Wayne Tinkle - Men's Basketball Coach - Oregon State University Athletics

Wayne Tinkle

Title:
Head Coach
Email:
Wayne.Tinkle@oregonstate.edu
Phone:
541-737-2076

Wayne Tinkle has led Oregon State to its most successful run in more than three decades as he continues to build the Beaver basketball program back to national prominence.

Tinkle has posted five winning seasons, and only four losing seasons, in his 10years in Corvallis. It’s remarkable considering Oregon State had two winning seasons in the previous 24 years before he became the head coach.

Individually, he has coached nine All-Pac-12 selections, including six on the All-Pac-12 First Team, five members of the Pac-12 All-Defensive Team and seven Pac-12 Player of the Week award winners.

Off the court, Oregon State has had 23 Pac-12 All-Academic selections the past eight years (there were 24 in the previous 27 years), including a single-season program record seven in 2016-17.

The Beavers went 13-19 in 2023-24, marking improvement over the previous year's record for the second-straight season. Jordan Pope earned All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention, and the season was highlighted by a victory over No. 9 Arizona on Jan. 25.

Tinkle coached one of the youngest teams in the nation in 2022-23, as over 50 percent of the teams points came from freshmen - one of three Power 5 teams to do so. Jordan Pope earned Pac-12 All-Freshman honors, and Pope joined Tyler Bilodeau and Michael Rataj in scoring over six points per game, making Oregon State one of seven teams in the nation to have a trio of freshmen reach that mark.

The 2021-22 season saw Glenn Taylor Jr. earn Pac-12 All-Freshman honors.

The 2020-21 season was highlighted by one of the greatest runs in program history that saw Oregon State win nine straight road and neutral-site games that included the first Pac-12 Conference Tournament championship in program history and three wins in the NCAA Tournament. Other highlights and records from the season include:

Ranked No. 20 in the final coaches poll; it’s the first time the Beavers have been ranked in any poll since March 13, 1990 when they were No. 22 by the Associated Press.
Finished the season with a 20-13 record, marking just the second time since 1990 the program reached 20 wins. The other came in 2011-12, when the Beavers were 21-15 after collecting two College Basketball Invitational victories.
Won an NCAA Tournament game and advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time since 1982.
Became just the second No. 12 seed to advance to the Elite Eight in NCAA Tournament history.
Won three games in the NCAA Tournament, tying the 1963 Final Four team for the most tournament wins in program history.
Defeated five Top 25 teams, the most in a season since the 1975-76 team also won five against ranked opponents.
Beat a Top 25 team on the road for the first time since 1985 (at No. 21 Oregon).
Defeated four Top 25 teams at a neutral site; the last time Oregon State beat a ranked opponent at a neutral site came in 1992 (vs. No. 25 BYU in Portland).
Won three-straight conference road games for the first time since 2003.
Swept California for the first time since 2009.
Swept Utah for the first time since 2012.
Won 10 Pac-12 games for the second time in three years.
Broke the program’s single-season free throw percentage team record for the second straight year by shooting 76.2%. The 2019-20 team shot 75.1%.
Ethan Thompson was selected to the All-Pac-12 First Team, the Pac-12 All-Tournament Team and the NCAA Midwest Region All-Tournament Team.
Warith Alatishe became the first Oregon State player to be named the Pac-12 Tournament Most Outstanding Player.
Jarod Lucas set the Oregon State single-season free throw percentage record at 89.6%.

Oregon State was playing its best basketball at the end of the 2019-20 season before the campaign was unexpectedly ended due to COVID-19. The Beavers had a three-game winning streak, including a 71-69 win over Utah in the first round of the Pac-12 Tournament, and were scheduled to play rival Oregon in the quarterfinals of the conference tourney.

Other highlights from the 2019-20 season include:

Had two wins over Top 25 teams (82-65 vs. No. 24 Arizona; 63-53 vs. No. 14 Oregon); it’s the first time with multiple wins over ranked teams since 1998-99.
Defeated Oregon for a third-consecutive time; it was the first time winning three-straight Civil War games since 1992-93 and 1993-94.
First time sweeping Stanford in a season since 2008-09.
Opened the season 10-2, equaling their best start since the 1984-85 team started 11-1.
Won at Colorado for a second-straight year; the team was 1-9 in Boulder in the previous 10 games.
Set the Oregon State record and led the Pac-12 with a free throw percentage of 75.1%.

