The University of Wyoming men's basketball program competes in the Mountain West Conference, with the schools first recorded game dating back to 1905. Wyoming won the 1943 NCAA championship under Hall of Fame coach Everett Shelton and behind star guard Ken Sailors, who pioneered the jump shot that is now the standard in basketball. Wyoming has made a total of 16 appearances in the NCAA tournament. Since the Mountain West was formed in 1999, Wyoming has won two conference titles, including an outright championship in 2002. Prior to that, Wyoming won five championships in the Western Athletic Conference, eight championships in the Skyline Conference, and one championship in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.

History

The Wyoming basketball program began in 1904 when a group known as the "Laramie Town Team" challenged a team from the university to a basketball game; Wyoming won that game by a score of 17–5. The team became a powerhouse in the 1930s under coach Willard "Dutch" Witte, who led the 1934 Cowboy team to a 26–3 record. Wyoming was retroactively named the 1934 national champion by the Helms Foundation. Witte coached a total of nine seasons in Laramie and compiled a 134–51 record.

After Witte stepped down in 1939, Everett Shelton took over the team and went on to become the winningest coach in Wyoming history in his 19 years in Laramie. Although Shelton went just 6–10 in his first season, his teams would win 20 or more games seven times during his career. In 1943, the Cowboys went 31–2 and won the NCAA tournament. That team was led by Ken Sailors, who scored 16 points in the championship game victory over Georgetown on his way to being named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. In addition, Sailors was named college basketball's Player of the Year in 1943 and again in 1946 after returning from fighting in World War II. In all, the Cowboys made eight NCAA tournament appearances under Shelton, though they only won one game aside from the three-game run in 1943.

After Shelton retired in 1959, Wyoming basketball lay dormant for some time. Including Shelton's last four campaigns as head coach, the Cowboys endured nine consecutive losing seasons from 1956 to 1964. Coach Bill Strannigan, who succeeded Shelton, had just six winning seasons in 14 years as head coach and made one NCAA Tournament appearance in 1967 in which the Cowboys were handed a lopsided loss at the hands of eventual national champion UCLA and its All-American center Lew Alcindor, who later changed his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Again from 1971 through 1978, the Cowboys had one winning season, a 17–10 campaign under Don DeVoe in 1976–77.

In 1978, Jim Brandenburg became the Cowboys' head coach and the program experienced a resurgence. In his nine seasons, Wyoming did not have a single losing season and made four NCAA Tournament appearances. In 1981, the Cowboys were 24–6 and reached the second round of the NCAA tournament. In addition to being the Cowboys' first tournament appearance since 1967, it was their first 20-win season since 1952–53 and first NCAA tournament victory since 1952. After guiding the Cowboys to the Sweet 16 in 1987, however, Brandenburg left the Cowboys to become the coach at conference rival San Diego State. He was replaced by Benny Dees, who went 26–6 in his first year with the Cowboys and returned them to the NCAA tournament in 1988 where they lost in the first round to Loyola Marymount.

Larry Shyatt went 19–9 in 1997–98, his only season in Laramie before becoming the head coach at Clemson University. After his departure, Steve McClain took over the head coaching job and had three consecutive 20-win seasons from 2001 to 2003, including conference titles in 2001 and 2002 and an NCAA tournament appearance in 2002. On March 22, 2007, Wyoming hired former Portland State head coach Heath Schroyer to become its next head coach. Shyatt was hired yet again as Wyoming's head coach after the 2010–11 season ended due to the firing of Heath Schroyer. The 2010–11 team's top two scorers left the program afterwards, with Desmar Jackson and Amath M'Baye transferring to Southern Illinois University and the University of Oklahoma, respectively.

The Cowboys went 21–12 in Shyatt's first season, for their first 20–win season in 9 years. They made the College Basketball Invitational each of the next three seasons, making the quarterfinals in 2012 and 2013. In the 2014–15 season, the Cowboys finished with a record of 25–10, won the Mountain West Conference tournament over San Diego State 45–43, and earned an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Larry Nance Jr. was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers with the 27th pick in the 2015 NBA draft, becoming Wyoming's first player selected in the draft since Theo Ratliff in 1995. On March 21, 2016, Shyatt announced his resignation from the head coaching job, and Allen Edwards was announced as the 21st head coach in program history.

