Byron Starks is set to begin this fourth year on campus as the head coach of the LSUE Men's Basketball team. Starks joined the Bengals as their first men's basketball coach in March 2018.
Starks has quickly molded LSUE into arguably the premiere junior college program in the state of Louisiana. The Bengals captured the 2019-20 LCCAC Conference Championship, dominating the league with an 8-1 record and average margin of victory of 19 points. LSUE posted its first 20-win campaign (20-6 overall record) including a 14-1 mark inside the HPRE Center.
He was also named the LABC Junior College Coach of the Year.
Under Starks, LSUE had six players earn All-LCCAC accolades in 2019-20 including co-Player of the Year Jonathan Cisse.
The Bengals continued their success in 2020-21, capturing an outright LCCAC title with a perfect 10-0 record. Cisse would add another LCCAC Player of the Year award as well as becoming the first All-Region 23 selection in LSUE history.
In his first year on campus, Starks guided the Bengals to a 14-15 record with three Bengals earning all-LCCAC honors including first-team selections Caleb Starks and Brennan Maddox.
Starks came to LSUE after a successful six-year tenure at Lafayette Christian Academy. The Knights were 170-28 under coach Starks, winning the 2018 and 2017 LHSAA Division IV State Championships. LCA made five consecutive Top 28 appearances.
In his second season at Lafayette Christian, Starks was named the 2014 LHSAA Class 1A Coach of the Year. The Knights won five district championships under Starks including an impressive 60-2 record in district play.
Starks’ team are known for their exciting, up-tempo style of basketball. Under his tutelage, Starks has seen several players go on to play collegiate basketball, including recent St. John’s signee Greg Williams.
Starks had been a high school head coach since 1996, first getting started at Assembly Christian from 1996-2003. He helped lead the school to a Louisiana Christian Schools Athletic Association state runner-up in 1997 and was named the association’s coach of the year in 1997, 1998 and 2002.
Northside Christian was Starks’ next stop from 2003-2008, his first of two stays at the Crowley, La. high school. Following a season as an assistant at his alma mater UL-Lafayette (2008-09) and one year at Vermilion Catholic (2009-10), Starks returned to NCS to help lead the Warriors to their first ever LHSAA Class C Quarterfinals appearance in 2012.
Starks was a two-time First-Team All-Sun Belt Conference selection at then-University of Southwestern Louisiana (Now UL-Lafayette). He helped lead the Ragin’ Cajuns to two NCAA Tournament appearances including the school’s only win in the tournament, a 1992 upset of Oklahoma. Starks finished his Cajuns’ career with 1,592 points, currently 11th all-time at the school. After one year of playing professional basketball overseas in the Netherlands, Starks returned stateside to begin his coaching career.
Byron was inducted into the UL-Lafayette Athletics Hall of Fame in 2011.
In addition to his coaching career, Starks is the founder and executive director of Champions International, Inc., a motivational non-profit corporation that teaches leadership skills and offers mentoring programs for young people.
A native of Grambling, La., Starks received a degree in General Studies from USL with a concentration in Health and P.E. in 1996. Starks and his wife, Angel, have three children: B.J., Christon and Caleb.