Tinkle’s son, Tres, was selected to the All-Pac-12 First Team for the third consecutive year. He became Oregon State’s all-time leading scorer with 2,233 points and also set the program records for consecutive games scoring in double figures (96) and consecutive free throws made (35).

Kylor Kelley concluded his two-year Oregon State career as the program’s all-time leader in blocked shots (211) and blocked shots average (3.40). He was selected to the Pac-12 All-Defensive Team for the second straight year.

Zach Reichle and Ethan Thompson were both selected to the Pac-12 Winter Academic Honor Roll for maintaining a GPA of 3.3 or above.

The Beavers had several highlights during the 2018-19 season, including a tie for fourth place in the Pac-12, the highest finish in conference play since 1989-90. Some of the others include:

First winning season in conference play (10-8) since 1989-90 (15-3).
First time winning five conference road games in a season since the 1989-90 team finished 6-3 on the road.
First time starting 3-0 in conference play since 1992-93.
First time sweeping a conference road swing (at Colorado, at Utah) since 2008-09.
First win over Colorado in Boulder since 2013.
First win over Utah in Salt Lake City since 2012.
First time sweeping Oregon in a season since 2009-10.
First win over Oregon in Eugene since 2012.
First time sweeping USC in a season since 2013-14.

Stephen Thompson Jr. set Oregon State’s record with 230 career 3-pointers, while newcomer Kylor Kelley broke three school records -- single-season blocked shots (104), blocked shots in a game (9) and consecutive games with multiple blocks (15). Thompson Jr. was named to the All-Pac-12 Second Team and Kelley was picked for the Pac-12 All-Defensive Team.

Thompson Jr. received the Tom Hansen Conference Medal and became the first Oregon State men’s basketball student-athlete to be selected the Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Gligorije Rakocevic, Zach Reichle and Thompson Jr. were named to the Pac-12 All-Academic First Team, Ethan Thompson was selected to the Second Team, and Tres Tinkle earned honorable mention recognition.

Oregon State had an 11-win improvement in 2017-18 to finish with a 16-16 record, including wins over Oregon, UCLA, Arizona State, a double-overtime thriller against Washington and a Pac-12 Tournament victory over the Huskies.

Tres Tinkle became the third player in program history to lead the team in scoring, rebounding and assists. He was the only Pac-12 player to score in double figures every game during the season and was selected First Team All-Pac-12 by a vote of the conference coaches.

The team excelled in the classroom for the fourth straight year under Tinkle, with four student-athletes (Gligorije Rakocevic, Tanner Sanders, Stephen Thompson Jr., Tres Tinkle) being selected to the prestigious National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Honors Court and earning Pac-12 All-Academic honors.

The loss of seven starters/key reserves from an NCAA-qualifying 2016 squad, and an unprecedented spate of injuries, led to a 5-27 record in Tinkle’s third season at OSU. It was just the second losing record in Tinkle’s 11 years as a head coach.

The Beavers used their anticipated regular lineup in only one game. Starters Tres Tinkle (26) and Stephen Thompson Jr. (6) and top reserve Cheikh N'diaye (23) combined to miss 55 games because of injury; three-year letterman Malcolm Duvivier, another projected starter, sat out the entire season.

As a result, the Beavers were one of the youngest teams in Division I basketball. They often started three sophomores and two freshmen, inexperience reflected by the uncharacteristic won-loss record.

Center Drew Eubanks earned honorable-mention all-Pac-12 honors, becoming the first OSU sophomore to earn all-conference recognition since Jared Cunningham made the second team in 2011.

Off the court, the Beavers thrived academically. A record seven players (Daine Muller, Gligorije Rakocevic, Stephen Thompson Jr., Tres Tinkle, Matt Dahlen, Drew Eubanks, Tanner Sanders) earned Pac-12 all-academic honors.

The seven selections were the most of any Pac-12 school. OSU’s previous high for any season was two, in 2000, 2005, 2006, 2011, 2012 and 2014.

And 2017’s temporary downturn cannot overshadow the accomplishments of Tinkle’s first two seasons at OSU.

In Year 1, he guided a team picked to finish last in the Pac-12 after losing its top five scorers from the previous season to a 17-14 overall record, the most home wins (15) in school history, and victories over Pac-12 champion Arizona and NCAA Sweet-16 finisher UCLA.

