Mike Starke

Biography

Mike Starke joined the Wake Forest basketball staff in May 2020 after serving in a similar role at East Tennessee State. Starke oversees all the strength and conditioning efforts related to the men’s basketball program including strength and physical development, conditioning, nutrition and recovery needs. Starke’s efforts in the weight room and beyond helped build the program back to a top 50 program in college basketball, finishing at 42 in the NET rankings for the 2021-2022 season. In his second season at Wake Forest, the Demon Deacons finished with 25 wins, the most since the 2004-05 season, and 18 home wins, the most in program history. Starke prepared multiple individual players to have personal-best seasons in multiple areas. This past 2023-24 season saw him coach All-ACC first teamer Hunter Sallis, who had a breakout year, and first with the Deacs, to up his numbers to a team-best 18.0 points per game while shooting 48.7 percent fro the field, 40.5 percent from three-point territory and 78.3 percent from the free-throw line. Sallis additionally went on to earn Associated Press ACC Newcomer of the Year honors, reaching double-figures in scoring in all but one of his 34 games. 2022-23 marked the arrival of Tyree Appleby, as Starke coached the Jacksonville, Arkansas, native who ultimately became the first-ever player to lead the ACC in both points (18.8/game) and assists (6.4/game) for a single season. An electrifying lead guard who registered over 2,000 points for his c