The Great Falls Electric professional basketball team announced their new head coach for their team for the 2025 The Basketball League’s (TBL) season during a press conference in Great Falls on Tuesday afternoon.
Montana native Steve Keller, who has guided many Montana prep and collegiate teams in recent years, will be the Electric’s new coach.
The Custer High School (Custer, MT) graduate attended Rocky Mountain College in Billings, Montana earning a Bachelor of Science degree in History.
“Steve is an outstanding coach with great character,” said Great Falls Electric General Manager, Jim Keough. “We expect great things to happen this next season and we look forward to making the playoffs.”
Keller, who is one of the most respected and accomplished coaches in Montana, made high school coaching stops at Opheim (MT) High School for three seasons (1982-1984) where he guided the Vikings to three consecutive titles before departing to Helena, Montana to coach the girls program at Helena High School. The Bengals won three state championships under his guidance (1990, 1991, 1997). He also assisted the boys hoops team where the Bengals captured the Stata AA championship in 1991. He finished his prep career with a 610-180 record. In 2005, Keller was inducted into the Montana Coaches Association (MCA) Hall of Fame. Since 2012, he has been the head coach for the Montana Roundtable Montana-Wyoming Boy’s All-Star Basketball Series. At the annual event every June, he has 22 wins and two losses.
The Electric’s coach transitioned from the high school ranks to the college level in 2004. He coached three men’s teams in the NAIA’s Frontier Conference. He had stints with the Carroll College Saints from 2004-2007.
After his time at Carroll College in Helena, Montana, he spent eleven years with the University of Montana Western in Dillon, Montana (2007-2018) coaching the Bulldogs men’s program. While there, he gathered 231 victories, three NAIA Fronter Conference championships and appeared at the NAIA National Men’s Basketball Tournament eight times.
He was hired in 2018 to coach the University of Providence Argonauts (Great Falls, MT) for five years (2018-2023). The Argonauts became successful under his direction, winning 84 games in that span. The Argonauts had one of their best programs during the 2020-2021 season, winning 17 of their 20 games finishing in the top spot in the Frontier Conference.
More recently, the Montana native served as an assistant coach for the Rocky Mountain College Battlin’ Bears in Billings, Montana under head coach Bill Dreikosen, who has coached the Billings, Montana school for the past 23 years. He will still continue to be on the coaching staff at Rocky Mountain College.
Two of the players from the Great Falls Electric were also in attendance at Tuesday’s press conference. Former Great Falls High product Brendan Howard and former Choteau High and University of Providence player, Isaac Howard.
“I want to thank Dr. Glenn Winslow and Jim Keough (General Manager) for giving me the opportunity to coach the Great Falls Electric,” said new coach Steve Keller. “I am very excited for our season to start.”
One of his first tasks in his new position will be to head to Las Vegas, Nevada for the 2024 TBL Combine and open tryout on July 18-20.
The Keller family has coaching in their blood. Both of his sons are in the coaching business as well. Wes currently is the coach for the Rocky Mountain College women’s basketball squad and Josh is the head girls basketball coach at Dillon’s Beaverhead County High School.
Keller is married to his wife, Mary Kay and they also have three daughters, Shandi, Hayley, and Nicole.
The Great Falls Electric’s second season in The Basketball League gets underway in March 2025.
