SFA hires Texas Tech assistant as new head basketball coach

From SFA Athletics

NACOGDOCHES, Texas -Stephen F. Austin State University Director of Athletics Michael McBroom announced today the hiring of Matt Braeuer as the Lumberjacks men’s basketball head coach. Braeuer becomes the 13th head coach for the program.

Braeuer is joining the Lumberjacks after serving as an assistant coach for the Texas Tech Red Raiders for the past two seasons. The Red Raiders are currently 23-7 overall and 14-5 in the Big 12 Conference (tied for 2nd). Texas Tech concludes their 2024-25 regular season this Saturday at Arizona State.

“Matt Braeuer is quite simply a winner,” said Michael McBroom, SFA Director of Athletics. “It became clear during our search process that he brings the competitive fire, integrity, passion, connections, and coaching acumen that we were seeking. He has had some of the finest mentors in the game and has prepared himself extraordinarily well for this opportunity. I’m excited to work alongside him to prepare to return SFA to championship basketball.

“I want to thank Grant McCasland at Texas Tech for his time and assistance during this process, along with Tim McMurray and Jim Nichols at Cardinal Grange who led our search efforts.”

Braeuer helped lead the Red Raiders to the 2024 NCAA Tournament and a 23-win season in his first year at Texas Tech. Tech tied for third in the Big 12 standings and advanced to the semifinals of the 2024 Big 12 Championship.

Prior to joining Texas Tech, he spent five seasons with the University of North Texas (UNT) where he worked under head coach Grant McCasland. In his five seasons at UNT, Braeuer helped guide the Mean Green to a 115-47 (.710) record along with back-to-back Conference USA championships in 2020 and 2021 (three total) and the program’s first NCAA Tournament victory over Purdue in the 2021.

“My family and I are honored to join the Stephen F. Austin community, and I want to thank Dr. Weaver and Michael McBroom for their trust in me," said Braeuer. “SFA has a rich basketball history, and I am excited to build a program that reflects the passion and pride of this university and its fans. We will work tirelessly to bring championships back to Nacogdoches, and I can’t wait to get started.”

UNT established a new program record by going 31-7 and completed the 2022-23 season by knocking off UAB to capture the NIT title. The Mean Green led the nation by limiting opponents to only 55.8 points per game, were sixth nationally by holding teams to 39.1 percent shooting, and ran off postseason victories over Alcorn State, Sam Houston, Oklahoma State and Wisconsin before the 68-61 win over UAB for the championship. Along with team success, he helped develop two Conference USA Player of the Year selections in Javion Hamlet (2020) and Tylor Perry (2023).

He began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Wichita State under head coach Gregg Marshall and would spend one year at Midland College, under head coach Ross Hodge (current head coach at UNT) from 2010-11 where he helped lead the Chaparrals to a 33-4 record and to the NJCAA Division I national championship game. Braeuer would continue his career at the University of Maryland, working under head coach Mark Turgeon as the video coordinator and then at Sam Houston, under head coach Jason Hooten, from 2013-16. He helped lead Sam Houston to the Southland Conference tournament championship game in back-to-back seasons and to seasons that resulted in 24 and 26 victories.

Braeuer came to the Mean Green from the College of Charleston, where he had served for two years under head coach Earl Grant and helped lead the Cougars to back-to-back 25-win seasons and Colonial Athletic Association regular-season and tournament titles.

Braeuer was a three-year starting point guard at Wichita State from 2004-08. As a player at Wichita State, Braeuer ranks in the top 15 all-time in career three-pointers made (130) and career assists (308) for the Shockers. During his playing time at Wichita, the Shockers advanced to the Sweet Sixteen and earned a top 10 national ranking. After earning his bachelor’s degree in sport administration from Wichita, he served as a graduate assistant for the Shockers. He received his master’s degree in sport management in 2010.

A native of Belton, Texas he graduated from Belton High School, where he played under his father Ed. As a senior, he was named a Texas Class 5A First Team All-State and First Team All-Region selection. Braeuer also garnered MVP honors for District 13-5A. He and his wife Katie have three-year old twin boys, Brooks and Griffin.

Braeuer will join the Lumberjacks after the conclusion of the Texas Tech season. An introductory press conference and reception will be scheduled at that time.