Omar Lowery has been hired as a men’s basketball assistant coach at Butler. Lowery spent the 2016-17 season as an assistant on LaVall Jordan’s staff at Milwaukee.
“Omar did an excellent job as a member of our staff at Milwaukee last season and I’m excited that he is joining me at Butler,” said Jordan, who was hired at Butler last week as the program’s 24th head coach. “He has recruiting connections not only in the Midwest but nationally that will greatly benefit our program. I have seen first-hand the impact he can have on a team in terms of skill development, especially with post players. Most importantly, he is excited about being part of something special at Butler and he shares the values that will continue to guide our program.”
In their one season guiding the Panthers, Milwaukee advanced to the Horizon League Tournament championship game. Milwaukee entered the postseason as the tournament’s No. 10 seed before making a miraculous run through the bracket. Milwaukee’s staff inherited only four returning scholarship players when they took over the Panthers’ program in April of 2016.
“Butler is a great university with a strong basketball program that has tremendous tradition,” said Lowery. “There is a culture of excellence and doing things The Butler Way that is evident, and I see that in our student-athletes and the staff that Coach Jordan has assembled. Working alongside Coach last season in Milwaukee was one of the highlights of my coaching career, and I’m honored to follow him to Butler and continue to build this program. I’m excited to get to work.”
At Milwaukee, Lowery was involved in all aspects of the program, including scouting, player development, and recruiting. He will have similar responsibilities as part of the Butler staff.
Prior to joining Jordan’s staff at Milwaukee, Lowery spent two seasons as an assistant at Sam Houston State, helping direct the team to 44 victories and postseason appearances both years.
While at Sam Houston State, Lowery mentored Michael Holyfield, the Defensive Player of the Year in the Southland Conference. He set the school’s single-season record for blocks (86). He also coached Aurimas Majauskas of Lithuania to second-team all-league honors as a junior after averaging 14.1 points per game.
Lowery’s extensive coaching background includes a season at San Jose State, four years as assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Cal Poly, and three seasons at Texas State.
At both San Jose State and Cal Poly, Lowery was heavily involved in recruiting and was also in charge of skill development for the post players.
Cal Poly basketball saw a new level of success while Lowery was there, setting a program record for Big West victories and a school record for home wins in one season. The team also posted the program’s first-ever win over a ranked opponent when it toppled No. 11 UCLA, 70-68, on the road. He molded Chris Eversley into a First-Team All-Big West performer and Malik Love, Jr., was tabbed the 2011 Big West Co-Freshman of the Year.
While at Texas State (2006-09), he helped recruit seven players ranked among the Top 40 Texas high school prospects and the team increased its victory total each of three seasons Lowery was on the bench.
As a collegiate player, Lowery began his career at South Plains College before transferring to Concordia University Wisconsin, where he earned All-Lake Michigan Conference First-Team honors. He helped Concordia qualify for the 2000 NCAA Division III Tournament for the first time in school history after setting a school record by averaging 16.3 points per game.
A Wisconsin native, Lowery graduated from CUW in 2002 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Physical Education. He received his master’s degree in sports administration from Eastern New Mexico in 2006.
