After guiding the McMurry University men's basketball team to its most decorated season in 10 years in his first season as head coach, Matt Garnett announced Sunday that he would depart McMurry and has accepted the head coaching position at his alma mater, Wayland Baptist University.

Garnett was named American Southwest Conference West Division Coach of the Year in 2010-11 after leading the War Hawks to a 21-8 record, the first ASC Tournament championship since 2001 for McMurry, and an NCAA Division III Playoff appearance.

He was just the third head coach in 52 years following Hershel Kimbrell (1959-1990) and Ron Holmes (1990-2010), however, McMurry will now be looking for its third head coach in the past three seasons beginning Monday.

“I want to thank Dr. John Russell and Coach Ron Holmes for giving me opportunity that they did,” Garnett said of his departure. “I'm very appreciative and wanted to do a good job to honor Coach Kimbrell and Holmes as well as all the people that helped build McMurry into what it was and is.”

Holmes, McMurry's athletic director, stepped down after 20 seasons last season and turned the reins over to Garnett. After a highly successful season with many of the players set to come back for another year, Holmes said that he was disappointed that Garnett left, but didn't blame him for following his heart.

“Matt's time here helped vault McMurry basketball onto another level,” said Holmes. “Much was expected of a young man in Matt, and he delivered. He is following his heart back to his alma mater the same way his two predecessors did. We wish him nothing but the absolute best.”

“It was a difficult decision; one of the main reasons it was difficult was because of the guys returning,” Garnett said. “They were a real special group, not only because they were a nucleus of a really good team, but really good people that made it fun to come to work every day.”

Kimbrell and Holmes were each graduates of McMurry and ended up leading the men's basketball team at their alma mater, and Garnett, a former all-America point guard at WBU, an NAIA school in Plainview, Texas said he was humbled by the opportunity to go back.

“I got the chance to go back to my alma mater, and that was something that really tugged at my heart,” he said. “It puts my wife [Anna] and our girls in a really good position, and that's really important to me.”

Holmes said he expects to move quickly to find Garnett's replacement, but no official timeline has been set.