Texas Tech head men’s basketball coach Grant McCasland has officially announced the hiring of Luke Barnwell as Assistant Coach, Clay Wilson (Director of Player Development), Jardon Powell (Director of Administration & Operations), Cooper Anderson (Assistant Coordinator of Operations), Chris Nottingham (Video Coordinator) and Christian Hosley (Assistant Strength & Conditioning).
Barnwell will serve as an assistant coach for McCasland after recording an impressive 224-39 record in 10 seasons at Sunrise Christian Academy. He was named the 2021 and 2022 Naismith High School Boys Coach of the Year and led Sunrise Christian to the 2022 National Interscholastic Basketball Conference Championship.
He has spent the last eight seasons leading the Sunrise Christian Elite team where he compiled a 178-28 record competing against the elite basketball programs in the nation. Barnwell led SCA to five consecutive GEICO Nationals and has coached over 75 NCAA Division I players and worked with six NBA players. His team was ranked No. 1 throughout the 2022 season and won the inaugural NIBC. The program once again advanced to the final four of the GEICO High School National Tournament in 2023 with an upset of the top seed. He coached NBA players Kennedy Chandler, Kendall Brown, Gradey Dick and Ochai Agbaji and helped train Buddy Hield and Ron Baker.
“Coach Barnwell has great head coaching experience and has recruited and coached some of the best players around the world,” McCasland said. “He’s got great basketball feel but his ability to relate to players is what separates him. We are thrilled to have him part of our coaching staff.”
Barnwell began his time at SCA as the head coach of the post-grad basketball team where he led the program to a 41-13 record from 2012-15. He earned Midwest Prep Coach of the Year in 2015 and would help 13 players advance to NCAA Division I programs.
Additionally, Barnwell gained coaching experience within the Mokan Nike Elite program where he was the head coach of Mokan 17U Select in 2014 and Mokan 15U Elite in 2015. He also assisted Mokan programs from 2016-18.
An Emporia, Kansas native, Barnwell played college basketball at Newman University and Emporia State before beginning his coaching career as a student assistant. He graduated from Newman University with a bachelor’s in Sports Communications with an emphasis in coaching.
Wilson joins McCasland after two seasons at UNT and will work as the program’s Director of Player Development.
An all-state player in high school, an Ivy League student-athlete, and a former overseas professional, Wilson arrived in Lubbock after two seasons as a graduate assistant at North Texas for Tech head coach Grant McCasland. Prior to UNT, Wilson was at Cornell University where he was an assistant coach from 2018-21. A Princeton University graduate, he played for the Tigers for four seasons before playing professionally overseas and then coaching.
“Clay is an elite skills and development coach,” McCasland said. “He has a knack for helping players get better with his relentless approach and passion for the game. We are thrilled to have him join us. He will make an immediate impact on and off the court for our program.”
Wilson helped the Mean Green to the 2023 NIT championship title and a 31-7 record during the 2022-23 season after a 25-7 record in his first season. In each of Wilson’s two seasons North Texas won a program record 16 league games. Wilson was instrumental in the development of All league performers such as Tylor Perry, Thomas Bell, Rubin Jones, JJ Murray and more. Wilson was heavily involved with the offensive game plan and scouting of other opponents. Wilson was also an assistant coach for the inaugural North Texas TBT team ‘Bleed Green’.
During his time at Cornell as an assistant coach,?Wilson helped develop players who had accomplished career years, including All-Ivy guards Terrance McBride, Greg Dolan and Academic All-American and leading scorer Jimmy Boeheim. Wilson served as the recruiting coordinator, player development coach, scheduling coordinator, and data analytics coordinator while at Cornell. Wilson helped recruit a number of players to Cornell but most notably 2023 All-Ivy guard Nazir Williams.
Prior to joining Cornell’s coaching staff, Wilson was a varsity head coach for the Green Country Defenders in Oklahoma. Wilson had five players that went on to play collegiate basketball after his one season at the helm. Wilson was also the co-founder, co-owner, and trainer for Elev8hoops in Oklahoma. He helped create one of the largest skill development programs in the region with more than 600 clients. He also co-founded the Clay Wilson and David Mason Skill Academy, instructing more than 400 campers and organizing logistics for eight separate camps.
As a player at Princeton, Wilson helped lead the Tigers to 74 wins over his four seasons on the team. He served as team captain his senior year and earned the school’s Bob Rock Sixth Man of the Year in his final season. Wilson played on a pair of teams that advanced to the postseason with appearances in the CBI quarterfinals in 2012 and 2014. After graduating he played professional basketball in Germany, New Zealand, Estonia, and?Latvia.
