The Only Out Gay Coach in Men’s College Basketball Pops the Question

It was a slam dunk. University of South Carolina Salkehatchie men’s basketball coach Matt Lynch announced on social media that he is engaged to his partner, Cody Aaron. “Lifetimes,” Lynch wrote alongside a carousel of images of the proposal. See on Instagram Lynch is the only out gay coach in men’s college basketball, per Outsports. He has been the head coach at USC Salkehatchie since 2023, per Penn Live. The couple first met in Washington, D.C. while Lynch was recruiting for his South Carolina-based college basketball team, per Outsports. Lynch told the queer sports-focused outlet that it was “love at first sight” and that he pushed his return flight home back several times to spend more time with Aaron, a high school tennis coach. “I did what I do best, I recruited him,” Lynch told Outsports. “I’m the best recruiter this side of the Mississippi.”Lynch told Outsports that, though he shared news of the proposal on September 28, he proposed on September 25, which is unofficially known as “Dolly Parton Day,” as the date reads as 9 to 5, the comedy starring Parton, when read out loud. Lynch led USC Salkehatchie to a record 24-8 season last year, per Penn Live. He has previously worked as an assistant coach at Chowan University. Men’s Health profiled Lynch in 2025, nothing that he “turned what sports internet called the ‘worst job in college basketball’—coaching teeny-tiny University of South Carolina, Salkehatchie with minimal budget (and sometimes no running water in the locker room) for $38,000 per year—into a dream job, complete with a first-year junior college championship.” Lynch adds to what has been a banner year in queer sports engagements, including Ottawa Charge teammates Emma Greco and Michaela Cava and Olympians Brittany Bowe and Hilary Knight.Get the best of what’s queer. Sign up for Them’s newsletters.