In Edwards' first season, the Cowboys went 23–15 and won the CBI tournament, defeating Coastal Carolina in the championship. Edwards again won 20 games in his second season. In 2019, Justin James was drafted 40th overall by the Sacramento Kings, becoming the second Cowboy in the decade to be taken in the NBA draft. On December 9, 2019, the program retired Fennis Dembo's no. 34 jersey. Following two disappointing campaigns where the Cowboys failed to win 10 games each year, Edwards was let go as head coach. Jeff Linder was hired as the 22nd head coach in program history on March 17, 2020.

In Linder's first season with the Cowboys, he led the team to a 14–11 year despite inheriting a team with only 6 conference wins the two seasons prior. This included a 6–1 non-conference record highlighted by a road win against eventual Elite Eight participant Oregon State. The team's season ended in the Mountain West tournament quarterfinals 69–66 to eventual champion San Diego State.

Head coaching records

+CoachTenureSeasonsRecordWin Pct. W. Yates 1904–1906 2 4–2 Lt. Coburn 1906–1908 2 5–7 Elmer Hoefer 1908–1909 1 3–3 Harold I. Dean 1909–1912 3 9–13 Leon Exelby 1912–1913 1 2–5 Ralph Thacker 1913–1915 2 3–7 John J. Corbett 1915–1924 9 39–41 Stewart Clark 1924–1928 4 44–26 George McLaren 1928–1930 2 29–12 Willard Witte 1930–1939 9 135–52 Everett Shelton 1939–1959 19 328–201 Bill Strannigan 1959–1973 14 179–187 George Radovich 1973–1976 3 24–55 Don DeVoe 1976–1978 2 29–25 Jim Brandenburg 1978–1987 9 176–97 Benny Dees 1987–1993 6 104–77 Joby Wright 1993–1997 4 53–60 Larry Shyatt 1997–1998 1 19–9 Steve McClain 1998–2007 9 157–115 Heath Schroyer 2007–2011 4 49–68 Larry Shyatt 2011–2016 5 98–69 Allen Edwards 2016–2020 4 60–76 Jeff Linder 2020–2024 4 63–59 Sundance Wicks 2024–present 2 30-35 Totals23 coaches118 seasons1,642–1,301

Postseason

NCAA tournament results The Cowboys have appeared in the NCAA tournament 16 times, with a combined record of 9–21. They were national champions in 1943. 1941 Elite EightRegional 3rd Place Arkansas L 40–52L 44–45 1943 Elite EightFinal Four Championship TexasGeorgetown W 55–50W 58–54W 46–34 1947 Elite EightRegional 3rd Place Texas L 40–42L 46–63 1948 Elite EightRegional 3rd Place Kansas StateWashington L 48–58L 47–57 1949 Elite EightRegional 3rd Place #2 Oklahoma A&MArkansas L 39–40L 48–61 1952 Sweet SixteenElite Eight Santa Clara W 54–48L 53–56 1953 Round of 22Sweet SixteenRegional 3rd Place Bye# 16 #14 —L 52–67L 64–80 1958 Round of 24 #18 Seattle L 51–88 1967 Round of 23Sweet SixteenRegional 3rd Place Bye#1 UCLA#10 —L 60–109L 67–69 1981 5 W Round of 48Round of 32 (12) Howard(4) #19 Illinois W 78–43L 65–67 1982 8 W Round of 48Round of 32 (9) USC(1) #6 Georgetown W 61–58L 43–51 1987 12 W Round of 64Round of 32Sweet Sixteen (5) Virginia(4) #4 UCLA(1) #1 UNLV W 64–60W 78–68L 78–92 1988 7 W Round of 64 (10) #15 Loyola Marymount L 115–119 2002 11 W Round of 64Round of 32 (6) Gonzaga(3) #7 Arizona W 73–66L 60–68 2015 12 E Round of 64 (5) #11 Northern Iowa L 54–71 2022 12 E First Four (12) Indiana L 58–66

NIT results The Cowboys have appeared in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) nine times, with a combined record of 7–9. 1968 First Round L 66–77 1969 First Round L 49–51 1986 First RoundSecond RoundQuarterfinalsSemifinalsChampionship ClemsonOhio State W 79–70W 99–90W 62–57W 67–58L 63–73 1991 First RoundSecond Round W 63–61L 75–83 1998 First Round Gonzaga L 55–69 1999 First RoundSecond Round W 81–77L 72–93 2001 First Round Pepperdine L 69–72 2003 First RoundSecond Round North Carolina W 78–71L 74–90 2026 First Round Wichita State L 70–74

