Hudson Welty begins his first season as the head coach of the Fire men's basketball program.
2025 featured it fair share of challenges for the first year Fire Head Coach, as Southeastern finished the year 14-17, with a second place finish in the Sun Conference Tournament. Southeastern kicked off the season with a historic 127-83 win over Bryan College, before a couple tough losses led to Sun Conference play. Conference play started with an impressive 88-80 win over #15 Florida Memorial, splitting the next two contests. This was the pattern for the remainder of the regular season, with the longest win streak being three games over spring break. The Fire featured one of the best three-point shooting offenses in the country, ranked 11th in the NAIA with 10.3 threes made per game. That offense was featured in the Sun Conference Tournament. After fending off the fifth-seeded New College of Florida Mighty Banyans, the Fire 59 percent clip, and 51.7 percent from three as the Fire knocked off the top-seeded Keiser Seahawks 96-87. Southeastern's season ended in the title match, falling to the second-seeded Ave Maria Gyrenes. Two Fire were named Sun All-Conference, and Matthew Lentz was named Sun All-Academic and the Sun Conference Champion of Character.
Welty comes to Lakeland after serving as an assistant coach at three different stops with teams that perennially reach the NAIA National Tournament.
"Hudson stood out in a field of very qualified candidates because of who he is as a person, his approach to coaching, and his pedigree," said Watson. "He is a man of faith who cares very much about doing things with excellence; from recruiting, to investing in his student-athletes, to his focus on the details of the game."
Welty spent the last two seasons as the lead assistant coach at MidAmerica Nazarene University, which won 45 games during his time in Olathe, Kan. He spent the prior season on staff at Arizona Christian when the Firestorm won the Lakeland Bracket of the 2022 NAIA National Tournament and advanced all the way to the national semifinal.
"I am grateful and honored to be joining the Southeastern program as the next men's basketball coach," said Welty. "Being on campus, you quickly realize that Southeastern is a special place with incredible people. Thank you to SEU President, Dr. Kent Ingle and Athletics Director Drew Watson for allowing me the opportunity to lead this program. My wife, Audra, and I are excited to join the Lakeland community and get things rolling."
Welty also worked as a graduate assistant at Indiana Wesleyan, helping the Wildcats to 59 wins in two seasons and a Round of 16 national tournament appearance. Prior to his time in Marian, he served as an assistant coach at Covenant College in Georgia and was part of the staff when they set program records for winning percentage (.667) and conference wins (16).
During his coaching tenure, Welty has recruited all over the United States with emphasis on the Midwest, Southeast, and the West Coast.
As a player, Welty was a four-year starter at MidAmerica Nazarene and was a three-year captain which included a trip to the national semifinal. In his 123 games at MNU, Welty was a 55% field goal shooter and was 72% at the free throw line.
"Hudson was raised in three of the top NAIA Christian college men's basketball programs in the country," added Watson. "I have no doubt that his experience will translate into long term success here in Lakeland. We're excited to welcome Hudson and Audra to the Fire Family."
