Tyler Southwood is making his return to the varsity sidelines.
Southwood was named the new Farmington boys basketball coach Monday, making him the successor to Marty Lozier. Following a Class 2A sectional semifinal loss last month, Lozier announced his retirement after a five-year run that included 86 victories, four winning seasons and two Class 2A regional titles (2022, 2026).
Lozier had made it known that Southwood was his pick to be the new head coach for 2026-27.
“I’m excited for the opportunity,” Southwood told the Journal Star on Thursday. “Blessed that the district here in Farmington would obviously give me a shot at this position. I know Marty was pretty vocal from the get-go about me possibly being that successor. I’m totally thankful for him for letting me be a part of things last year and be a part of the program in that way.
“… When I resigned down in Havana, it was something that I didn’t see me never being a head coach again. It just had to be kind of the right time. … It was just time. I’m excited. When you’re a coach, you miss it.”
This past season Southwood, who is the Farmington Junior High student success coordinator, was the Farmers JV coach following 14 years as the Havana head coach. He posted a 136-238 (.364) career record from 2011-2025 with three winning seasons.
The year away from being a head coach helped Southwood reflect and become a student of the game again under Lozier.
“I say it all the time when I talk about my time in Havana,” he said. “I wish I would have won more games. Obviously, as coaches, we’re judged on wins and losses. I know what my record is. Off the court and with players, I think I always tried to do the right thing. I think I tried to grow the program.
“… Having not been successful and not got it done in the win-loss column. I think last year gave me a chance to kind of reevaluate some things.”
Now, Southwood will dive headfirst into the Farmington program, meeting with the team on Monday. From there, he’ll continue Farmington’s varsity and JV summer leagues and will take his teams to a few shootouts over the summer.
But Southwood will have to replace a strong senior class that finished 17-14 and played deep into the postseason.
“I think any time you have some success,” Southwood said, “you’re going to get some kids (out) that maybe are on that fringe that are a like, ‘Man, that looks like a lot of fun. I want to be a part of that.’ “
Look for sophomore Logan Gardner as well as juniors Cole Blackhurst and Blake Melz to be back in the mix.
“We definitely have some work to do,” Southwood said.
Adam Duvall is a Journal Star sports reporter. Email him at aduvall@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @AdamDuvall.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Longtime boys coach ‘thankful’ in taking over Farmington basketball
Reporting by Adam Duvall, Peoria Journal Star / Journal Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
