Steve Lutz

Steve Lutz, born on October 25, 1972, in San Antonio, Texas, developed an early passion for basketball, playing at Ranger Junior College and Texas Lutheran University, where he served as team captain in his senior year. He earned his undergraduate degree in Kinesiology from Texas Lutheran in 1995 and his M.Ed. from Incarnate Word in 1997. His coaching career began in 1995 as an assistant at Incarnate Word, contributing to a team that achieved a 99-20 record during his four-year tenure.

Lutz progressed through various assistant coaching roles, including stints at Stephen F. Austin (2000-2006) and SMU (2006-2010), before joining Creighton (2010-2017) and Purdue (2017-2021). At Creighton, he helped the Bluejays transition to the BIG EAST, securing multiple NCAA tournament berths. As an assistant at Purdue, he played a role in the team’s Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight runs in 2018 and 2019, respectively, and was instrumental in the recruitment and development of future NBA talents, including Zach Edey and Jaden Ivey.

His head coaching career commenced in 2021 at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, where he spearheaded a significant program turnaround, leading the Islanders to consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances and their first-ever NCAA Tournament victory. He continued this success at Western Kentucky in 2023-24, guiding them to a Conference USA Tournament Championship and another NCAA tournament bid. In April 2024, Lutz was appointed the head men’s basketball coach at Oklahoma State University, where in his inaugural season, he led the Cowboys to the quarterfinals of the 2025 National Invitation Tournament.