In Year 2, he surpassed those milestones and capped another season of notable accomplishments when the Beavers garnered their first berth in the NCAA Tournament in 26 seasons.

The Beavers went 19-12 in the regular season, the most wins in a season since 1990. Tinkle thus became just the second coach in the program’s long and storied history to win at least 17 games in his first two seasons. Bob Hager did so in 1923 (19-7) and 1924 (20-5).

OSU finished in a three-way tie for sixth place with a 9-9 Pac-12 record, its best conference record since 1993. The Beavers won 17 games in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 1989 (22-8) and 1990 (22-7)

Tinkle has two wins over top-25 opposition. The Beavers defeated No. 7 Arizona, 58-56, in 2015 and topped No. 21 USC, 85-70, in 2016. It was the first time they’ve defeated Top 25 teams in back-to-back seasons since 2005-2006.

In 2016 OSU also defeated Oregon, California and Utah, teams that all were ranked in the Top 25 at one point, and Metro Atlantic Athletic Association champion/NCAA qualifier Iona.

The 52-year-old Tinkle, who came to OSU on May 19, 2014, after eight successful seasons at the University of Montana, became the fourth OSU coach since 1928 to record a winning record in his first season in 2015. He joined Beaver legends Slats Gill, Paul Valenti and Jim Anderson in that exclusive fraternity.

Tinkle’s debut season was also replete with accomplishments and highlight moments. The Beavers:

Set school records for their best start at Gill Coliseum (14-0) and the most home wins in a single season (15).
Posted an 8-10 Pac-12 record, their best conference mark since the 1992-93 team finished 9-9.
Defeated No. 7 Arizona for their first win over a top-10 team in 15 years.
Defeated Arizona, UCLA and Washington in the same season for the first time since 1990.
Also downed DePaul of the Big East and Mississippi State of the SEC.

Tinkle stressed defense from his first day on the job and the Beavers responded. They led the Pac-12 in steals, 3-point field goal percentage defense and turnover margin. They also set school records for scoring defense, field-goal percentage defense and 3-point field goal percentage defense.

Tinkle steadfastly preached the value of teamwork but the Beavers have enjoyed their share of individual accomplishments as well in his first two seasons.

In 2016, senior guard Gary Payton II earned Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year honors for the second year in a row. He was sixth in the nation in steals (2.41) and broke his father’s (former OSU All-American Gary Payton) school record of at least one steal in 38 consecutive games.

Payton II also earned first-team all-Pac-12 and Pac-12 all-defensive honors for the second season in a row. Tres Tinkle earned honorable-mention on the All-Freshman team.

In 2015, Payton II was named the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year and earned All-Pac-12 First Team and Pac-12 All-Defensive Team honors after finishing second in the nation in steals. The junior transfer had a steal in all 31 games, the second-longest streak in school history. His 95 steals were the second most in Oregon State single-season history and tied for the third most in a season in Pac-12 history.

Tinkle inherited a senior-less program depleted by the graduation or transfer of six players who combined for 128 starts. That manpower shortage was further exacerbated in the offseason when Chi Baker, a touted incoming recruit from Florida who was expected to see significant playing time, was stricken with a heart ailment that sidelined him for the season.

Baker’s illness left the Beavers with just eight scholarship players. However, Tinkle cleared that hurdle by holding a campus-wide open tryout just before the start of practice.

Five of the 22 participants were added to the official roster, joining two walk-ons from the previous season, and all played a major part in the team’s success, as role players or by pushing the starters in practice. Tinkle subsequently rewarded them for their dedication and commitment by starting five walk-ons, all from the state of Oregon, against rival Oregon in the team’s final regular-season home game.

The success of Tinkle’s first season at OSU was noted nationally as he was named a semifinalist for the Naismith National Coach of the Year.

Tinkle was named the 21^st head coach in OSU history on May 19, 2014, after leading Montana to three NCAA Tournament appearances and seven winning records in eight seasons. His Grizzlies captured Big Sky Conference regular-season titles in 2010, 2012 and 2013, and Big Sky Conference Tournament championships in 2012 and 2013.

He led Montana to four consecutive postseason trips from 2010-13, including the NCAA Tournament in 2010, 2012 and 2013. His 97 conference wins are the most by any Montana coach and his 158 overall victories are the second-most in school history.

