Boston College men's basketball assistant coach Chris Markwood, who played at Maine and coached there from 2006-11, is returning to Orono to become the Black Bears' head coach.

The program made its official announcement Monday morning.

"Coach Markwood is everything we could hope for in a men's basketball coach," Maine AD Ken Ralph wrote in a statement. "He is a Maine native, a UMaine alum, a former Black Bear captain and a long-tenured, successful assistant coach with significant experiences in the Northeast."

Ralph continued: "His outstanding work and documented accomplishments at Maine, Vermont, Northeastern and Boston College has fully prepared him to be a head coach. UMaine men's basketball got a lot better today. We are thrilled to be able to welcome Chris and his family back to Orono."

Markwood has spent the last 16 years as an assistant coach in the Northeast, the most recent of which was with BC and first-year Eagles head coach Earl Grant. Markwood helped Grant usher in much-needed optimism for a BC program that hasn't made the NCAA Tournament since 2008-09.

The Eagles won six games in conference play—four more than they did in 2020-21—and then two bouts in the ACC Tournament, making their first run to the quarterfinals in four years.

Before BC, Markwood was at Northeastern for seven years, where he was the team's associate head coach and recruiting coordinator for the final three seasons of his tenure. He was also with Vermont from 2012-14 and then, of course, Maine from 2006-11. Markwood was on the Black Bears staff in 2009-10 when they notched their third-most wins (19) in single-season program history.

During Markwood's coaching career, he has been a part of six 21-plus-win seasons, four conference regular season championships and five postseason appearances, most notably three trips to the NCAA Tournament.

As a player, he started his career at Notre Dame before transferring to Maine for his final two seasons. He was a captain for the Black Bears in 2004-05.

"I am deeply humbled and honored to be the new head men's basketball coach at the University of Maine," Markwood wrote. "The state of Maine, and the University of Maine, are home to me and have always held a special place in my heart. I am extremely excited for the opportunity to partner with our student-athletes and lead this program to new heights."