New Independence Community College (KS) head basketball coach Jai Steadman has added Nick Mora, Tom Tyler, and Kasey Van Etten to his staff.
Nick Mora joins the Independence Men’s Basketball Program as Assistant Coach. Mora was previously an Assistant Coach at Kilgore College 2022-2023. During this season, Kilgore won 21 games and finished in the semi-finals of the Region XIV tournament. At Kilgore, he coached 3 All-Conference players including 1 NJCAA All-American. Before Kilgore, Nick was an Assistant Coach at Texas A&M International University 2021-2022. During this season, TAMIU saw its best start in program history and a win improvement of 12 games from the previous year. At TAMIU, he coached 2 All-Conference players.
He played at UTRGV from 2016-2021. Nick was a member of the ’18-’19 20-Win season, where the school saw its first D1 post-season win in program history.
Mora obtained a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology and a Master of Science in Kinesiology Concentration in Sports Management from UTRGV. He earned numerous awards at UTRGV, including the UTRGV Athletic Director’s Honor Roll (5x), The Rider’s Athlete of the Week, National Association of Basketball Coaches Honor’s Court, SOCIALIFE Magazine Hidalgo County Edition Cover Athletes, UTRGV Athletics Iron V Award and the UTRGV Athletics Mr. V Award. His work in the community has been impactful as well, having worked with the Children’s Hospital Fall Festival in Edinburg, Texas, and the Special Olympics in Weslaco, Texas multiple times each. He also volunteered at the Edinburg Boys and Girls Club.
Tom Tyler has been a Pirate supporter for over 45 years. Tom started as a Pirate fan of both the 1976 & 1977 National Championship teams, which led to many different roes on the Pirate scorers table.
Tyler started as a volunteer coach fro the Lady Pirates from 1991 to 1994 with a Final Four National Tournament appearance in 1993.
Tom then started his volunteer coaching with the men’s program in 1994 and has been apart of several conference championships teams and Region IV Championship in 2000, with a trip to the National Tournament in 2000.
Since 1994, Tom was also volunteer assist + Head Coach of the golf team which won four straight Region IV championships in NJCAA Division II with trips to the National Tournament each of those years.
All of this would not be possible without his wife of 50 years Dall Tyler.
Kasey Van Etten is joining the Independence Men’s Basketball program as Director of Basketball Operations. As part of his time in the Rio Grande Valley, Kasey experienced event operations with Golden Grape Entertainment which works at Bert Ogden Arena, the home of the Rio Grande Valley Vipers and the RGV FC Toros, the USL affiliate of the Houston Dynamo, for a few months before landing the job here at ICC.
In 2021-2023 Kasey was an Events and Facilities Assistant with the Univeristy of Texas Rio Grande Valley athletics department, where he compiled game day operations before, during, and after each UTRGV Athletics event. As well, organized equipment room responsibilities such as sorting and distribution of equipment and orders for several teams.
In 2018-2020 and returned in 2021-2023, Kasey interned with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the G-League affiliate of the Houston Rockets. He maintained game day operations such as the scoreboard, scorebook, shot clock, replay and statistics. Kasey was part of the Vipers championship runs in 2018-2019 and 2021-2022.
In 2020-2021, prior to working with UTRGV and the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, Kasey obtained an internship with the University of Oklahoma athletics department, where he served with Event Management. Kasey distributed and organized the athletics events management equipment and storage room. He as well worked as a Customer Relations Assistatn at the 2021 Women’s College World Series.
During his time as Director of Basketball Operations, Kasey will coordinate team travel, oversee and manage social media platforms, assist with the development of season schedules, scheduling practices and shoot around. As well communicate with other institutions regarding delivery and receipt of game film, assiting with budget development and monitors expenditures, plan and organize on campus visits for targeted recruits and organize a detailed distribution of practice and game jerseys and other basketball equipment.
Kasey is highly on giving back to the community and will plan and organize community service with the men’s basketball program.
Kasey favorite quote is by Milton Berle – “If opportunity doesn’t knock build a door.”
