David S. Lowery is coming back to Gainesville.
Last week Santa Fe College announced the hiring of the former Gator assistant women’s basketball coach as its new women’s head basketball coach.
“I am ecstatic to join the Santa Fe College family and so thankful to Chanda Stebbins, Dr. Naima Brown, and President Dr. Paul Broadie II for entrusting me with this incredible opportunity to become the next head women’s basketball coach,” Lowery said. “I am honored to represent Santa Fe and compete in the state of Florida against some of the best coaches in the country.”
He will join the Saints’ program in June.
Previous head coach Russ Jackson resigned in March. Jackson stepped down after two seasons with the Saints (22-35) to take a similar role at Daytona State College.
“I’m thrilled to be back in Gainesville and growing the Santa Fe Women’s Basketball program within the Gainesville community and surrounding counties,” Lowery said.
Lowery is one of the top recruiters in the state of Florida, and is known for recruiting high-profile players such as Steffi Sorenson, a member of the Santa Fe 2014 Hall of Fame Class, Lanita Bartley, a member of the 2016 Hall of Fame Class, and 2013 McDonald’s All-American Ronni Williams.
His coaching experience spans over 20 years back to 2001 as an assistant for Davidson College in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Here in the Sunshine State, Lowery had a short stint as head coach at Florida State College in Jacksonville (July 2019 – Dec. 2020) and spent four years as an assistant at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville (April 2015 – June 2019), which had its first winning season in the Division-I era during his time at UNF.
He was an assistant coach for the 2021 Northwest Florida State College’s women’s basketball team which finished 27-3 and national runners-up, and he was also an assistant coach at Florida Atlantic during the 2023-24 season.
“We are very excited to hand the reigns of leadership over to David Lowery,” said Santa Fe College Athletics Director Chanda Stebbins, who noted Lowery’s extensive recruiting experience, player development skills, and his connections in Florida. “He has a proven track record of recruiting Florida hard and has great relationships in women’s basketball across the southeast and the nation. Our student athletes will greatly benefit from his leadership.”
While at Florida, Lowery helped the Gators to three NCAA Tournament appearances (2009, 2012, 2014) and four WNIT appearances (2008, 2010, 2011, 2013) with the Gators reaching the WNIT Final Four in 2013.
Lowery was previously the women’s basketball associate head coach at Austin Peay University for the past 11 months, mentoring student athletes, improving their performance under pressure and assisting them in overcoming challenges.
He also contributed to game scouting and preparation, and managed recruiting efforts by identifying, evaluating and attracting student-athletes.
“My staff and I will be committed to building a women’s basketball program that will compete every day on-and-off the floor while awarding opportunities to these young athletes in the world of basketball and beyond,” said Lowery, who was also an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for Mercer University in Macon, Georgia, under Hall of Fame coach Susie Gardner (June 2023 – August 2024).
Lowery has earned numerous coaching and leadership honors and has coached 30 All-Conference players across the SoCon, A-10, SEC and Atlantic Sun.