After 11 years, Scott McClary is back at Muhlenberg as the school’s new head men’s basketball coach.

McClary replaces Dave Madeira, who retired following the conclusion of the 2008-09 season. Madeira coached at Muhlenberg for 22 years, and for seven of those McClary was one of his assistants. A 1994 graduate of Muhlenberg, McClary spent three years as a student assistant coach and four years as the top assistant, helping lead the Mules to Centennial Conference championships in 1995 and 1998.

“It has always been a dream of mine to return home to my alma mater and help the program reach its full potential,” said McClary. “I cannot imagine a better place to spend the next 20 years of my life raising my family and building a championship level program. I am prepared to build a program that will develop great people and field a team the college and the entire community will be proud to have represent Muhlenberg.”

McClary comes back to Muhlenberg after six years as head coach at Marymount University, where he compiled a 74-83 record, including winning records the last three seasons. In 2009, he was named Capital Athletic Conference coach of the year after leading the Saints to nine wins in their last 13 games and a run to the CAC championship game.

McClary brought his Marymount teams to Muhlenberg to play in the Scotty Wood Tournament twice, winning the championship in 2004 and losing in the title game to Muhlenberg last November.

Prior to coaching at Marymount, McClary was the top assistant under Pete Strickland at Coastal Carolina. Before that, McClary spent three seasons at Bishop O’Connell High School, helping Joe Wootten turn around a program from winning six games to winning 30, including a Virginia state title in his final season.

Perhaps the strongest influence upon McClary as a coach comes from working with Hall of Fame coach Morgan Wootten of DeMatha High School. Spending the 1998-99 season on DeMatha’s bench as a varsity assistant, McClary helped coach a team that was ranked No. 1 in the nation and featured future NBA players Keith Bogans and Joe Forte. He has also spent the past 20 summers helping Wootten with his renowned summer camp, serving as league commissioner for 13 years.

McClary is the 23rd men’s basketball coach in Muhlenberg history, but just the fourth in almost a half-century. Ken Moyer coached from 1960-61 through 1980-81, when he was replaced by Steve Moore, who led the Mules for six seasons before handing the reins over to Madeira.

McClary will have the opportunity to coach his new team a few months before the season starts, as the Mules are planning to travel to Ireland in August.

The 36-year-old McClary and his wife Nancy have three sons, Caden (6), Riley (3) and Parker (1).