staff,” Fortner said. “He brings great experience and tremendous recruiting ties that will help us in new areas of the country. His ability to build relationships with players and develop guards is a strength that he brings and we look forward to capitalizing on.”
“I am thrilled and extremely grateful to have the opportunity to join Coach Fortner’s staff at Georgia Tech,” commented Scruggs. “She is a coach I have always had great respect for, so I’m excited to have the chance to work with and learn from her on a daily basis. The Georgia Tech family has embraced my family and I with open arms. I cannot wait to get started with our staff and student-athletes on The Flats to help build on the continued success and tradition at Georgia Tech.”
In four seasons with Purdue, Scruggs helped the Boilermakers to three winning campaigns and two postseason appearances (most recently this past season when the Boilermakers finished 19-11 and made it to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in six years). Working primarily with the guards at Purdue, Scruggs helped tutor a number of Boilermakers to postseason honors, including Kayana Traylor, Abbey Ellis, Ae’Rianna Harris, Madison Layden, Karissa McLaughlin, Dominique Oden and Jeanae Terry. During the 2021-22 season, Purdue recorded a program record 239 three-pointers and was one of 14 teams in the nation to average 15.5 assists and 7.5 three-pointers per game.
Scruggs also served as the program’s recruiting coordinator, landing the No. 21 recruiting class in 2023 and the 22nd-ranked recruiting class in 2021 per ESPNW HoopGurlz, including 2021 Indiana Miss Basketball Jayla Smith. In his first season, Scruggs helped ink the 19th-ranked recruiting class, according to ESPNW, which included Ra Shaya Kyle and Layden.
Before Purdue, Scruggs held assistant coaching roles with Loyola Chicago, LSU, Cleveland State, Samford and Chattanooga.
Scruggs spent three seasons at Loyola Chicago, helping build the program to its best start in 17 years with a 13-win campaign in 2018-19. The Ramblers, who won six of their first eight games, also recorded their first postseason win since 2015 in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament that season. While at Loyola Chicago, Scruggs helped mentor three individuals to All-Missouri Valley Conference honors, including Abby O’Connor in 2018-19 after she averaged 14.6 points, 7.6 rebounds and 1.6 blocked shots per game, becoming the team’s first first-team all-MVC honoree since 2016.
Scruggs spent the 2015-16 season at Cleveland State, helping a pair of Vikings to All-Horizon League honors, including Ashanti Abshaw who was named Freshman of the Year, and Brooke Smith who earned all-defensive team honors.
From 2012-15, Scruggs worked at LSU under Nikki Fargas, serving as the program’s director of video operations from 2012-14 before transitioning to interim assistant coach for the 2014-15 season. The Tigers racked up 60 wins in his three seasons, making the NCAA Tournament all three years and advancing to the Sweet 16 twice.
At Samford University for the 2011-12 season, Scruggs helped the Bulldogs to their second straight Southern Conference Tournament title, clinching an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament. He got his collegiate coaching start at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, serving as a graduate assistant for two seasons (2009-11). In 2010, the Mocs won the SoCon Tournament title, securing an automatic NCAA Tournament berth.
A Knoxville, Tenn., native, Scruggs earned a bachelor’s degree in sports management from Tennessee in 2008 and a master’s degree in special education in 2011 from Chattanooga. As an undergrad at Tennessee, Scruggs worked as a student with the legendary Pat Summitt and her program.
Alexander-Tharpe Fund
The Alexander-Tharpe Fund is the fundraising arm of Georgia Tech athletics, providing scholarship, operations and facilities support for Georgia Tech’s 400-plus student-athletes. Be a part of developing Georgia Tech’s Everyday Champions and helping the Yellow Jackets compete for championships at the highest levels of college athletics by supporting the Annual Athletic Scholarship Fund, which directly provides scholarships for Georgia Tech student-athletes. To learn more about supporting the Yellow Jackets, visit atfund.org.
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