LAZO FILE

Personal Information

Name: Gabe Lazo
Birthday: Dec. 17, 1984
Hometown: Miami, Fla.
High School: Miami Senior High School, 2007
Education: B.S. (Education), Barry, 2008

Coaching Experience

OVERALL

Years as an assistant (2017-present): 8
Overall record: 138-105
Three postseason appearances: (3 NCAA)
Conference Championships: 1
Conference Tournament Championships: 1

TENNESSEE

Assistant coach (2024-present)
One-year record: 24-10
One postseason appearance (1 NCAA - Sweet 16)
Helped land No. 1 or No. 2 high school signing class in 2025
Helped sign No. 1 transfer portal class in 2025
Named to board of directors for LABC in 2024

MISSISSIPPI STATE

Assistant coach (2022-24)
Two-year record: 45-23
Two postseason appearances (1 NCAA, 1 WBIT)
Advanced to 2023 NCAA Second Round
Advanced to 2024 WBIT Elite Eight
Back-to-back 20-win seasons
Signed top-3 portal class
Inked top-15 recruiting class

GEORGE WASHINGTON

Assistant coach (2021-22)
One-year record: 13-18
Coached No. 2 defense in A-10 Conference

STONY BROOK

Assistant coach (2019-21)
Two-year record: 43-9
One postseason appearance (NCAA)
Won 2019-20 America East Conference title
Won 2020-21 America East Conference Tournament title

FIU

Assistant coach (2017-19)
One-year record: 13-45
Most victories in 2017-18 since 2013-14

COLLEGIATE PLAYING EXPERIENCE

Barry (2006-08)
FIU (2004-06)
Played point guard
Appeared in 48 games at Barry

HIGH SCHOOL COACHING EXPERIENCE

Varsity Girls Head Coach at John. A. Ferguson Senior H.S. (2012-17)
Three-time Miami-Dade Coach of the Year
Led Ferguson to 2015-16 & 2016-17 Florida Class 8A state runner-up finishes & No. 2 rankings
Guided program to 2015-16 & 2016-17 regional championships

NIKE EYBL COACHING EXPERIENCE

Head coach of the Miami Suns in Nike Girls Elite Youth Basketball League (2010-17)
His 2014 “Team Larkins" squad achieved a top-10 national ranking and was invited to Nike Nationals.

Updated: August 2025

WATCH: Getting To Know Gabe Lazo (Part 1) | Getting To Know Gabe Lazo (Part 2)

Gabe Lazo joined Tennessee Athletics on April 16, 2024, as Kim Caldwell named him an assistant on her first staff as head coach of the Lady Vols.

Lazo, who is in his second year on Rocky Top and ninth season in coaching at the collegiate level, has accumulated a 138-105 record at five schools over an eight-year period. The teams he has helped lead have recorded four postseason appearances (3 NCAA, 1 WBIT), a conference championship and a conference tournament title.

In his first year in Knoxville, Lazo was chosen to attend the 2024 TopConnect Basketball Symposium in Las Vegas. The program identifies the top assistant basketball coaches in the country and connects them with mid-major athletic directors, providing tremendous networking and leadership development opportunities for both parties. He also was named to the board of directors for the Latino Association of Basketball Coaches (LABC) in 2024 and was chosen as the 2025 World Exposure Report Assistant Coach of the Year.

Lazo helped UT card a 24-10 overall record and an 8-8 mark in SEC play in 2024-25, notching notable wins over Florida State, Iowa, Ohio State and eventual NCAA champ UConn, the first by UT over the Huskies since 2007 in the interrupted series. The Big Orange advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 and finished the season ranked 15th and 16th, respectively, in the AP and USA TODAY/WBCA Coaches Polls.

Tennessee set school and SEC records in 2024-25 for points (139), three-pointers made (30) and threes attempted (63) vs. N.C. Central on Dec. 14. The treys made also eclipsed NCAA (M/W), NBA and WNBA bests, while the point total ranked fifth in NCAA women’s history. Additionally, UT tallied the most treys made (343) and attempted (1,054) in a season at UT, also setting SEC bests in those areas. UT’s 86.6 points per game stood fourth in school annals and eighth in the SEC record book.

