SMU Head Coach Andy Enfield has named longtime coach Martin Bahar as General Manager and Recruiting Coordinator for SMU Men’s Basketball. Bahar comes to the Hilltop after three years as a sports analytics business developer and television analyst following 16 years of coaching. He was previously on Enfield’s staff at USC for four seasons from 2015–19.
Bahar is joining the Mustangs after serving as Director of Business Development for ShotTracker, a sports analytics company that helps programs utilize advanced metrics/AI to make data-driven decisions. He was also a TV analyst, including for broadcasts on CBS Sports Network and ESPN+.
His 16 seasons in college coaching include stops at Georgetown (2006-09), Princeton (2009-11), Fairfield (2011-15), USC (2015-19) and San Diego (2019-22). Bahar has helped teams earn five NCAA Tournament bids and nine overall postseason appearances during his career. In four years at USC, Bahar helped the Trojans to three 20-win seasons and two NCAA Tournaments. Bahar has coached 15 future NBA players during his college coaching career and also trained professional players from leagues across the globe during the offseason.
At USD, Bahar served as the Toreros’ recruiting coordinator, with an emphasis on transfer portal and international recruiting, in addition to coaching, scouting and player development.
During his second season with USC in 2016-17, Bahar was a member of a coaching staff that guided the Trojans to their most wins in program history (26), reaching the NCAA Tournament for the second year in a row.
Prior to USC, Bahar was a part of the Fairfield coaching staff for four seasons (2011-15). He guided the Stags to two trips to the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT), including a run to the 2012 semifinals. He also recruited some of the program’s top scorers over those four seasons and saw four players sign professional contracts. He played a key role in recruiting Tyler Nelson, who finished his Fairfield career as the program’s all-time leading scorer and moved on to the NBA G League.
Bahar spent two seasons with Princeton prior to Fairfield, where he was an assistant coach for the 2011 Ivy League champions and NCAA Tournament team that won 25 games. In his first year with the Tigers as the director of basketball operations, Princeton won 22 games and finished first in the country in defense in 2009-10.
Bahar got his collegiate coaching start with Georgetown (2006-09). In his three seasons, the Hoyas won the BIG EAST twice and reached the postseason three times, including a Final Four run in 2007.
Bahar also started “Maddie’s Team,” a fundraising team associated with Blood Cancer United in honor of his late sister, Madeleine Bahar, who died from plasma cell leukemia in 2009. Maddie’s Team has raised close to $400,000 for blood cancer research and patient support since its inception.
A former undergraduate manager with Vanderbilt, a program that made three postseason appearances from 2004 to 2006, Bahar has a dual degree in communications and Spanish from Vanderbilt (’06) and a master’s degree in Communications, Culture, and Technology from Georgetown (’08).
A native of Potomac, Maryland, Bahar is married to Terrill Keiner. They have two daughters, Lila and Gigi.
