Following up on something that I tweeted back on 5/16. It’s now been made official that Kris Baumann, former assistant men’s basketball coach at the University of Texas El Paso, has accepted the position as the new Odessa College head basketball coach.

OC Athletic Director Wayne Baker stated that “Kris wanted to coach for an elite NJCAA college, and Odessa College is definitely that. Kris is a strong recruiter, and he understands the role the community college plays in developing young athletes as good students, good people, and above all, student athletes who want to go on to play basketball at the university level.”

Prior to coaching at UTEP, Baumann served as the head men’s basketball coach for four years at Trinity Valley Community College in Athens, Texas. He led his teams to three consecutive national tournaments. In his last season, the Trinity Valley team was ranked number one in the nation for the majority of the season, finishing with a record of 33-2 and tying the school record for most wins. The Trinity Valley CC teams were the Region XIV conference champions from 2014-16, the Region XIV tournament champion in 2016, and runner-up in 2014. Coach Bauman was also named as the 2016 Region XIV Coach of the Year.

Baumann has 13 years of experience as a head coach at the community college level, including three seasons at Lamar Community College (2001-04) and six at Garden City Community College (2006-12). His career record as a head coach stands at 280-146.

As a native of New Plymouth, Idaho, Coach Baumann led his high school team to a state championship in 1993 and was chosen as the Idaho Gatorade Player of the Year in 1994. He was also selected to the Nike All-American Camp and the Five-Star Orange and White All-Star Game.

He continued his basketball career while attending the University of Idaho and became one of the top three-point shooters in school history. While at U of I, Baumann was voted team captain in both his junior and senior seasons and received the prestigious Ronald White Award.

He received his bachelor’s degree in general studies from the University of Idaho and has a Master’s Degree in Business Administration and Sports Management from Columbia Southern University.

Coach Baumann’s wife, Dusty Baumann, who is the grant coordinator at Trinity Valley Community College, will move with him to Odessa this summer.