CBI results The Cowboys have appeared in the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) five times, with a combined record of 7–5. They were champions in 2017. 2009 First Round L 62–64 2012 First RoundQuarterfinals North Dakota StateWashington State W 76–75L 41–61 2013 First RoundQuarterfinals LehighWestern Michigan W 67–66L 67–75 OT 2014 First Round Texas A&M L 43–59 2017 First RoundQuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinals–Game 1Finals–Game 2Finals–Game 3 Eastern WashingtonUMKCUtah ValleyCoastal CarolinaCoastal CarolinaCoastal Carolina W 91–81W 72–61W 74–68L 81–91W 81–57W 83–59

National Campus Basketball Tournament results The Cowboys appeared in the only National Campus Basketball Tournament, with a record of 1–2. 1951 QuarterfinalsSemifinals3rd Place Game W 78–61L 63–77L 52–55

Records vs. Mountain West opponents As of March 16, 2026 OpponentWinsLossesPct.Streak Air Force 87 43 W 6 Boise State 15 28 L 8 Colorado State 139 106 L 1 Fresno State 19 25 W 1 Grand Canyon 2 2 W 1 Nevada 23 12 W 1 New Mexico 72 82 L 6 San Diego State 41 55 L 15 San Jose State 24 6 W 2 UNLV 22 48 L 1 Utah State 53 41 L 8

Notable players

Statistical leaders

Career leaders Source: Career scoring leaders Seasons Player Points 1985–88 Fennis Dembo 2,311 2006–09 Brandon Ewing 2,168 2017–23 Hunter Maldonado 2,158 2015–19 Justin James 2,061 1963–65 Flynn Robinson 2,049 1985–88 Eric Leckner 1,938 2013–16 Josh Adams 1,819 1989–92 Reggie Slater 1,809 1978–81 Charles Bradley 1,744 1995–98 Jeron Roberts 1,599 Career rebounding leaders Seasons Player Rebounds 1989–92 Reggie Slater 1,197 1998–02 Josh Davis 956 1985–88 Fennis Dembo 954 1994–97 HL Coleman 939 1964–66 Leon Clark 889 1979–82 Bill Garnett 840 1978–81 Kenneth Ollie 833 1968–70 Carl Ashley 818 2017–23 Hunter Maldonado 808 2012–15 Larry Nance Jr. 807 Career assists leaders Seasons Player Assists 2017–23 Hunter Maldonado 630 1984–88 Sean Dent 502 2006–09 Brandon Ewing 471 2002–05 Jay Straight 453 1999–03 Chris McMillian 434 1985–88 Fennis Dembo 410 2013–16 Josh Adams 398 1980–83 Mike Jackson 357 2006–08 Brad Jones 351 2010–12 JayDee Luster 344 Career blocks leaders Seasons Player Blocks 1992–95 Theo Ratliff 425 2005–06 Justin Williams 244 2015–18 Alan Herndon 184 1998–01 Josh Davis 173 1985–88 Eric Leckner 164 2012–15 Larry Nance Jr. 135 1989–92 Reggie Slater 100 1979–82 Bill Garnett 97 2008–11 Djibril Thiam 95 1985–88 Fennis Dembo 95 Career steals leaders Seasons Player Steals 1984–88 Sean Dent 249 2017–23 Hunter Maldonado 188 1985–88 Fennis Dembo 176 2006–09 Brandon Ewing 161 1995–97 LaDrell Whitehead 150 2013–16 Josh Adams 144 2012–15 Larry Nance Jr. 141 1999–02 Josh Davis 140 1999–03 Chris McMillian 136 2002–05 Jay Straight 126 Career games played leaders Seasons Player Games 2017–23 Hunter Maldonado 157 2018–23 Hunter Thompson 137 2015–18 Alan Herndon 133 1985–88 Eric Leckner 131 2013–16 Josh Adams 131 2015–19 Justin James 131 1985–88 Fennis Dembo 129 1985–88 Turk Boyd 129 1985–88 David Lodgins 128 1984–88 Sean Dent 127

Single-season leaders

Single-season scoring leaders Season Player Points 2015–16 Josh Adams 740 2018–19 Justin James 706 1964–65 Flynn Robinson 701 1986–87 Fennis Dembo 689 1962–63 Flynn Robinson 682 1963–64 Flynn Robinson 666 1987–88 Fennis Dembo 653 2021–22 Graham Ike 644 1955–56 Joe Capua 637 1986–87 Eric Leckner 634