Matt Lynch went to Washington, D.C., hoping to find a basketball player for his team. He also found a man he didn’t want to leave.
Lynch, the head men’s basketball coach at USC Salkehatchie in South Carolina, met tennis coach Cody Aaron during the trip more than two years ago. By the next day, his return flight was becoming a problem.
He kept pushing it back, buying himself a few more hours with Cody.
Then there was Cody’s journey home to Texas. Matt suggested he visit South Carolina first and spend a few days together. The geography may have required a little optimism, but Cody accepted the invitation.
“I did what I do best, I recruited him,” Lynch told Outsports.
On September 25, that relationship reached another milestone. Matt got down on one knee in Wilmington, North Carolina, and asked Cody to marry him.
Cody said yes.
The proposal was a surprise, with Matt arranging for both their families and friends to be present. With basketball season approaching, he had found a moment in the coaching calendar to ask a very personal question.
Now the two coaches are hoping to marry in 2027.
Matt’s openness also gives the celebration a meaningful place in his professional story. Outsports describes him as the only publicly out head coach in men’s college basketball. His team competes in the National Junior College Athletic Association.
He publicly came out in 2020. In an earlier Outsports interview, he explained how he told a new team about his sexuality so he could coach with honesty.
Today, that public life includes the man he plans to marry.
Cody, a high school tennis coach, had his own life and journey when they met. His decision to take that extra trip gave both men the chance to see where their connection could go.
More than two years later, the answer is a wedding.
Congratulations to Matt and Cody—and to the recruiting trip that turned into something neither itinerary had planned.
📷 Instagram: @lynch5_ @codyaaronn.
Watch more LGBTQ+ stories on B-Gay on YouTube.