The Barry men’s basketball program has two new staff members for the 2024-25 season, director of athletics Dr. Scott Smith announced today. Seth Allen and DJ Byrd both join the staff this summer.
Allen joins the staff from cross-town rival Florida National, where he spent last season as an assistant. Allen served as the offensive and defensive coordinator and lead scout for the Conquistadors. He also coordinated travel and led the strength and conditioning program.
The Conquistadors went 10-14 and advanced to the second round of the Continental Athletic Conference Tournament. The Conqs’ finished second in the conference and advanced to the post-season for the first time. Two of the Conquistadors were named first-team All-Conference, while another made honorable mention.
Allen has an extensive playing resume, having seen tours all over the world, including three stints in the G League, and seasons in Hungary, Lithuania, Italy, Finland, Germany and Greece. He was a standout at Virginia Tech, earning All-ACC honors in 2017, as well as ACC Sixth-Man of the Year, after averaging 13.3 points per game and shooting 53.4 percent from the floor, including 44.1 percent from three-point range as the Hokies went 22-11 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
He earned his undergraduate degree from Virginia Tech in sociology, with a focus on criminology, in 2017.
Byrd comes to The Shores after five seasons with the Mercer Bears, the last four as assistant coach. Mercer went 81-79 with him on staff. Prior to Mercer, he spent two seasons under Matt Painter at Purdue as a graduate assistant and several seasons working in the prep ranks.
An outstanding developer of guard play, he led several Bear guards to All-Conference, All-Freshman and All-Conference Tournament campaigns. Mercer set several records for assists and three-point shooting during his tenure.
As a player, Byrd played the 2013-2014 season professionally in Germany with the Kirchheim Knights in the Pro A League. He was also a standout at Purdue. He led the Boilermakers to three NCAA Tournament appearances, including 2012 when he was named the Sixth Man of the Year in the B1G. In 2010, Purdue won the regular season Big Ten Championship and went to the Sweet Sixteen before falling to the eventual NCAA National Champion Duke Blue Devils.
Byrd earned his undergraduate degree from Purdue in organizational leadership & supervision in 2013 and his master’s, also from Purdue, in leadership in 2019.