A Tulsa, Oklahoma native, Wilson played at Lincoln Christian High School where he was named the Oklahoma Class 3A player of the year after averaging 27.8 points, six assists and six rebounds per game as a senior. He graduated from Princeton in 2015 with a Sociology degree and went on to get his MBA in Sport Entertainment Management from the University of North Texas in 2022.
Powell is in her first season as the Texas Tech men’s basketball Director of Administration and Operations.
Born in Lubbock, Powell was raised in the Texas Hill Country and has spent the last six years in Midland working at Midland Christian School where she served as the Communications Director and College Guidance Counselor.
“Jardon is very talented and will help our program in all areas,” McCasland said. “She does a great job in administration and communication. She gets winning and helps people get to their best every day. We are thrilled to have her in our program.”
Powell graduated from Baylor University in 2014 with a Business Marketing degree. After graduating from BU, she worked within the admissions department where she planned and led recruiting events for prospective students across West Texas. Most recently at Midland Christian, Powell streamlined internal and external communication efforts for the school. She assisted the administration and Board of Trustees in establishing policy, coordinating school-wide events, and managing public relations.
Anderson is in his seventh season with the Texas Tech men’s basketball program and second as the Coordinator of Basketball Operations. He had worked as a graduate assistant in operations and equipment the past two seasons before earning the promotion. He also served as a student manager during the Red Raider runs to the 2018 NCAA Elite 8 and 2019 NCAA National Championship and during the COVID-shortened season of 2019-20.
“Cooper gets winning. Period,” McCasland said. “He was a huge help in our transition and has been a vital resource to the program in all areas. We’re really thankful to have him part of our team.”
He earned his bachelor’s in 2018 and master’s degrees (2022) from Texas Tech in Sports Management. A Wylie, Texas native, Anderson was a student assistant for the Collin County Community College basketball program from 2014-16 before transferring to Tech. Anderson works directly with McCasland, the basketball staff, graduate assistants, student managers and the student-athletes on a daily basis.
Nottingham, who joined the Texas Tech men’s basketball program in May 2023, is in his first season as the Video Coordinator.
A Baylor graduate, Nottingham worked in multiple roles within the BU program that won the 2021 National Championship and a pair of conference championships during his time in Waco. He began as a student manager from 2017-20 before moving into a graduate assistant position from 2020-23. He worked with head coach Scott Drew and his staff along with assisting players in the development of their game.
“Chris really understands how to help our staff through video but has a feel and understanding of the game to improve our team is what separates him,” McCasland said.
A Chickasha, Oklahoma native, Nottingham is coming off experience in the 2022-23 season as a graduate assistant where he directly aided BU assistant coach John Jakus with the guards. He assisted on film projects and individual instruction along with various other roles. During that time, Baylor won the 2021 National Championship and was the 2021 and 2022 Big 12 Conference Champion. He would also gain experience and help the program through analytics that included team offense, team defense, individual defense, and individual/position group offense.
At Baylor, Nottingham earned a master’s in Sports Pedagogy after his bachelor’s in accounting and management.
Hosley has been named the Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach where he will work with Head Strength and Conditioning Coach Andrew Wright.
A former football player at North Texas, Hosley arrives in Lubbock after working at Randolph High School as the strength and conditioning coordinator for the past year. Hosley began his coaching career as a strength and conditioning intern at UNT after his playing career in 2019 and earned his bachelor’s in Kinesiology and Exercise Science. Hosley began his collegiate playing career at Howard Payne University before deciding to walk-on at UNT where he would earn an athletic scholarship and a role on the team’s Leadership Council.
“Coach Hosley is a tremendous strength coach and excels in developing relationships,” McCasland said. “He helps players reach their maximum potential.”
At Randolph, Hosley helped to develop and monitor performance training programs throughout the athletic department. He implemented safe and effective program design based on scientific principles, instructing proper resistance training exercise techniques, speed and agility development, and testing and evaluation. He also was the founder and head coach of Walk on Way Performance.
A San Antonio native, Hosley graduated from Randolph High School in Universal City where he was a three-year letterman football player. As a senior, he earned All-District Offensive MVP honors and was a First-Team All-District on defense where he played safety. Hosley also competed in basketball, powerlifting and track.
The group joins assistant coaches Matt Braeuer and Achoki Moikobu and strength and conditioning coach Andrew Wright who were previously announced.
https://texastech.com/news/2023/7/1/mens-basketball-mccasland-announces-six-additions-to-staff
