Fort Lewis College men’s basketball is excited to announce the hiring of Jeff Evans as the program’s Special Assistant to the Head Coach, announced by Head Coach Bob Pietrack Tuesday morning.
“It is with great enthusiasm that we announce that Jeff Evans will join our coaching staff,” Pietrack shared. “Over the past two decades, Jeff has proven to be one of the country’s best high school basketball coaches. His vast knowledge and experience in basketball will be a major asset to our program moving forward. Evans has become extremely familiar with our teams over the years and shares the vision and goals of our program. We are very thankful to add a coach of Evans’ caliber and look forward to his contributions this upcoming season.”
Evans brings 32 years of coaching experience to Durango, most recently spending the last 23 years as the Head Boys Basketball Coach at Palo Duro High School in Amarillo, Texas. An educator by trade, Evans also served Palo Duro as a 12th-grade English teacher and Physical Education instructor.
Over his three decades of coaching Evans has compiled a decorated resume. Boasting a 609-212 career record, Evans has tallied numerous coaching honors over the years and has even appeared in the Texas Coach Magazine and Chalk Talk Publications.
Owning a 546-156 record at Palo Duro, Evans has guided the Dons to a 220-50 district record, 49 playoff wins, 12 district championships, seven regional tournaments, five regional finals, and an appearance in the State Tournament Final Four.
Palo Duro has made 24 playoff appearances including 22 consecutive trips from 2002-2023. Additionally, Evans led the Dons to a series of 84 consecutive home wins from 2002-2010 alongside nine consecutive District Championships from 2003-2011.
Evans’ success spans beyond the high school level as he has demonstrated a tremendous ability to guide his players to the collegiate level. Over the years, Evans has lifted 58 to the collegiate basketball ranks including seven NCAA Division I signees; three of which went to the Big 12, three national scoring leaders, and even Fort Lewis’ fifth-all-time leading scorer and the program’s first player to earn National Association of Basketball Coaches and Division II Conference Commissioners Association All-American honors, Akuel Kot.
Prior to Palo Duro, Evans had coaching stops as the Head Boys Basketball Coach at Abilene High School in Abilene, Texas, from 1996-2000 and as an Assistant Varsity Basketball Coach at Coronado High School in Lubbock, Texas, from 1991-1996.
Evans earned his Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education with an English teaching field from Texas Tech University in 1990 and later completed his Master of Coaching and Athletic Administration from Concordia University Irvine.
Career Coaching Honors
- Texas Association of Basketball Coaches Coach of the Year, 2008
- Amarillo Chapter NAACP, Educator of the Year, 2008
- All-Star Team Coach, Elected by Texas High School Coaches Association, 2006
- Texas Association of Basketball Coaches Board of Directors, 2006
- Texas Association of Basketball Coaches All-Star Team Coach, 2005
- Selected to coach Texas vs Oklahoma Oil Bowl Game, 2005
- Amarillo Globe News, All-Sport Coach of the Year, 2005
- Amarillo Globe News Super Team Coach of the Year, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2019
- Amarillo Globe News, 5A-6A Coach of the Year, 2004, 2005, 2009, 2011
- District 3-5A Coach of the Year, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2015, 2016, 2019
