MARSHALL, Minn. – Southwest Minnesota State University head men's basketball coach
Brad Bigler has announced
Kyle Luedtke has been named the new assistant men's basketball coach at SMSU.
Luedtke recently completed his first season as a graduate assistant coach for the Mustangs, helping the team win a share of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference regular season championship and advance to the NCAA tournament for the second straight season. Luedtke replaces Nick Smith, who resigned earlier this month to accept an assistant coaching position at South Dakota State University.
"I am blessed to have a guy right on campus who played for us and coached on staff this past season," Bigler said. "Kyle is the perfect coach for the moment. He has the respect of the locker room. He has the knowledge of the system, and he knows what it means to be a Mustang."
Luedtke closed his collegiate playing career in 2023-24 spending one year with SMSU playing in 32 games with 28 starts and helping the squad win 19 games and advance to the NCAA tournament. A College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District honoree, Luedtke ranked second on the squad with 50 3-pointers and averaged 7.2 points per game.
"I am honored and grateful to remain a Mustang. I want to thank Coach Bigler and the university for this opportunity," Luedtke said. "The people of SMSU and the Marshall community make this a special place, and I look forward to working with the athletic department and Coach Bigler to help our student-athletes succeed both on and off the court."
Prior to SMSU, Luedtke spent five seasons at the University of Nebraska Omaha, where he played in 81 games scoring 287 points with 53 3-pointers for the Mavericks. He is a 2022 graduate of UNO with a bachelor's degree in communication with an emphasis in organizational communication and leadership.
"This Mustang coaching experience continues to be rewarding after an NSIC championship and another NCAA tournament appearance," Bigler said. "Each cycle of assistant coaches has been able to say they played in the NCAA tournament. The process of a new cycle continues with Nick moving on to SDSU. Like Brooks McKowen, Tramel Barnes and Nick Smith. Each assistant has made an impact on the SMSU program before moving on in the college ranks. Nick will be greatly missed but we are so excited to watch him in the next step of his journey."
SMSU finished the 2024-25 season 21-9 overall, including 16-6 in the NSIC.
"Next year we should have some high expectations," Bigler said. "The growth in the coaching staff will play a big role in the outcome of the season. I believe Kyle is up for the challenge as well as the rest of the staff. It's now time to put in some work."
