Sam welcomes Steve Lutz to Cowboys not Eggheads. Steve is the head basketball coach at Texas A&M - Corpus Christi.
It didn't take Steve Lutz long to make a significant impact on the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi men's basketball program. In his first season, the Islanders earned an automatic bid to the 2022 NCAA Tournament after more-than quadrupling the team's win total from the year before.
Lutz inherited a squad that finished 5-19 prior to his arrival and made the largest turnaround in program history with a 23-12 record. He was the only first year mid-major coach to make the 2022 NCAA Tournament.
Lutz brought in 10 transfers, the most in NCAA Division I. A&M-Corpus Christi had 12 total transfers on its roster, which was also the most in the nation. Two of Lutz's transfers earned All-Conference honors in Isaac Mushila and Trevian Tennyson, and another - Terrion Murdix - was the SLC Tournament MVP and on the SLC All-Defensive Team.
A&M-Corpus Christi won a school record 13 non-conference games. It was the most since joining a league in 2006-07. The Islanders got off to their best start in program history with a 10-2 record after 12 games. Additionally, the Islanders won their first-ever preseason tournament of at least three games after beating IUPUI, Denver and UTSA at the UTSA Tournament.
Lutz was named a finalist for the 2022 Joe B. Hall National Coach of the Year Award. The award is presented annually to the top first-year coach in Division I college basketball. Additonally, Lutz was named the No. 1 immediately most successful hire for small schools by CBS Sports.
Under Lutz's direction, A&M-Corpus Christi ranked fifth in the nation in free throws made (572), sixth in free throw attempts (776), 12th in steals (298), 14th in turnovers forced per game (16.51), 15th in offensive rebounds per game (12.77) and 18th in total rebounds (1,341).
All 13 student-athletes that played in 2021-22 scored in double-figures in a game. The 13 was tied for the most in the nation with Bowling Green.
Lutz was tabbed as the head men's basketball coach in April 2021. He spent the previous four seasons as an assistant coach at Purdue. During that span, the Boilermakers reached every NCAA Tournament including an Elite Eight in 2018-19 and a Sweet 16 in 2017-18.
Lutz has roots in the state of Texas and a proven track record of success at all levels, including the Southland Conference. The San Antonio native also had highly successful stops at Creighton, SMU, Stephen F. Austin, Incarnate Word and Garden City.
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