On Monday, WKU Hilltopper Basketball head coach Steve Lutz announced the hiring of Tim MacAllister as an assistant coach on his staff. MacAllister is a graduate of Logan County High School.
"I'm very excited for what Tim is going to bring to our staff and program," said Lutz on the hire. "I've known Tim for a very long time as we worked together at Creighton University. He's a hard worker, a relentless recruiter and a high character man. He has been a part of a national title run at Texas Tech and knows what it takes to win. I am excited to welcome Tim, his wife Ashley and his family to Bowling Green."
Lutz and MacAllister worked together as assistant coaches for Greg McDermott at Creighton University,
MacAllister will be entering his fifth season as an assistant coach and first on The Hill in the 2023-24 season with the Hilltoppers.
"I'm very grateful to Coach Lutz for the opportunity to join his staff and be a part of a historically great program like Western Kentucky," said MacAllister. "This team has the ability to be really great, and I am excited to do everything in my power to make that happen."
MacAllister has appeared in five NCAA Tournaments during his tenure, worked with four All-Americans and has worked with multiple players drafted into the NBA — Murray State's Isaiah Canaan in 2013, Creighton's Justin Patton in 2017, Khyri Thomas in 2018 and Texas Tech's Jarrett Culver in 2019 and Jahmi'us Ramsey in 2020.
MacAllister helped lead Texas Tech to the 2019 NCAA National Championship final and to the Big 12 Conference regular-season championship in his first season as the program's Chief of Staff. The 2018-2019 season entailed Texas Tech's first Big 12 regular-season championship, final four appearance and the Red Raiders' winningest season ever with a 31-7 record.
The former LCHS Cougar was named to the NABC's 2019 Under Armour 30-Under-30 Team, a group selected as 30 of the most outstanding men's college basketball coaches under the age of 30.
He spent three seasons at Creighton, where he assisted in leading the Bluejays to an NIT quarterfinal appearance in 2016, followed by consecutive NCAA Tournament trips in 2017 and 2018. His time at Creighton overlapped with Lutz for all three seasons.
MacAllister has been a vital asset to many successful programs at every stop leading up to his current role. He began as a student assistant to a Murray State team that won both the OVC regular-season and tournament championships in 2011-12 with an incredible 31-2 record.
Prior to going to Creighton and Texas Tech, he coached at Emory University in Atlanta, where he worked as an assistant for one season. The Eagles won at No. 1 Wisconsin-Stevens Point to reach the Division III Elite Eight before falling to eventual national champion Wisconsin-Whitewater.
Before his current role, MacAllister held the position of assistant coach at Georgia Southern for three seasons. Georgia Southern plays in WkU’s former conference, the Sun Belt.
Originally from Corcoran, Calif., and born in Grand Forks, N. D;, MacAllister, however, went to Logan County High School in Russellville, where he played basketball and football. MacAllister earned his Bachelor of Arts in Spanish from Murray State and holds a Master of Science in Leadership from Creighton.
MacAllister also served as a Security Forces Staff Sergeant in the US Air National Guard from 2007-2013. While deployed at the Manas Air Base in Kyrgyzstan, he was the head coach of the base's first basketball team (2009-10), which played a number of contests against teams throughout that country.
MacAllister and his wife Ashley got married in 2014. Most recently, Ashley was the head rifle coach at University of Nebraska, and coached Puerto Rico in the 2016 Olympics. The couple has two children: son Ezekiel and daughter Adeline.
Tim and his family moved from California to Kentucky in the early years of this century when his dad, Scot MacAllister, was named head coach of the Lady Cougars. He coached the Logan County girls for eight years. Two of his most rugged frontcourt players were Tim’s sisters, Kayla and Shannon. Their mother, Lori, supported the other four members of the family on the playing court and in life.
THE TIM MACALISTER FILE
PERSONAL
Born: Grand Forks, North Dakota
Hometown: Corcoran, California
College: Murray State and Creighton
Wife: Ashley
Children: Ezekiel, Adeline
COACHING CAREER
2010-13: Murray State (student assistant)
2013-14: Emory (assistant coach)
2015-17: Creighton (video coordinator)
2017-20: Texas Tech (Chief of Staff)
2020-23: Georgia Southern (assistant coach)
2023-24: WKU (assistant coach)