Associate Head Coach Evan Lavery is in his second season as the lead assistant at Houston Christian University. Lavery helps lead in all aspects of the program while also coordinating the Husky defense.
Lavery helped orchestrate substantial improvement in the Husky program in year one in Houston. Picked to finish last (12th) in the 2024-25 Southland Conference pre-season poll, HCU finished tied for seventh place while doubling the win total from the previous season from six wins to 12. The Huskies tallied nine Southland victories which were the most conference wins in a season in eight years.
Lavery spent the last six seasons with Emporia State University (KS). As Head Coach Craig Doty’s right hand man, he helped elevate the Hornets on to the national scene. In six seasons, Lavery was instrumental in the recruitment and development of 14 All-MIAA selections, three All-MIAA defensive team members, three All-Region selections, and one All-American.
The 2022-23 season featured a 23-win season, which was the highest in the 32-year NCAA Division II era of Emporia State Men’s Basketball. The Hornets also earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2007. Emporia State knocked off #17 Northern State 72-51 in Maryville, MO. The Hornet defense held Northern State 28 points under their season average. This performance marked the first NCAA Tournament win in program history. The Hornets earned back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time in over 30 years.
The 2021-22 season set the tone for future Hornet success. Led by Second-Team All-American Tray Buchanan, the Hornets recorded 20 wins for the first time since 2007 and recorded the most program conference wins (15) in school history. ESU received votes in the national poll for the second consecutive season. Prior to the 2020-21 season, he was named “50 Most Impactful Assistant Coaches in NCAA Division II” by Silver Waves Media.
After arriving in Emporia, Lavery guided the Hornets to finishing third in the MIAA in field goal defense twice (2019-20, 2022-23) and second in field goal defense in 2020-21 while allowing only 71.4 points per game, which was good for second in the MIAA. Additionally, during the 2020-21 campaign, Emporia State earned votes in the NCAA Division II national poll for the first time in 13 years. The Hornets consistently received votes throughout the 2021-22, 2022-23, and 2023-24 seasons, reaching as high as #16 in the NABC Poll in 2022-23 and 2023-24. The 2023-24 Hornets finished an injury-plagued season at 19-12, which allowed ESU to average over 20 wins over the last three seasons.
Prior to Emporia State, Lavery helped build and maintain Rock Valley College into an NJCAA national powerhouse. During his five years on staff, the Golden Eagles owned a 144-27 (.842) record, made three trips to the NJCAA DIII National Tournament, and won two NJCAA National Championships. From 2013-16, he served as an assistant coach under Craig Doty. Lavery spent his last two seasons (2016-18) at RVC as the head coach, compiling a 50-15 (.769) record. During those five years, the Golden Eagles produced 11 All-Region IV players, 11 All-Conference Players, 4 NJCAA All-Americans, and 2 NJCAA National Players of the Year.
Lavery’s 2017-18 team posted 27 wins - the 4th highest single-season total in the 53-year history of the program. The 2017-18 season also marked the fifth consecutive year where Rock Valley College men's basketball finished the season with at least 23 wins. The Golden Eagles also spent all 12 national polls ranked in the NJCAA DIII Top 10, the fourth consecutive season the Golden Eagles spent the entire year nationally ranked from start to finish, climbing as high as #2 overall.
In 2016-17, despite RVC losing seven players to graduation, including two All-Americans and four starters, Lavery signed eight recruits and developed players who were role players as freshman into feature players as sophomores. Lavery would lead the Golden Eagles to a 23-9 (.719) record in his first season as head coach which is the highest first year win total for any head coach in the 52 year history of Rock Valley men's basketball.
Lavery joined RVC following a one-year stint as an Assistant Men's Basketball Coach at NCAA Division III Rockford University (IL). Lavery holds degrees from Kishwaukee College (AS), Central Methodist University (BS), and Fort Hays State University (MS).
