HoopDirt.com first mentioned Evansville assistant Carson Harris and his involvement at Marian back on 3/20. His hiring has now been made official…
Marian University director of athletics Steve Downing announced today that Carson Harris has been named the eighth head men’s basketball coach in Marian University history in a press conference at the MU Physical Education Center.
"We are proud to announce Carson Harris as the eighth head men’s basketball coach in Marian University history," said Downing. "His background and abilities will provide a strong foundation for our program and his commitment to excellence is exactly what we were looking for in this search. We are excited to have Carson join the Marian University athletics family."
Harris is the first African-American head coach in the history of Marian University men’s basketball, which dates back to 1954-55. He is the second African-American head coach at Marian University alongside head dance coach Tamara Ammons-Jones.
Harris has served as assistant coach at NCAA Division I University of Evansville since September of 2010. He has been part of the Purple Aces’ program since 2009 when he was hired as the director of basketball operations and takes the reins of the MU program after helping lead he Purple Aces to the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament.
During his time at Evansville, Harris assisted in all aspects of the program, including recruiting top high school and junior college players on a national scale. He prepared scouting reports, monitored the team’s academics and assisted with the Evansville 6th Man Booster Club.
In 2014-15, Harris helped guide the Purple Aces to a fifth-place finish in the Missouri Valley Conference, which has three teams currently participating in the postseason. He worked with All-Missouri Valley Conference First Team selection Egidijus Mockevicius and, in 2013-14, worked with NABC All-District Second Team and All-MVC First Team selection D.J. Balentine, who finished as the MVC’s leading scorer. During his five seasons as assistant coach, he helped guide student-athletes to four NABC All-District First Team selections, three All-MVC First Team selections, two MVC All-Freshman team honors and three MVC All-Defensive team honors. The team earned two trips to postseason tournaments with a semifinal appearance in the 2013 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament and a quarterfinal appearance in the 2015 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament. In addition, he also served as the coordinator for the Evansville Basketball Camp as well as the Super Hoops Basketball Camp for four years.
As director of basketball operations, he coordinated the operational aspects of the Division I program. He managed the program’s budget, coordinated all travel, coordinated the study table and training table and served as the program’s community service coordinator.
Harris was hired at Evansville after spending three seasons as an assistant coach at NCAA Division III DePauw University where he helped guide the Tigers to an appearance in the NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball Tournament in 2006-07. During his time with the Tigers, Harris was responsible for the recruitment of student-athletes, season scheduling as well as scouting and film breakdown. He organized practice and helped build the game strategies and served as an academic monitor and advisor.
From 2003-06, he worked as an assistant coach with Earlham College after spending two seasons as an assistant coach at his alma mater, Manchester College, where he assisted in all aspects of the program.
Harris competed at Manchester College from 1997-2001 where he was a three-year starter. He was also a three-year team captain who earned three All-Heartland College Athletic Conference honors and two HCAC All-Tournament accolades. He was part of the NCAA Division III Sweet Sixteen team in 1998-99. He graduated from Manchester in 2001 with a bachelor of science degree in psychology.
He graduated from Lafayette Jefferson High School in 1996 where he was a four-year starter who was a three-year team captain and three-time All-North Central Conference selection. He was part of the 1995-96 Lafayette Jefferson team that earned a berth in the final four. Harris and wife Ali have two children.
He inherits a program that finished the 2014-15 season with a 16-15 overall record and finished seventh in the Crossroads League with a 7-11 league mark. Junior Dion Smith leads a crop of 11 returners for the Knights in 2015-16.
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