Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball at Baylor on October 10, 2025 at 2 p.m. (MST)
M Basketball
2 p.m. (MST)
at Baylor
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Grand Canyon University Athletics
Photo by: Jeff Roberson/AP
Lottich joins GCU staff, reconnects with Drew
5/30/2025 11:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro
New Lopes assistant coach also worked Drew's bench at Valparaiso
Grand Canyon and Bryce Drew have been a winning formula.
Part of keeping that Lopes success going will include Drew drawing from the past winning formula of coaching with Matt Lottich.
Lottich will reunite with Drew as his assistant coach at GCU this year after serving as Drew's assistant coach previously for three seasons (2013-16) at Valparaiso.
"Matt will be a great addition to our staff and program," Drew said. "He has great experience as a head coach, assistant coach and player. We look forward to him being a Lope."
Lottich, 42, succeeded Drew as Valparaiso head coach for seven seasons (2016-23) before spending the a season each at Missouri as special assistant to the head coach and at Brown as associate head coach.
The winningest two seasons in Valparaiso basketball history came with Drew and Lottich teaming up on the bench, guiding teams to a 28-6 record in 2014-15 for an NCAA Tournament team and a 30-7 record in 2015-16 for another Horizon League championship.
Lottich (pronounced LOT-ik) guided a 24-win team in his first season for a third consecutive Horizon title and accumulated 108 wins in his seven seasons, which included Valparaiso's transition to the Missouri Valley Conference.
"The biggest influence is coach Bryce Drew and what he embodied as a coach and the system he ran," Lottich said of his coaching influences upon being named head coach.
Lottich, a three-sport star high school star in the Chicago area, became a 2004 Stanford graduate who helped the Cardinal to four NCAA Tournament appearances, including an Elite Eight run, under head coach Mike Montgomery. As a Stanford senior guard, Lottich made the Wooden Award watch list and earned an All-Pac-10 honorable mention.
His high-energy, tenacious play led to a 10-year professional playing career, eight years of which was spent in Japan as a four-time all-star. He also played in Germany and New Zealand.
Lottich began his coaching career in 2013 under Drew, who he considered "a basketball savant," and stayed with Valparaiso for 10 seasons. That included a head coaching win against GCU at the Paradise Jam in U.S. Virgin Islands in November 2019, the season prior to Drew taking over the Lopes.
In 2023-24, Lottich was credited as the Missouri transfer portal coordinator for a recruiting class ranked in the national top five.
Last season, Lottich served as the associate head coach for Brown, where incoming Lopes power forward Nana Owusu-Anane was a team captain during his medical redshirt season. The Bears went 14-13 without their top player.
Coming off three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances under Drew, the new-look Lopes will begin summer workouts next week.
Part of keeping that Lopes success going will include Drew drawing from the past winning formula of coaching with Matt Lottich.
Lottich will reunite with Drew as his assistant coach at GCU this year after serving as Drew's assistant coach previously for three seasons (2013-16) at Valparaiso."Matt will be a great addition to our staff and program," Drew said. "He has great experience as a head coach, assistant coach and player. We look forward to him being a Lope."
Lottich, 42, succeeded Drew as Valparaiso head coach for seven seasons (2016-23) before spending the a season each at Missouri as special assistant to the head coach and at Brown as associate head coach.
The winningest two seasons in Valparaiso basketball history came with Drew and Lottich teaming up on the bench, guiding teams to a 28-6 record in 2014-15 for an NCAA Tournament team and a 30-7 record in 2015-16 for another Horizon League championship.
Lottich (pronounced LOT-ik) guided a 24-win team in his first season for a third consecutive Horizon title and accumulated 108 wins in his seven seasons, which included Valparaiso's transition to the Missouri Valley Conference.
"The biggest influence is coach Bryce Drew and what he embodied as a coach and the system he ran," Lottich said of his coaching influences upon being named head coach.
Lottich, a three-sport star high school star in the Chicago area, became a 2004 Stanford graduate who helped the Cardinal to four NCAA Tournament appearances, including an Elite Eight run, under head coach Mike Montgomery. As a Stanford senior guard, Lottich made the Wooden Award watch list and earned an All-Pac-10 honorable mention.
His high-energy, tenacious play led to a 10-year professional playing career, eight years of which was spent in Japan as a four-time all-star. He also played in Germany and New Zealand.
Lottich began his coaching career in 2013 under Drew, who he considered "a basketball savant," and stayed with Valparaiso for 10 seasons. That included a head coaching win against GCU at the Paradise Jam in U.S. Virgin Islands in November 2019, the season prior to Drew taking over the Lopes.
In 2023-24, Lottich was credited as the Missouri transfer portal coordinator for a recruiting class ranked in the national top five.
Last season, Lottich served as the associate head coach for Brown, where incoming Lopes power forward Nana Owusu-Anane was a team captain during his medical redshirt season. The Bears went 14-13 without their top player.
Coming off three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances under Drew, the new-look Lopes will begin summer workouts next week.
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's BasketballMakaih Williams | Media Availability | 9.3.25
Thursday, September 04
Dusty Stromer | Media Availability | 9.3.25
Thursday, September 04
Kaleb Smith | Media Availability | 9.3.25
Thursday, September 04
Non-Conference Schedule Release | Men's Basketball
Monday, August 04