Lutz Tabs Guster as Assistant Coach
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – WKU Hilltopper Basketball head coach Steve Lutz announced the hiring of Robert Guster to his staff. Guster will join the Hilltoppers as an assistant coach for the 2023-24 season.
“I am very excited to welcome Robert and his family to The Hill,” said Lutz. “I have been fortunate to know and observe Robert over the last 20-plus years. He is a great family man, mentor to young people and has a great basketball mind! I know that he will hit the ground running from Day 1 and help impact winning daily.”
“I am extremely excited to join the Hilltopper Family!” said Guster on the opportunity. “To be a part of a program with such rich tradition is a blessing for me and my family. I admire and respect Coach Lutz and feel honored to join the Hilltopper family. He is an absolute winner. I will work diligently to support the WKU family, community and athletes to make certain we build a culture of character, hard work and academic achievement!”
Guster comes to The Hill after seven seasons at Texas State where he helped the Bobcats capture back-to-back Sun Belt Conference championships in 2021 and 2022. He helped lead the program compile four 20-plus campaigns in the seven-year span.
At Texas State, Guster helped administer one of the best defenses in the country as the Bobcats led the Sun Belt in scoring defense in five of the seven seasons in his tenure, ranking inside the top 30 in the nation three times. With Guster’s direction, Texas State also led the Sun Belt in rebounds per game in 2018-19 and in field goal percentage in 2021-22. He assisted in coaching the 2019-20 Sun Belt Player of the Year and 2019-20 Lou Henson All-America Team honoree.
Prior to his stint at Texas State, Guster was an assistant coach at UTSA for 10 seasons. During his time with the Roadrunners, the program logged the school’s first-ever NCAA postseason victory in any sport, won a league championship, made two conference tournament title game appearances, broke 20 school records and had eight players earn all-conference honors, with three being honored as the league freshman of the year.
Before working at UTSA, Guster spent two seasons at Southeast Missouri State (SEMO) in Cape Girardeau, Mo., where he served as an assistant coach. He was heavily involved in the Redhawks’ recruiting efforts and oversaw the program’s academic affairs.
Guster started his coaching career at West Plains Community College where he spent five years as an assistant. Between 1999-2004, West Plains posted a 120-36 record while 10 players that Guster personally recruited went on to earn opportunities at the Division I level.
Prior to joining the West Plains staff, Guster was the Grizzlies’ starting point guard for two seasons before finishing his collegiate career as a starter at Missouri-Rolla, now known as Missouri S&T. At Missouri-Rolla, Guster helped the Miners post back-to-back winning seasons while leading the team in assists both seasons, pacing the MIAA Conference in assist-to-turnover ratio.
Guster is a native of West Monroe, La., and earned his bachelor’s degree in history from Missouri-Rolla in 1999. He later received his master’s degree in elementary education from Missouri State in 2002. He and his wife, Melissa, have one daughter, Alivia, and a son, Shiloh.
