Murray State’s addition sets the 2022 Myrtle Beach Invitational field

Steve Prohm returns for his second stint at Murray State
Steve Prohm returns for his second stint at Murray State

Ohio Valley Conference champion and NCAA participant Murray State has filled the eighth and final spot for the fourth annual Myrtle Beach Invitational to be played November 17, 18 and 20 at the HTC Center on the campus of Coastal Carolina University in Conway, S.C.

Other schools in the 2022 Myrtle Beach Invitational are Boise State (27-8, Mountain West Conference), Charlotte (17-14, Conference USA), Colorado (21-12, Pac-12), Loyola Chicago (25-8, Atlantic 10 for the 2022-2023 season), Texas A&M (27-13, Southeastern), Tulsa (11-20, American) and UMass (15-17, Atlantic 10).

Murray State (31-3, Missouri Valley for the 2021-2023 season) will be led by a new coach this coming campaign as Steve Prohm returns to guide the Racers.  Prohm coached Murray State to a 104-29 record during his first stint at the Kentucky school (2011-2015) with three post-season bids in four seasons.

With a 17-7 in-season tournament record, Prohm’s Murray State team in 2011 won the Great Alaska Shootout and two of his Iowa State teams won the 2015 Emerald Coast Classic (Niceville, Fla.) and 2017 Puerto Rico Tipoff, respectively.  The Puerto Rico Tipoff was moved to the HTC at Coastal Carolina due to Hurricane Maria.

In addition to defeating Boise State 75-64 in the 2017 Puerto Rico Tipoff championship game at the HTC Center, the Prohm-coached 2017 Iowa State squad posted an 80-78 win over Tulsa in the semifinals after defeating Appalachian State 104-98 in the quarterfinals.

The Racers will be joined in the Myrtle Beach Invitational field by two other 2022 NCAA participants – Boise State and Loyola Chicago.  Boise State captured both the regular- and post-season titles in its conference while Loyola Chicago was the Missouri Valley Conference’s post-season winner.  The Ramblers will join the Atlantic 10 this coming season with Murray State replacing Loyola Chicago in the Missouri Valley.

Colorado and Texas A&M competed in the 2022 NIT tournament as the Aggies advanced to the event’s Madison Square Garden finale before losing 73-72 to Xavier in the championship game.  Colorado lost to Saint Bonaventure in the NIT first round as Xavier eliminated the Bonnies in the quarterfinals.

Like Murray State, both Tulsa (Eric Konkol) and UMass (Frank Martin) will have new coaches for the 2022 Myrtle Beach Invitational.  The 2017 Puerto Rico Tipoff at the HTC Center also included Martin’s South Carolina team that was upset in the opening round by Illinois State before winning the consolation bracket with two-straight wins.

Current Colorado coach Tad Boyle has a history with Murray State and Prohm at in-season tournaments coordinated by ESPN Events, which owns and operates the Myrtle Beach Invitational.  Boyle’s Buffs defeated Prohm’s Racers 81-74 in the championship game of the 2012 Charleston Classic.

Matchups and ticket information for the Myrtle Beach Invitational event will be announced this summer and will be available at https://espnevents.com/myrtle-beach-invitational/.  UCF captured the inaugural event by defeating Western Kentucky in the 2018 finale.  Baylor topped Villanova for the 2019 Myrtle Beach Invitational title.  Following the cancellation of the 2020 Myrtle Beach Invitational, Utah State defeated Oklahoma for the 2021 championship.