A month after the announcement of Travis Schulte retiring following a decade, the Canyon Eagles have found their next boys basketball coach, and they didn’t have to look far.
On Tuesday, Canyon ISD announced and introduced assistant and alum Kyle Lovorn to lead the Eagles basketball program into the future.
“What he has done the last year as an assistant coach is so impressive,” Canyon ISD athletic director John Peterson said. “He’s from this community, he’s built relationships with the players, he’s built programs before. He interviewed extremely well. He earned this and we’re excited for the future with coach Lovorn.”
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Lovorn says being a head coach of a Canyon athletic program is a dream, and he can’t wait to hit the ground running.
“I’m very excited for this opportunity,” Lovorn said. “There is a lot of overwhelming gratitude. Learning under Travis Schulte this past year was a great experience, and my wife Sierra is the rock of my family and why I’m here today. I’m just ready to go. Coach Schulte made this a gold mine. He built such a foundation and I’m lucky to see the landscape as an assistant. I’m very thankful.”
Lovorn, a 2005 Canyon High graduate, has been coaching basketball for 16 years. He got his start under another Canyon alum and current Shallowater girls head coach Kurt Richardson in Panhandle. Richardson is one of the men that Lovorn looks up to and a reason he’s in this profession.
“Coach Richardson hired me and got me my first job,” Lovorn said. “He gave me the blueprint and how I wanted to go about coaching. Joe Lombard is the gospel of girls’ basketball and I’ve learned a ton from him. My wife Sierra also. She played for coach Lombard and Steve Gomez at Lubbock Christian, and she’s been right there to help me.”
After a short stint in Anton and Merkel, Lovorn landed the head girls basketball job at Lubbock-Cooper in 2016. During his time at Lubbock-Cooper, Lovorn averaged 27 wins a year at the school leading the Lady Pirates to two state tournament appearances.
Lovorn is confident with the building blocks in place that’s he can equal that success at Canyon.
“I’ve talked to the team, and they are ready to go,” said Lovorn, who has 269 career wins. “From the junior high to high school boys’ basketball is in a good place. There is a lot of youth here and everyone loves basketball. I love the administration being so supportive and behind us. That is going to make things a lot easier.”