The Southeastern Department of Athletics has announced that Kevin Lubbers has resigned as head coach of the Fire men’s basketball team, effective July 15th.
In three seasons with the Fire, Lubbers led the program to a pair of Sun Conference regular season titles, a Sun Conference Tournament title, and two appearances in the NAIA National Championship Tournament.
“It has been a privilege to lead this program for the last three years and to be on this college coaching journey for the last 17 years,” said Lubbers. “I want to thank my family, and in particular my wife Anne who is everything a husband could ask for and more. We have raised our kids in and around the gym and this curious journey has been incredibly rewarding for us together. I am excited to see what the future holds for our family as we move into a new chapter of life.”
Twice, Lubbers was The Sun Conference Coach of the Year and won 20 or more games in two of his three seasons.
“Kevin has done an incredible job with the men’s basketball program in the three years he has been entrusted with the team,” said Director of Athletics Drew Watson. “If you’re around him any amount of time, you see very quickly the passion he has for coaching basketball and for mentoring the men on the team. But his passion for God and his family is paramount and, while I do not want to see him go, I applaud this decision and pray that God richly blesses Kevin, Anne, Daisy, Nash, and Mabel because of it. I wish him the very best.”
The University also announced that Randy Lee has been elevated to head coach. Lee served as an assistant at Southeastern twice, having spent the last two seasons on the bench with Lubbers, and was an assistant under R-Jay Barsh from 2015-2019, helping the Fire win their first Sun Conference Tournament title in program history in 2018.
“This is an incredible opportunity to lead the young men of Fire Basketball, who are first and foremost great people who are energetic, fun, and talented,” said Lee. “I’m thankful to Drew Watson and the Southeastern administration for their trust in me as I step in to guide this program. I appreciate the chance that Coach Barsh and Coach Lubbers gave me to be part of the program during their tenures and I am eternally thankful to both of them. I couldn’t be more excited to continue to be part of this program in my hometown.”
During his career, Lee has been a collegiate head coach at the University of Maine at Machias, University of Texas of the Permian Basin, and Tennessee Temple University. Lee has also served as an assistant at Palm Beach Atlantic, Miami (Fla.), Towson, Delaware State, Centenary, Maine, and Polk State.
“As we look for head coaches, the priorities of a faith-infused program, academic success and competitive excellence are the non-negotiables,” said Watson. “Randy Lee is a tremendous recruiter and knows our program. He will continue to build on the foundation of healthy culture in Fire Basketball while pushing the program’s trajectory forward as one of the top teams in the NAIA. I am excited for him and looking forward to seeing what he can do as a head coach.”
Lee has recruited multiple All-Americans during his years in coaching, and three players that went on to become ranked in the top five of their respective programs in scoring. He also boasted success at the high school level, with four quarterfinal appearances and multiple players continuing their careers collegiately.
“I am thankful that I had the opportunity to be a small part of the larger story that continues to be written at SEU and in the men’s basketball program,” said Lubbers. “The success of our program over the last several years has Randy Lee‘s fingerprints all over it. He has been a humble, loyal, and committed presence and it gives me great joy to see him take over leadership of this program. This team is poised to achieve at a high level on and off the floor and Coach Lee is the right person to lead that charge.”
The Fire are coming off a 22-8 season and were ranked 18th in the final coaches’ poll.
Lubbers resigns at NAIA Southeastern U; Lee named Head Coach