He was named the Big Sky Coach of the Year after the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons, and the NABC Division I All-District 6 Coach of the Year in 2012. He is the only coach in Montana history with three NCAA-Tournament berths and two Big Sky Coach of the Year awards.

Tinkle directed Montana to 25-7 seasons in 2011-12 and 2012-13 when the Grizzlies won the second-most games in school history in successive seasons. They won 25 consecutive Big Sky games in that span and set a conference record with 19 league wins in 2012-13.

Montana had winning records in seven of Tinkle’s eight years as head coach and won 20 or more games in four consecutive seasons (2010-13). He also went to the NCAA tournament three times during his five years as an assistant coach under Don Holst, Pat Kennedy and Larry Krystkowiak, presently the head coach at the University of Utah.

The son of a college administrator, Tinkle was born on Jan. 26, 1966 in Milwaukee, Wis., as the youngest of 11 children (seven girls and four boys). He graduated from Ferris High School in Spokane, Wash., in 1984, and then enrolled at Montana, where he had a standout career from 1986-89.

Tinkle was a standout forward for the Grizzlies from 1986-89 and a three-time All-Big Sky pick his sophomore, junior and senior seasons. He ranks fourth all-time at Montana in rebounds (836), and sixth in points (1,500). He earned the team’s Carl Dragstedt Award (MVP) in 1988 and 1989; led the team in rebounding in 1987, 1988 and 1989, and led the team in scoring in 1988 and 1989.

He then played professionally for 12 years with stints in the CBA and in Sweden, Spain, Italy and Greece before retiring to become a coach.

Tinkle earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Montana in health and human performance in 2005.

Tinkle is married to the former Lisa McLeod, who was a standout basketball player at Montana and was inducted into the Grizzly Sports Hall of Fame in 2011. They have two daughters, Joslyn and Elle, and one son, Tres.

Tinkle joined Lisa in the Montana Sports Hall of Fame when he was officially inducted on Oct. 29, 2021.

Joslyn played in three basketball Final Fours during her four-year career at Stanford. Elle played basketball at Gonzaga and helped lead the Bulldogs to the Sweet 16 in 2015. Tres played at Oregon State and became the program’s all-time leading scorer with 2,233 points.

THE WAYNE TINKLE FILE
Hometown	Milwaukee, Wis.
Alma Mater	Montana, 2005
Playing Experience	Montana, 1986-89
Family	wife - Lisa; daughters - Joslyn and Elle; son - Tres
HEAD COACHING RECORD
Seasons As Head Coach	18 (10 at Oregon State; 8 at Montana)
Overall Record	298-268 (18 Years)
Oregon State Record	140-177 (10 Years)
Pac-12 Record	63-125 (10 Years)
Montana Record	158-91 (8 Years)
Big Sky Record	97-39 (8 Years)
COACHING HISTORY
2014-present	Oregon State - Head Coach
2006-14	Montana - Head Coach
2002-06	Montana - Assistant Coach
HEAD COACHING CAREER
Year -- School	Overall Record (Conference Record)
2023-24 -- Oregon State	13-19 (5-15 Pac-12)
2022-23 -- Oregon State	11-21 (5-15 Pac-12)
2021-22 -- Oregon State	3-28 (1-19 Pac-12)
2020-21 -- Oregon State	20-13 (10-10 Pac-12)
2019-20 -- Oregon State	18-13 (7-11 Pac-12)
2018-19 -- Oregon State	18-13 (10-8 Pac-12)
2017-18 -- Oregon State	16-16 (7-11 Pac-12)
2016-17 -- Oregon State	5-27 (1-17 Pac-12)
2015-16 -- Oregon State	19-13 (9-9 Pac-12)
2014-15 -- Oregon State	17-14 (8-10 Pac-12)
2013-14 -- Montana	17-13 (12-8 Big Sky)
2012-13 -- Montana	25-7 (19-1 Big Sky)
2011-12 -- Montana	25-7 (15-1 Big Sky)
2010-11 -- Montana	21-11 (12-4 Big Sky)
2009-10 -- Montana	22-10 (10-6 Big Sky)
2008-09 -- Montana	17-12 (11-5 Big Sky)
2007-08 -- Montana	14-16 (8-8 Big Sky)
2006-07 -- Montana	17-15 (10-6 Big Sky)