Matt Houser enters his seventh season as the head coach of the Columbus State University women's basketball program in 2026-27. During his tenure, Houser has transformed the Lady Cougars into one of the premier programs in NCAA Division II women's basketball, establishing Columbus State as a nationally recognized program and returning the program to national prominence.
The 2025-26 season marked one of the most successful seasons in program history. Houser was named Peach Belt Conference Coach of the Year after leading Columbus State to the Peach Belt Conference Championship and the program's highest national ranking in more than a decade, reaching No. 8 in the country.
Under Houser's leadership, Letiya Reeves was named Peach Belt Conference Player of the Year and earned D2CCA Women's Basketball Southeast Region First Team honors. Reeves' 2025-26 campaign capped a remarkable career under Houser, having played for him from 2022 through 2026 while earning PBC Player of the Year honors, three First Team All-PBC selections, and two D2CCA Women's Basketball Southeast Region Team selections.
Houser has guided the Lady Cougars to the NCAA Tournament three times and has led Columbus State to the Peach Belt Conference Tournament in each of his six seasons, including an appearance in the championship game during the 2023-24 season.
Throughout his tenure, Houser has coached 12 All-Conference selections, including three-time honorees Olonna Rawls (2022-23, 2023-24, 2024-25) and Letiya Reeves (2023-24, 2024-25, 2025-26), as well as two-time honoree Chrisalyn Boston (2020-21, 2021-22). His players have also captured some of the conference's highest individual honors. Rawls was named 2025 Peach Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Year, while Reeves earned 2026 Peach Belt Conference Player of the Year honors.
Over the past two seasons, Houser has elevated Columbus State into a consistent Top-25 national program, culminating in the No. 8 ranking in the country. At the same time, he has established the Lady Cougars as one of the nation's most disruptive defensive teams, with Columbus State leading the country in steals per game and forced turnovers per game.
Houser's relentless defensive philosophy and high-pressure style have become a defining characteristic of Columbus State women's basketball. His system has helped create one of the most aggressive, energetic, and exciting brands of basketball in NCAA Division II, making the Lady Cougars one of the nation's most compelling teams to watch.
In seven seasons, Matt Houser has built more than a winning program—he has helped establish a culture of toughness, defensive intensity, player development, and national competitiveness at Columbus State University.
Houser originally arrived in Columbus from the west coast after stops at two California universities. He got into the collegiate ranks at Concordia University Irvine helping the Eagles turnaround a program in just one season. After having a losing record before Houser’s arrival, Concordia went 23-7 in 2014-15 and advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NAIA National Tournament. Houser then went on to join the staff at Azusa Pacific University for three record-breaking seasons.
From 2015-18, Azusa Pacific posted a 71-23 overall record as the Cougars were a mainstay in the NCAA Division II Coaches’ Poll while making two trips to the NCAA Tournament. Azusa won two PacWest regular season championships and the 2016 PacWest Tournament title. The program also set records for wins in a season (28-4, 2015-16), most points in a game (128, 2017-18) and best 20-game start (18-2, 2017-18).
During his time at Azusa, Houser helped develop eight All-PacWest selections, two D2CACAA All-West Region players and the 2015-16 PacWest Player of the Year. Houser was also in charge of recruiting when the Cougars landed one of the top recruiting classes in the nation, including pulling in two more All-PacWest honorees to Azusa during the 2016 recruiting period. Â
Before his collegiate coaching experience, Houser was one of the top amateur girls' basketball coaches in the state of California. He was the head coach at Santa Margarita Catholic High School in Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif. for five seasons. Houser was twice named the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) 3A Coach of the Year (2010 & 2014) and earned the title of Orange County Coach of the Year in 2014. During his time at Santa Margarita, the school won two CIF 3A titles and reached the state regional finals in his last season at the helm.
Houser also founded OC Elite Inc. in 2006, which was constantly ranked inside the top-100 girls' basketball programs in the nation, and one of only 20 to be sponsored by Adidas.
A standout player in his own rights, Houser played professionally for eight seasons internationally. He made stops all across Europe, including Germany, Switzerland, France and Spain, while earning countless accolades. He was named to the Euro Cup All-Tournament team and earned a spot on the All-Defensive team during his time in Switzerland.
Collegiately, Houser played two seasons each at Chico State (1998-2000) and Irvine Valley College (1996-1998). He led Irvine to a conference championship and was also selected as one of the top-75 junior college players in the state of California.
Houser earned his bachelors of science in business management from the University of Phoenix and his master’s in coaching and athletic administration from Concordia Irvine. He is married to Silvia and has two kids, Logan (11) and Clark (8).
Year-by-Year ResultsÂ
| Season |
Overall Record |
PBC Record |
NCAA Tournament |
| 2019-20 |
19-9 |
13-7 |
--- |
| 2020-21 |
3-5 *COVID-19 |
3-5 |
--- |
| 2021-22 |
17-14 |
9-9 |
First Round |
| 2022-23 |
15-12 |
9-9 |
--- |
| 2023-24 |
19-10 |
13-5 |
--- |
| 2024-25 |
21-9 |
14-4 |
Second Round |
| 2025-26 |
25-5 |
18-2 |
First Round |
| Overall |
119-62 |
65-37 |
|
