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 coached A&M-Corpus Christi to the Southland Conference Tournament title after winning three games in three days. The team was stout defensively all season as it went 17-0 when holding the opposition to 70 points or less, and did so in all three SLC Tournament games.

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.

At Purdue, the Boilermakers compiled a 90-42 record in his four years, including a 53-24 mark in the Big Ten. During the Elite Eight campaign, Purdue set a Big Ten record with 365 three-pointers made and Lutz coached Carsen Edwards to All-America honors after averaging 24.3 points per game, the most for a Big Ten player since 1994.
 
The Boilermakers reached the NCAA Tournament in his final season in 2020-21 after a 13-6 record in the Big Ten.
 
Prior to Purdue, Lutz spent seven seasons (2010-17) at Creighton, helping the Bluejays to a 166-82 combined record, four NCAA Tournament appearances, a pair of conference tournament championships and a regular season title.
 
The 29 wins during the 2011-12 season were a school record as the Bluejays won the Missouri Valley regular-season title and finished the year ranked No. 19 in the country. In three seasons from 2011 to 2014, the Bluejays won 84 games. During his time at Creighton, he helped the Bluejays to an 11-3 record against teams from the Big Ten. 
 
At SMU, he served as the recruiting coordinator from 2006-10. In his final year, SMU finished with its most wins, highest league finish and highest conference tournament seed since joining Conference USA before the 2005-06 season. Lutz's first two recruiting classes were ranked top-35 nationally by Hoop Scoop Online.
 
When Lutz worked in the Southland Conference, Stephen F. Austin went 93-76 in his six seasons as recruiting coordinator, including a 71-44 clip in his final four years. Lutz was also part of an Incarnate Word staff that went 99-20, winning a trio of both regular season and conference tournament championships.
 
Lutz spent the 1999-00 season as an assistant at Garden City where the team went 24-9 and finished third in the Jayhawk Western Conference.
 
Lutz played basketball for three seasons at Texas Lutheran and served as the team captain as a senior. He earned his undergraduate degree in Kinesiology with a minor in Secondary Education/Business Administration from Texas Lutheran in 1995 and his M.Ed. with a Concentration in Physical Education, at Incarnate Word in 1997. Lutz played one season at Ranger Junior College prior to his arrival at Texas Lutheran. 

Lutz and his wife, Shannon, have two daughters, Caroline and McKenna, and a son, Jackson.