Coaching Versatility

The Coach

Steve Gomez

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Lubbock Christian University (Texas) head coach Steve Gomez helped lead the USA to a 7-0 record and a gold medal as an assistant coach for the 2018 USA Basketball Women’s U17 World Cup Team that played in the 2018 FIBA U17 World Cup this past summer in Belarus.

Previously, he helped the USA to a gold medal as an assistant coach for the 2017 USA Basketball Women’s U16 National Team, and he was a court coach for the 2016 USA Basketball Women’s U17 World Championship Team Trials.

Gomez currently is in his 16th season (2003-04 to present) as head coach at Lubbock Christian, where through 2017-18 he had posted an overall record of 365-117 (.757 winning percentage).

In 2017-18, Gomez guided his quad to an incredible 31-2 record, which tied for the second-highest win total in program history. LCU captured a South Central Region Tournament title and reached the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division II Elite Eight Tournament. Gomez was named the 2018 Heartland Conference Coach of the Year and the 2018 WBCA South Central Region Coach of the Year, and, LCU currently is riding a 50-game winning streak in its home arena.

In 2016-17, LCU finished 19-11, and since LCU has competed in the NCAA Division II, which began five seasons ago in 2013-14, Gomez has compiled a 131-21 (.862) DII record. 

In the program’s third season at the Division II level in 2015-16, Lubbock Christian claimed the NCAA Division II national championship and a perfect 35-0 season. LCU was 18-0 in Heartland Conference play to capture a regular season title and also won the conference tournament title. Gomez earned WBCA NCAA Division II National Coach of the Year honors.

In 2014-15, Gomez and LCU claimed Heartland Conference regular season co-championship and finished 21-7 overall.

LCU went a remarkable 25-1 overall in 2013-14 in its first DII campaign and completed conference play with a perfect 20-0 mark for the first perfect conference record in program history.

In Gomez’s 10 seasons competing in the NAIA Division I (2003-04 to 2012-13), he led Lubbock Christian to a 234-96 overall record (.710) and reached the NAIA Division I Women's Basketball National Championship tournament all 10 seasons.

In his final two years as an NAIA program, Gomez set consecutive single-season win records with a 28-6 finish in 2011-12 and 31-4 in 2012-13.
The 2012-13 team won its first Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament title en route to a trip to the NAIA National Championship tournament.

The 2011-12 squad claimed the program’s second SAC regular season crown as co-champions and made its second appearance in the semifinals of the NAIA National Championship Tournament.

LCU went 25-10 in 2010-11 and reached NAIA National Championship Elite Eight for a third time in program history.  

In 2009-10, the Lady Chaps finished 27-7 with a trip to the NAIA Sweet 16.  During that season, Gomez became the all-time women's basketball wins leader at LCU.

LCU had a memorable 2007-08 campaign, finishing 25-10 and reaching the NAIA Elite Eight.

In 2006-07, Lubbock Christian never left the top-10 in the NAIA National Poll and set a school mark for wins in a season with 26, eclipsing the school mark of 23 they set the prior season. In addition, LCU made its fourth-consecutive trip to the NAIA National Tournament, finishing in the Sweet 16.

Gomez and his team finished 23-12 in 2005-06, and made an unparalleled run at the NAIA National Tournament. LCU beat four of the top six teams in the nation and became the lowest seed ever to reach either the NAIA Fab Four or the NAIA National Championship, and Gomez was named the SAC Coach of the Year. 

In his first season in 2003-04, Lubbock Christian went 16-14 and earned an at-large bid into the NAIA National Tournament, which the program followed up in 2004-05 with another NAIA Tournament appearance.

An LCU graduate, Gomez was a standout perimeter player for coach John Copeland in the late 1980s, and to this day, he holds the school record for career free throw percentage at 85.5 percent.  

He graduated in 1988 with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and used his degree to teach in the classroom while pursuing coaching on the sidelines. 

Gomez's career began at Lubbock Monterey High School where he served as an assistant coach in the men's basketball program from 1988 to 1995. 

In 1996, Gomez accepted the men's basketball head coaching position at Lubbock Cooper High School, where he remained until returning to Lubbock Christian University to take over the women’s basketball team 2003. During his seven seasons at Cooper, the team made the playoffs four times, earned the school's first state ranking and capturing the program’s only district championship in Gomez's final season.