A day after it was announced that Paul Mills was leaving Oral Roberts University to become the head basketball coach at Wichita State, the ORU athletic department announced that assistant coach Russell Springmann would be promoted to head coach of the men’s basketball team.

It was a smart move by the ORU brass to move quickly in naming Mills’ successor, and especially hiring someone already on staff, for a couple reasons. First, it lets the players know that an assistant coach they like and who may have been a part of the recruiting process getting them to ORU, will now be in charge, and second, it keeps players from entering the transfer portal and taking off to Wichita State or somewhere else.

Springmann becomes the 12th head coach in the program’s history. During the 2022-23 campaign he helped the Golden Eagles achieve a 30-5 overall record as an assistant. The 30 wins were the most for the program in the Division-1 era. The team won its seventh Summit League championship and earned the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in three seasons.

“We could not be more excited to announce Russell Springmann as our new head coach,” Athletic Director Tim Johnson said. “Coach Springmann has been committed to ORU for the past five seasons as an assistant and has been part and parcel to the success we have achieved. He has truly earned the chance to lead this program into the future – no one is more qualified or better positioned. His track record proves that he can recruit, coach, and develop young men to be the best they can be both on and off the court. I am confident ORU men’s basketball will continue to be atop the Summit League with Coach Springmann, as we are focused on continuing to elevate the program to be national contenders.”

Springmann was hired by Paul Mills as an assistant coach in May 2018 by former head coach Paul Mills. He has been instrumental in helping the Golden Eagles achieve great success the past few seasons, including a surprising run in 2020-21 NCAA Tournament as just the second No. 15 seed in tournament history to reach the NCAA Sweet 16 posting wins over No. 2 seed Ohio State and No. 7 seed Florida. He was also the lead recruiter for many of ORU’s current players, including Max Abmas.

“I am extremely grateful for this opportunity,” Springmann said. “I truly feel like God has called me to be here at ORU and I’m excited to have the chance to lead this team in to the future. ORU is a special place. It is a place with wonderful people who truly live out God’s plan. Thank you to Dr. Wilson and Tim Johnson for trusting me and allowing me and my family to continue to be a part of the ORU family. This is a new beginning and I can’t wait to get started.”

Prior to coming to ORU, Springmann spent one year with the Oklahoma City Thunder organization under coach Billy Donovan. He has more than 25 years of experience overall with his longest tenure being 17 years on staff at the University of Texas with Rick Barnes and two years at the University of San Diego.

“We are thrilled to have Coach Springmann leading our men’s basketball program at ORU,” ORU President Dr. William M. Wilson said. “He is a man of authentic faith and exceptional skill. Our program will become even stronger under his leadership. The future is bright for ORU men’s basketball.”

Springmann’s claim to fame is as one of the top assistants and recruiters in the country. He has consistently appeared on national lists and received awards for his work, even being named the No. 1 high-major assistant in the country by FoxSports.com in 2008 while at Texas.

In 14 years as an assistant at the University of Texas, Springmann helped the Longhorns to a 334-149 overall record with 13 NCAA Tournament appearances and five “Sweet 16” showings. He was key in helping Texas recruit 14 McDonald’s All-Americans, including two who would go on to earn National Player of the Year honors in T.J. Ford (2003) and Kevin Durant (2007).

Springmann graduated from Salisbury State in 1990 with a bachelor’s degree in physical education. A native of Silver Spring, Maryland, Springmann and his wife, Neissa, have one son, Durant, and one daughter, Malanie.