SFA Director of Athletics Ryan Ivey announced a contract extension between SFA and men’s basketball head coach Kyle Keller on Tuesday. The joint agreement extends Keller’s contract through the 2025-26 season, and comes on the heels of a 28-3 season in 2019-20 which saw the Lumberjacks capture the Southland Conference regular season title amidst the pandemic-shortened season.
“I am very humbled and honored to continue to represent Stephen F. Austin and Lumberjack Basketball as their head coach”, Keller noted of the extension. “I understand what a truly special place our University, the Nacogdoches community and the entire Lumberjack Nation is. I am very grateful for the support of our Board of Regents, President Scott Gordon, Director of Athletics Ryan Ivey and the tremendous basketball staff I get the opportunity to work with each day.”
Keller and Lumberjacks notched one of the biggest upset victories in college basketball history during the fruitful 2019-20 campaign, upsetting then top-ranked Duke inside Cameron Indoor Stadium by an 85-83 score. The victory marked Duke’s first loss to a non-conference opponent in its past 150 such games, and first such loss since 2000. The notable ranking system KenPom had given Keller and the Lumberjacks just a 0.02 percent chance of winning the game, but ultimately the victory served as a launch pad for a nearly flawless season by the SFA squad.
“We are excited to be able to offer this contract extension to Coach Keller”, added Ivey. “Coming off a remarkable season that was unfortunately cut short, our priority was to be able to protect and continue to move our program forward. This contract extension allows us to do both and create stability in an otherwise unstable time.”
Keller was named the 12th head coach in program history on April 4, 2016, and will begin his fifth season at the helm of the Lumberjacks in 2020-21.
Keller extended through 2025-26 at Stephen F. Austin