On the recruiting front, Lazo had a lead role in helping secure early success for the staff. The first portal class featured Zee Spearman and Ruby Whitehorn playing lead roles for the 2024-25 squad. UT then signed a 2025 high school class ranked No. 1 or 2 (Mia Pauldo, Deniya Prawl, Jaida Civil, Lauren Hurst, Mya Pauldo) and added the top portal class of 2025 (Janiah Barker, Nya Robertson, Jersey Wolfenbarger), according to ESPN.

Lazo arrived at Rocky Top after spending two seasons at Mississippi State, earning a promotion to associate head coach there after helping the Bulldogs make the NCAA Tournament Second Round in 2022-23 and the WBIT Elite Eight in 2023-24. They did so while posting back-to-back seasons of 22 and 23 victories and charting a 45-23 record during that time frame.

Known as a relentless recruiter, a motivator and a mentor to, and developer of, student-athletes. Lazo served as MSU’s designated defensive coordinator. The first assistant hired by the Bulldogs’ Sam Purcell when he took the job in 2022, Lazo provided opponent scouting and defensive approach as well as in-game tactics and adjustments from the bench.

His ability to identify talent and build relationships was critical to the Bulldogs landing the No. 3 transfer class ahead of the 2023-24 campaign. He also played a key role in Mississippi State securing highly-regarded classes over his last two signing cycles there, including the 16th-rated class in 2022-23, which was the second best in school history.

Lazo, who has been cited for his work ethic, was a key staff member for Purcell, highlighted by his scouting assignment that helped the No. 11-seeded Bulldogs upset No. 6 seed Creighton in the first round of the 2023 NCAA tournament. Lazo also played a significant role in the recruitment of former Seton Hall transfer Lauren Park-Lane, who broke MSU's single-season assists record during the 2023-24 campaign.

Prior to making the move to Starkville, Lazo spent the 2021-22 campaign as an assistant at George Washington, helping mold the second-ranked defense in the A-10 Conference. During that season, he signed top-30 recruit Nyanna Robertson and lent his expertise as an improving GWU squad reached the quarterfinals of the A-10 Tournament.

From 2019-21, Lazo served as an assistant at Stony Brook, helping the Seawolves fashion a 43-9 overall record. Among SBU’s achievements were winning the 2019-20 America East regular-season championship, with 28-3 overall and 14-2 league marks, and capturing the 2021 America East Tournament championship and earning a berth in that season’s NCAA Tournament. While on Long Island, Lazo assisted with the development of five all-conference selections in 2020, including first-team honoree India Pagan.

Lazo cut his teeth in the college coaching ranks at FIU, filling a role as an assistant there from 2017-19. Working for head coach Tiara Malcom, he contributed toward the Panthers carding in 2017-18 their most overall victories since 2013-14 and their most league wins since joining Conference USA.

Prior to making the move to college basketball, Lazo was varsity girls head coach at John. A. Ferguson Senior High School from 2012-17, earning Miami-Dade County Coach of the Year distinction on three different occasions. He guided the Falcons to regional championships in 2015-16 and 2016-17 and to state runner-up finishes during those seasons as well and a No. 2 overall Florida state ranking in Class 8A.

His duties dovetailed with his summer role as head coach of the Miami Suns in the Nike Girls Elite Youth Basketball League from 2010-17. His 2014 “Team Larkins" squad achieved a top-10 national ranking and was invited to Nike Nationals.

Lazo played collegiately at FIU (2004-06) and Barry University (2006-08), earning a bachelor's degree in education from Barry in 2008. He also played professionally for two years with Cariduros de Fajardo BSN in Puerto Rico.

During his high school days, Lazo was a four-year letterwinner and an honor roll student at Miami Senior High. He led MSHS to the state final four as a junior and the elite eight as a senior and was part of squads winning three district titles and two city championships during his prep career.