Lewis University Director of Athletics Dr. John Planek announced on Thursday (April 29) that women’s basketball assistant coach Matt Nelson will be the next head women’s basketball coach at Lewis. Nelson takes over for Samantha Quigley Smith who was announced as the head coach at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville on Tuesday.
In addition, Planek also announced that Tierney Lockett will take over as assistant coach after her two-year stint as a graduate assistant.
“The legacy of Lewis women’s basketball has seen our team participate in eight of the last nine NCAA championships,” Dr. Planek said. “Matt’s relationship with our current team and the relationships he has forged with our recruiting classes along with his coaching acumen will serve us well as we look to add to that legacy. Our roster talent and work ethic of our current team makes this an exciting time for Lewis women’s basketball.”
“First, I would like to thank Dr. (David) Livingston, Dr. (Chris) Sindt, and Dr. Planek for giving me the opportunity to lead our women’s basketball program,” Nelson said. I’d also like to thank Coach Quigley for extending the opportunity to be on her staff and guiding me for the past three years. To all the coaches I’ve worked for in the past, thank you for your trust in me.
“I am so grateful to be chosen as the next head women’s basketball coach at Lewis,” he continued. “We have such a rich tradition of success throughout our history and I’m excited to build upon it. My main goal is to continue the environment where our fans, university, and alumni are proud of us every time we step on the court.”
Nelson becomes the 14th head coach in the women’s basketball program at Lewis and 10th in the Division II era. He’s been an assistant for the last three seasons helping guide the Flyers to a 59-26 record, an appearance in the GLVC Championship game and three NCAA Tournament berths in that time. Nelson’s player development work helped seven players earn All-GLVC accolades during his time including 2018-19 GLVC and D2CCA National Player of the Year Jessica Kelliher and 2020-21 GLVC Freshman of the Year Jenna Badali (Oak Lawn, Ill./Mother McAuley). He identified and recruited the 2020 class which included Badali and Second Team All-GLVC selection Kathryn Schmidt (Hampshire, Ill./Burlington Central).
Prior to Lewis he spent two seasons at Aurora University as an assistant coach with the women’s basketball program and the men’s and women’s golf programs. During his tenure with the Spartans he prepared scouting reports on opponents for coaches and players. Nelson identified and recruited the 2017 class which included Julie Galauner, who was the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference Freshman of the Year. He worked primarily with the post players.
Prior to his time at Aurora, Nelson spent two seasons at Dominican University as an assistant coach for the men’s and women’s programs. In 2015, he coached the D3Hoops Central Region Freshman of the Year for men’s basketball.
Nelson began his coaching career as an assistant at Benedictine University where he was on staff of former Flyer head coach Kristen Gillespie for two seasons. He devised practice plans with the coaching staff and broke down opponent game film for scouting purposes.
As a collegiate basketball player, Nelson enjoyed a four-year career at Ripon College, leading the Midwest Conference in three-point field goal percentage his junior season at 48 percent. He was named a captain his senior season and honored with the Jack Arnold for leadership and courage.
Nelson graduated from Ripon with his bachelor’s degree in English with an emphasis in secondary education.
He resides in Warrenville, Ill., with his wife Brittany and sons Abel and Eliott.
Lockett helped guide the Flyers to a 32-21 record the past two seasons with an appearance in the GLVC Tournament Championship and an NCAA Tournament berth.
As a player for the Flyers, she appeared in 121 games with 59 starts averaging 5.9 points, 2.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. Lockett was a part of four straight teams that advanced to the NCAA Tournament. During her senior year she started all 32 games averaging 10.4 points, 3.3 assists and 2.9 rebounds per contest. She reached double figures in scoring 17 times highlighted by a 26-point performance in the regular season finale at Truman State. Lockett also recorded a career-high 11 assists in a win over Quincy on Jan. 5, 2019.
She received her bachelor’s degree in sport management and is finishing her master’s degree in business administration with a concentration in marketing.
