It appears Texas Southern has offered the head men’s basketball coaching job to a candidate.
But as of late Monday, nothing official had come from TSU. A source, however, familiar with a close connection to the hiring, confirmed to the Defender that Seton Hall assistant men’s basketball coach Corey Lowery has been hired to replace Johnny Jones, who departed in March to become an assistant coach at LSU.
TSU is believed to be awaiting approval from the Board of Regents before officially announcing Lowery.
Lowery, a veteran college coach, has reportedly begun calling current players on TSU’s roster to inform them of his hiring and that he is in the process of assembling a coaching staff.
This would have all been welcomed news had it not been for the timing and the awkwardness of the move. TSU has had this vacancy for nearly five months and is making the hire with classes set to begin next week.
In the meantime, longtime TSU assistant coach Shyrone Chatman has been serving as interim head coach since Jones departed. Chatman has put together an impressive recruiting class, has been working out the new and returning players all summer, and has also completed the 2026 non-conference schedule.
With TSU and its search firm taking so long to make a hire, and with no permanent athletic director in place, there was a growing belief that Chatman might be given the reins for at least one season. There were rumors last week that TSU was within days of naming an athletic director to replace Kevin Granger. Dr. Paula Jackson has been the interim athletic director for nearly a year, and it’s unclear whether she will be given the role permanently or whether TSU will bring in a new AD.
TSU president James W. Crawford had other plans for the basketball position and took the lead in interviewing candidates for the basketball opening. Names like John Lucas, Earl Boykins, and Chatman are all believed to be candidates, but it appears the school has decided to go with Lowery. Chatman did receive a formal interview that included a meeting with the search firm and also Crawford, according to a source.
The newly recruited players and some of their parents are upset about the late change and have written letters to Crawford, according to a source. TSU, through its spokesmen, declined to comment on the search or whether a candidate has been hired.
Seton Hall also did not respond to the Defender’s interview requests.
Should Lowery receive approval from the TSU Board of Regents, he comes aboard with a strong resume that includes 27 years of coaching experience, 16 of which have come as a head coach.
Lowery has been with Seton Hall as an assistant to Shaheen Holloway for four seasons. He also previously worked on Holloway’s staff at Saint Peter’s from 2018-20.
Before Seton Hall, Lowery spent two seasons as the head basketball coach at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania. He also spent six years as the head coach at the junior college level at Essex County College, guiding the Wolverines to six straight regular-season conference titles, five consecutive region championships, and making five straight NJCAA Division II Tournament appearances. Prior to that, he was the head coach at Middlesex County College.
It’s unclear when TSU will make the official announcement or if the Board of Regents will approve the hire. In 2023, the Regents rejected former athletic director Kevin Granger’s plan to hire Alcorn State head football coach Fred McNair after he had quit his job. TSU went on to hire Cris Dishman as its new head coach, while McNair has not landed another head coaching job since.
