Houston hired to lead Lincoln women’s basketball program

Lincoln has found its next girls basketball coach.

The Blue Tigers announced Thursday that Addae Houston has been hired to lead the women’s basketball program in its transition to the Great Lakes Valley Conference.

“After an extensive coaching search that produced a number of well-qualified candidates, I am confident we have found the right person to lead the Blue Tigers in Coach Houston,” the athletic director said Thursday. Lincoln’s acting president, Tim Abney, in a press release.

“His track record as a highly successful assistant coach, along with his proven ability to recruit both in the state and nationally, will lay the foundation for the long-term success of our women’s basketball program.”

Houston, a Northwest Missouri graduate who played on the Bearcats men’s basketball team from 2004-06, has 17 years of coaching experience and spent last season as an assistant at Northwestern State University.

He began his career as a graduate assistant at his alma mater on the women’s basketball team and served in that role from 2007 to 2009. Houston was promoted to assistant coach in 2010 and helped the Bearcats to advance to the Division II Elite Eight later this season.

Houston got his first head coaching job in 2013 at Southwestern Community College in Iowa. Houston enjoyed a quick turnaround at Southwestern Community College, ending the program’s 38-game losing streak in its first season.

In Houston’s third season, Southwestern Community College earned its first playoff victory in over a decade before making the playoffs two years in a row.

Houston spent one season as an assistant at Nebraska Wesleyan in 2017 before returning to Northwest Missouri as an assistant and associate head coach in 2018, a position he held until his firing in August 2022. Houston was then hired by Northwestern State in June 2023.

“I am extremely grateful to President John Moseley, Interim Athletic Director Tim Abney and the search committee for believing in my vision for the future of this program,” Houston said in the release.

“The community, faculty and staff have all been very welcoming and supportive as we begin a new era for Blue Tiger women’s basketball. The foundation of our program will be strong by establishing a process-oriented culture of important daily habits.

Houston is expected to replace Drea Mize, who finished with a 22-84 record in his four seasons as head coach before resigning in April.