Tennessee basketball coach Rick Barnes announced the addition of three full-time members of his support staff Monday.

Video coordinator Riley Davis is accompanying Barnes from Texas, while director of basketball operations Mary-Carter Kniffen and assistant to the head coach Kyle Condon both are Tennessee graduates who have been with the UT athletics department for several years.

“These support staff positions are just as important to me as my assistant coaches,” Barnes said. “Everyone in our program plays a valuable role in our success, and I’m really excited about the staff we’ve managed to put in place.

“I’ve known Riley for years, and his work ethic is second to none. He’s got incredible knowledge of the game, he’s someone I trust a great deal and he’ll be a huge asset for our program.

“I’ve gotten a chance to really get to know Kyle and Mary-Carter over the past several months. I’ve seen them work, I’ve seen how much they love the University of Tennessee and I’ve been really impressed by both of them. Kyle helped our entire staff make a smooth transition here, and he always put the team first. Mary-Carter knows the university extremely well. She knows how to get things done. She and Kyle are both extremely well thought of amongst everyone here at the university.”

Riley Davis – Video Coordinator

Riley Davis accompanied head coach Rick Barnes to Tennessee in the role of video coordinator in the summer of 2015. Davis has four previous years of experience as a member of Barnes’ basketball staff at Texas as well as experience in the NBA scouting ranks.

Davis’ seven total years at Texas were split into two separate stints. He began his history with Barnes by serving two years as a volunteer student assistant with the Texas program (2009-11) and one year as a graduate assistant (2011-12). In those roles, he assisted in film exchange as well as all aspects of video coordination and internal operations.

The 28-year-old Davis left Austin in 2012 and spent the 2012-13 season as an assistant coach at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas. He then spent one year as a regional advance scout for the NBA’s Charlotte Bobcats (now the Charlotte Hornets) in 2013-14.

Davis returned to Barnes’ Texas staff for the 2014-15 campaign in the full-time role of special assistant/video coordinator. The Longhorns posted a 20-win season, defeated three ranked opponents and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. Davis then made the transition to Tennessee.

Davis played basketball at Western Texas College in Snyder, Texas, in 2006-07. He then transferred to Howard College in Big Spring, Texas, where he played the following season. At Howard, Davis received team awards for academic excellence while maintaining a perfect 4.0 grade-point average.

After completing his junior-college eligibility, Davis served as a student assistant at Howard during the 2008-09 campaign. He coordinated travel, scheduling, scouting, assisted with recruiting and also coached the junior-varsity squad.

During his two seasons spent at Howard, the Hawks went a combined 49-12 while winning the Western Junior College Athletic Conference (WJCAC) title and advancing to the Region V NJCAA (National Junior College Athletic Association) Tournament both years. The WJCAC is widely referred to as the most competitive NJCAA conference in the nation.

Davis also helped recruit a signing class at Howard that later went on to win the 2010 NJCAA national championship.

A native of Seminole, Texas, and a 2006 graduate of Seminole High School, Davis earned his bachelor’s degree in sociology from Texas in 2011.

Mary-Carter Kniffen – Director of Basketball Operations

Mary-Carter Kniffen is entering her first season as Tennessee’s director of basketball operations. She is a native of Richmond, Va., and is a two-time Tennessee graduate.

She spent the previous three years as an assistant director on UT’s media relations staff.

In that role, she handled all administrative duties for the athletic communications staff, served as the media relations contact for the Tennessee rowing program and planned and executed the annual Big Orange Caravan summer outreach tour.

Kniffen worked closely with the Tennessee football program for three seasons from 2012 to 2014, managing Tom Elam Press Box on game days and overseeing the credential application, approval and distribution process for all home games.

She also handled credentialing for the Tennessee women’s basketball program from 2012-15.

During the 2014 and 2015 NCAA Women’s Basketball Championships, Kniffen was appointed as the media coordinator for the Knoxville Regionals held at Thompson-Boling Arena.

Kniffen was a graduate assistant in UT’s athletic communications office in 2011-12 prior to her hiring as a full-time staff member in July 2012.

She received her bachelor’s degree in Sport Management from Tennessee in 2011, and also earned a master’s degree in Sport Management in 2013.

Her tenure in the UT athletic department dates to her undergraduate career, during which she worked in both the men’s and women’s media relations offices.

She also served as president of Tennessee’s Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority.

Kniffen is one of only four women currently holding the role of director of basketball operations with a men’s program at a “power five” conference school.

Kyle Condon – Assistant to the Head Coach

While he enters his first year in the role of assistant to the head coach under Rick Barnes, Kyle Condon embarks on his seventh overall season with the basketball program at his alma mater.

The Springfield, Va., native was a student manager with the Volunteers for four years and then rose to a graduate position, which he occupied for two years before being promoted to his current full-time post.

During the 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons, he was responsible for several basketball operations duties, handling equipment distribution, oversight of the managerial staff and assisting with team meals and travel logistics.

He also provided the program with a steadying presence and superb institutional operations knowledge during the coaching staff transition in the spring and summer of 2015.

Condon was with Tennessee during both the 2010 Elite Eight run as well as the program’s charge to the 2014 Sweet Sixteen. Overall, he boasts nine games of NCAA Tournament experience as a manager or administrative staffer.

Condon graduated from The Potomac School in McLean, Va., and was a member of the school’s 2008 state championship team. He owns Potomac’s career assists record.

He received his bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Tennessee in 2013 and also earned a master’s degree in Ag Leadership, Education and Communications from Tennessee in 2015.

Condon’s older brother, Ross, is the Director of Basketball Operations at Penn State.

http://www.utsports.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/061515aaa.html

Photo Courtesy Tennessee Athletics