Michael Scruggs enters his fourth season on the Purdue women's basketball staff, serving as an assistant coach and the Boilermakers' recruiting coordinator.
Scruggs worked with a guard-heavy roster in 2021-22 with three of the team's top four scorers coming from the outside, led by Madison Layden's 11.6 points per game. Purdue drained a program record 239 3-pointers and were one of 14 teams in the nation to average 15.5 assists and 7.5 3-pointers per game.
Scruggs' second season with the Boilermakers saw the guards flourish on the court, while he also played a stabilizing role throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Junior guard Kayana Traylor's point production jumped up to 15 points per game to earn All-Big Ten honors, while freshman Madison Layden made a profound impact on both ends of the floor as one-of-seven freshmen nationally with 8.5 points, 3.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game. Traylor, Layden and transfer Brooke Moore accounted for 35.8 points per game combined or 54.1% of Purdue's points. His first full season as the recruiting coordinator also saw the Boilermakers land the No. 22 recruiting class, per ESPNW HoopGurlz, including 2021 Indiana Miss Basketball Jayla Smith.
In 2019-20, Purdue was poised to reach the NCAA Tournament before the COVID-19 pandemic. Scruggs’ first campaign with the Boilermakers saw a Ae’Rianna Harris, Karissa McLaughlin and Dominique Oden received All-Big Ten honors. Working with the guards, Scruggs helped Kayana Traylor become just the sixth player in program history to dish out 100 assists as a freshman and a sophomore, as the Boilermakers tallied an assist on 62% of made field goals. In his first season as the recruiting coordinator, Scruggs helped the Boilermakers ink Ra Shaya Kyle and Madison Layden for the 2020 class, which was ranked 19th in the nation by ESPNW.
Prior to his hiring in August of 2019, Scruggs spent the previous 10 years in various assistant coaching roles, most recently at Marshall and Loyola Chicago.
In addition to stops at Marshall and Loyola Chicago, Scruggs has also coached at LSU, Cleveland State, Samford and Chattanooga, along with time as a student in the legendary Pat Summitt’s program as an undergraduate at Tennessee.
In three seasons at Loyola Chicago, Scruggs helped build the Rambler program up to a 13-win season in 2018-19, including victories in six of their first eight games to mark their best start in 17 years, and their first postseason win since 2015. He helped mentor three individuals to All-Missouri Valley Conference honors in his tenure, including sophomore Abby O’Connor in 2018-19 after she averaged 14.6 points, 7.6 rebounds and 1.6 blocked shots per game and became the Ramblers’ first first-team All-MVC honoree since 2016.
Scruggs spent the 2015-16 season alongside fellow Boilermaker assistant Beth Couture at Cleveland State, where they guided a pair of Vikings to All-Horizon League honors. Ashanti Abshaw was named Freshman of the Year, while Brooke Smith earned All-Defensive Team honors.
Scruggs spent three seasons under Nikki (Caldwell) Fargas at LSU, working as the team’s director of video operations from 2012 to 2014, and then serving as an interim assistant coach for the 2014-15 season. The Tigers racked up 60 wins in his three seasons, making the NCAA Tournament all three years and advancing to the Sweet 16 twice.
Previously, Scruggs was an assistant coach at Samford University for the 2011-12 season. He helped lead the Bulldogs to their second straight Southern Conference Tournament crown en route to appearing in the NCAA Tournament. Scruggs got his start in the collegiate coaching ranks at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, serving as a graduate assistant for the 2009-10 and 2010-11 seasons. In 2010, the Mocs captured the SoCon Tournament title and earned the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
The Knoxville, Tennessee, native earned a bachelor’s degree in sports management from the University of Tennessee in 2008 and a master’s degree in special education from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in 2011.
Scruggs worked with a guard-heavy roster in 2021-22 with three of the team's top four scorers coming from the outside, led by Madison Layden's 11.6 points per game. Purdue drained a program record 239 3-pointers and were one of 14 teams in the nation to average 15.5 assists and 7.5 3-pointers per game.
Scruggs' second season with the Boilermakers saw the guards flourish on the court, while he also played a stabilizing role throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Junior guard Kayana Traylor's point production jumped up to 15 points per game to earn All-Big Ten honors, while freshman Madison Layden made a profound impact on both ends of the floor as one-of-seven freshmen nationally with 8.5 points, 3.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game. Traylor, Layden and transfer Brooke Moore accounted for 35.8 points per game combined or 54.1% of Purdue's points. His first full season as the recruiting coordinator also saw the Boilermakers land the No. 22 recruiting class, per ESPNW HoopGurlz, including 2021 Indiana Miss Basketball Jayla Smith.
In 2019-20, Purdue was poised to reach the NCAA Tournament before the COVID-19 pandemic. Scruggs’ first campaign with the Boilermakers saw a Ae’Rianna Harris, Karissa McLaughlin and Dominique Oden received All-Big Ten honors. Working with the guards, Scruggs helped Kayana Traylor become just the sixth player in program history to dish out 100 assists as a freshman and a sophomore, as the Boilermakers tallied an assist on 62% of made field goals. In his first season as the recruiting coordinator, Scruggs helped the Boilermakers ink Ra Shaya Kyle and Madison Layden for the 2020 class, which was ranked 19th in the nation by ESPNW.
Prior to his hiring in August of 2019, Scruggs spent the previous 10 years in various assistant coaching roles, most recently at Marshall and Loyola Chicago.
In addition to stops at Marshall and Loyola Chicago, Scruggs has also coached at LSU, Cleveland State, Samford and Chattanooga, along with time as a student in the legendary Pat Summitt’s program as an undergraduate at Tennessee.
In three seasons at Loyola Chicago, Scruggs helped build the Rambler program up to a 13-win season in 2018-19, including victories in six of their first eight games to mark their best start in 17 years, and their first postseason win since 2015. He helped mentor three individuals to All-Missouri Valley Conference honors in his tenure, including sophomore Abby O’Connor in 2018-19 after she averaged 14.6 points, 7.6 rebounds and 1.6 blocked shots per game and became the Ramblers’ first first-team All-MVC honoree since 2016.
Scruggs spent the 2015-16 season alongside fellow Boilermaker assistant Beth Couture at Cleveland State, where they guided a pair of Vikings to All-Horizon League honors. Ashanti Abshaw was named Freshman of the Year, while Brooke Smith earned All-Defensive Team honors.
Scruggs spent three seasons under Nikki (Caldwell) Fargas at LSU, working as the team’s director of video operations from 2012 to 2014, and then serving as an interim assistant coach for the 2014-15 season. The Tigers racked up 60 wins in his three seasons, making the NCAA Tournament all three years and advancing to the Sweet 16 twice.
Previously, Scruggs was an assistant coach at Samford University for the 2011-12 season. He helped lead the Bulldogs to their second straight Southern Conference Tournament crown en route to appearing in the NCAA Tournament. Scruggs got his start in the collegiate coaching ranks at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, serving as a graduate assistant for the 2009-10 and 2010-11 seasons. In 2010, the Mocs captured the SoCon Tournament title and earned the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
The Knoxville, Tennessee, native earned a bachelor’s degree in sports management from the University of Tennessee in 2008 and a master’s degree in special education from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in 2011.