Four state employees took home paychecks of more than $1 million last year, according to a review of annual salary data released to The Baltimore Sun.

All work for the University System of Maryland, and the three with the biggest paychecks are the state's most recognizable college coaches. All four received double-digit percentage raises last year, even though two of them severed ties with the university system.

Chancellor William E. “Brit” Kirwan retired July 1 after 13 years and saw his annual compensation grow by 79.4 percent, taking home $1.01 million in 2015, according to the Maryland comptroller's office.

Maryland football coach Randy Edsall was the second-highest-paid state employee last year, though he was fired during the season. He received $2.38 million, 12.5 percent more than in 2014.

The highest-paid state worker last year was Maryland men's basketball coach Mark Turgeon, who earned $2.57 million in 2015, a 15.2 percent increase over the previous year.

Rounding out the state employee millionaire's club is Maryland women's basketball coach Brenda Frese, who earned $1.15 million in 2015, a 10.2 percent increase.

College coaches are often among a state's most costly employees. Interim Maryland football coach Mike Locksley, who took over for Edsall in October, saw his salary grow by 44 percent in 2015 to $922,000, making him the seventh-highest-paid state worker last year.

The other top earners on the state payroll are doctors who help run the state's medical school and research institutions. Each saw a single-digit raise compared with the year before. They are:

Dr. Stephen Bartlett, surgeon-in-chief for the University of Maryland Medical System and a medical professor, earned $973,000 last year.

Dr. Jay Perman, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore earned $950,000.

Dr. Edward Reece, dean of the medical school, earned $843,000.

Dr. Bartley Griffith and Dr. James Gammie, heart surgeons and medical school professors, earned $812,000 and $749,000, respectively.

Dr. John Olson, an endocrine and oncologic surgeon, earned $735,000.

Dr. Robert Gallo, who discovered HIV, earned $697,000.

The state's flagship university and medical school employ nearly all of the state's highest-paid workers. In fact, the top 59 most highly paid state employees work for those institutions.

Next is Morgan State University President David Wilson, whose total gross compensation is $456,000.

Gov. Larry Hogan earned $151,000 in 2015. His chief of staff, Craig Williams, earned $161,000.

The entire, searchable database of public employee salaries for last year and prior years is online at data.baltimoresun.com/salaries.

—?Erin Cox