Lamar University Athletics

Tyler Kelly joined the Lamar University coaching staff in April 2026. Kelly brings with him more than 10 years of coaching experience from various levels of the game.
 
Kelly arrived in Beaumont from Kalamazoo, Mich., where he spent the previous year as an assistant at Western Michigan. During his time with WMU, Kelly worked directly with the team’s defensive schemes. He joined the Broncos’ staff after three seasons at Niagara.
 
During his time in Lewiston, N.Y., he was a member of a coaching staff that helped lead the Purple Eagles to its first winning season since 2017-18 and advanced to the MAAC tournament semifinals. The Purple Eagles posted the league’s third-best field goal percentage that season and led the conference in terms of fewest turnovers committed per game. In his final season with Niagara, they led the league in field goal percentage and were second in three-point field goal percentage.
 
Kelly also helped build one of the deepest teams in the country while at NU. The Purple Eagles boasted the MAAC’s best reserve unit – which ranked 23^rd nationally – averaging nearly 30 points per game. 
 
Before making the jump to Niagara, Kelly spent the 2021-22 season as an assistant at Lincoln Memorial. His lone season at LMU proved to be one of the best in program history as the Railsplitters posted a 26-5 (.839) overall record and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional. He also helped produce four all-conference players during his time. 
 
Kelly has also made coaching stops at Le Moyne and Wisconsin-Green Bay as well his alma mater, Florida Southern. While at Le Moyne, Kelly assisted the Dolphins to the 2019 NE-10 regular season title and produced multiple all-conference selections.
 
A former standout at Florida Southern College, Kelly was a four-year letterman who guided FSC to four 20-win seasons, four conference tournament titles, three conference regular-season titles, two NCAA Division II South Regional championships, two NCAA Elite Eight appearances and one Final Four appearance and the 2015 NCAA Division II National Champion. He graduated in May 2015 as an All-Sunshine State Conference player and a USBWA National Player of the Week.
 
Kelly, and his wife Gianna, have a son named Luca.