Oklahoma State Director of Athletics Chad Weiberg has hired Steve Lutz as the school’s 21st head men’s basketball coach, pending board approval.
“Coach Lutz is known as one of the hardest-working coaches in the business,” Weiberg said. “He has worked at all levels of college basketball and has deep ties to this part of the country, especially Texas. The work he has put into his career has resulted in success as a head coach and why I believe he is the right person to be the leader of Cowboy Basketball.”
A rising star under Creighton’s Greg McDermott and a fifth-generation member of Henry Iba’s coaching tree (via Purdue’s Matt Painter), Lutz is off to a successful start to his own head coaching career with NCAA tournament appearances in each of his first three seasons.
In rapid rebuilds at Western Kentucky (2023-24) and Texas A&M Corpus Christi (2021-23), the 51-year-old has posted a combined 69-35 record, including a perfect 8-0 mark in conference tournament play.
“I’d like to thank Chad Weiberg and Dr. Shrum for entrusting me with one of college basketball’s most storied programs. It’s a responsibility that I don’t take lightly,” Lutz said. “Cowboy Nation — I look forward to meeting you all soon and hitting the ground running. Know that my staff and I will work diligently to recruit and retain hardworking kids who will represent you well, on and off the court, and consistently compete for Big 12 championships.”
Lutz-led squads are known for playing hard and fast. WKU led the nation in adjusted tempo (75.1 possessions) this season while topping the Conference USA leaderboard in both points (80.6) and effective field goal percentage (54.6%). The Hilltoppers finished 22-13 and punched their first NCAA tournament ticket since 2013 after winning their first ever CUSA tournament title.
Lutz worked similar magic in Corpus Christi with back-to-back bids, ending what had been a 15-year March Madness drought and a run of four straight losing seasons.
The Islanders were one of the nation’s most-improved teams in 2021-22, jumping from 5-19 to 23-12 with help from a dozen transfers and an aggressive, opportunistic defense that ranked among the NCAA leaders in steals (8.5) and forced turnovers (14th, 16.5). Lutz was a finalist for the 2022 Joe B. Hall Award (given to the nation’s top first-year head coach) after guiding his team to the Southland Conference tournament title as a No. 4 seed.
A&M-Corpus Christi took another step forward in 2022-23, finishing 24-11 (14-4) while pacing the league in both offensive and defensive efficiency. Lutz was a slam dunk choice for conference coach of the year after winning the school’s first SLC regular season title since 2007. The Islanders successfully defended their SLC tournament crown, then downed Southeast Missouri State in the First Four for the program’s first-ever win at the Big Dance.
Including his time as an assistant at Creighton (2010-17) and Purdue (2017-21), Lutz has coached in seven straight NCAA tournaments, highlighted by Sweet 16 and Elite Eight runs in 2018 and 2019.
Along the way, Lutz had a hand in the development of two national players of the year in Creighton’s Doug McDermott (2014) and Purdue’s Zach Edey (2023), whom he helped recruit to West Lafeyette prior to his final season.
Under Painter, Lutz served as Purdue’s “defensive coordinator”, helping the Boilermakers to four consecutive top-35 finishes in KenPom’s defensive efficiency rankings, highlighted by an 11th place showing in 2020. He was also instrumental in the development of Purdue’s guards, including two-time All-American and Jerry West Award winner, Carsen Edwards, and Jaden Ivy, the No. 5 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft.
Purdue was 90-42 (.681) in Lutz’s four seasons on staff and won a share of the 2019 Big Ten regular season title.
In seven seasons at Creighton, Lutz was part of four NCAA tournament teams and one NIT quarterfinalist. The Bluejays put together a 166-82 record with two conference tournament championships and one regular season title while making a successful transition from the Missouri Valley Conference to the BIG EAST.
Lutz’s resume also includes stops at SMU (2006-10), Stephen F. Austin (2000-06), Garden City Community College (1999-00) and Incarnate Word (1995-99).
A class act, on and off the court, Lutz has also been a finalist for each of the last two Skip Prosser Man of the Year Awards, given to the head coach who achieves success while displaying strong moral character.
Originally from San Antonio, Lutz played collegiately at Texas Lutheran University, serving as team captain during his senior season while completing a bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology with a minor in Secondary Education/Business Administration. He added a master’s in Physical Education from Incarnate Word in 1997.
Lutz and his wife, Shannon, have three children: Caroline, McKenna and Jackson.
https://okstate.com/news/2024/4/1/lutz-selected-to-lead-cowboy-basketball-program
