HOUSTON — August 19, 2026 — Texas Southern University basketball has never been shy about big expectations. At a program where championships, postseason pressure and March Madness have become part of the vocabulary, the Tigers have now handed the whistle to a coach whose résumé suggests he knows exactly what winning sounds like.

Texas Southern University announced Corey Lowery as its new head men’s basketball coach, bringing to Houston a veteran leader with 27 years of coaching experience, 13 seasons as a collegiate head coach and a 266-73 collegiate head-coaching record.

The appointment opens a new chapter for one of the nation’s most recognizable HBCU basketball programs — and it comes as Texas Southern approaches its centennial celebration in 2027.

“Coach Lowery has won at every level and every stop of his career,” TSU President J.W. Crawford III said in announcing the hire. “Beyond constructing winning rosters and producing on the court, he is a maker of men off the court.”

That last part may prove every bit as important as the win column.

Lowery arrives from Seton Hall University, where he spent four seasons as an assistant under Shaheen Holloway. During his tenure, the Pirates’ staff produced 42 victories in its first two seasons — a Seton Hall record for a new staff — before capturing the 2024 NIT National Championship.

But Lowery’s résumé stretches well beyond the Big East.

At Lincoln University, one of America’s historic HBCUs, Lowery transformed expectations. In his first full season, Lincoln finished second in the CIAA Northern Division after being projected 10th in the preseason. The turnaround earned Lowery CIAA Coach of the Year, while Zahrion Blue was named CIAA Player of the Year. Lowery was also selected to coach in the inaugural HBCU All-Star Game.

Before Lincoln came an impressive junior-college run. At Essex County College, his Wolverines captured six consecutive regular-season conference championships, five straight region championships and made five consecutive NJCAA Division II Tournament appearances. His 2014 squad reached the national championship game, while Essex advanced to the Final Four in 2014 and 2016. At Middlesex County College, Lowery also produced three straight conference championships and a 2008 Elite Eight appearance.

In other words, Coach Lowery apparently does not collect frequent-flyer miles without collecting a few trophies along the way.

Now he inherits a Texas Southern program where the standard is already sky-high.

The Tigers own 14 SWAC regular-season championships, 11 SWAC Tournament titles, 11 NCAA Tournament appearances and the 1977 NAIA National Championship. In 2023, TSU became the first No. 8 seed to win the SWAC Tournament, completing a remarkable postseason run by defeating the tournament’s No. 1, No. 2 and No. 5 seeds.

That championship DNA is precisely what Lowery says attracted him to Houston.

“It is an absolute honor and privilege to be named the Head Men’s Basketball coach at Texas Southern University,” Lowery said. “Texas Southern is rooted in a proud tradition of winning championships… I will work tirelessly to serve and uphold the standard of excellence that already exists at Texas Southern University.”

And that standard extends beyond basketball.

For generations, Texas Southern University has represented Houston, HBCU excellence and opportunity, producing leaders while carrying the maroon and gray onto national stages. For Lowery, this is more than another coaching assignment. It is an opportunity to guide young men, build champions and take command of a program accustomed to hearing its name called when March arrives.

The next century of Texas Southern basketball is approaching.

Coach Corey Lowery now has the ball.

 

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