Steve Lutz hired at Oklahoma State

After a successful first season at Western Kentucky, Steve Lutz has been hired as the new head coach at Oklahoma State. Lutz went 22-12 and led the Hilltoppers to the NCAA Tournament, and before that went 47-23 with two NCAA Tournaments in two years as the head coach at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.

“Coach Lutz is known as one of the hardest-working coaches in the business,” AD Chad 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.”

Lutz, 51, has already completed two quick turnarounds as a head coach, taking over at TAMU-CC after a 5-19 season and immediately winning back-to-back Southland Tournaments (plus the Southland title in 2023). Then at Western Kentucky, the Toppers won 22 games and got to the Big Dance for the first time since 2013 after finishing sixth in CUSA the year before.

In addition to his head coaching jobs, Lutz has been an assistant under Matt Painter (Purdue), Greg McDermott (Creighton), Matt Doherty (SMU) and Danny Kaspar (Stephen F. Austin and Incarnate Word).

“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.”

Oklahoma State parted ways with previous head coach Mike Boynton Jr. last month after seven seasons with just one NCAA Tournament appearance (2021). The Cowboys were tied for last in the Big 12 in 2023-24, winning just four conference games (twelve overall).

credit to Oklahoma State Athletics for the image