South Dakota State men’s basketball coach Eric Henderson announced Thursday the addition of Tramel Barnes as assistant coach.
Barnes spent the 2018-19 season as the director of basketball operations and player development at Utah State after six seasons as an assistant with Southwest Minnesota State. Barnes helped the Aggies towards the Mountain West regular season and tournament titles in his lone season on the bench, as the team reached its first NCAA Tournament in eight years.
“Jackrabbit basketball is extremely excited to have Tramel as part of our family,” head coach Eric Henderson said. “His energy and selflessness will certainly help our current and future players make great strides on and off the court.”
Barnes was named to the 2019 Under Armour 30-Under-30 Team by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC).
Barnes was the top assistant at SMSU from 2012 to 2018, helping the Mustangs to a pair of first-place finishes in the South Division of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference in his final two years with a 53-15 record in that span. Six Mustangs earned all-conference honors and 24 were selected to the academic all-conference teams during Barnes’ tenure.
Prior to joining the coaching staff, Barnes played at SMSU for two seasons, appearing in 60 contests with 351 points and 213 rebounds during his career. He finished as the sixth-best free-throw shooter in school history, burying 82.8 percent of his attempts at the charity stripe. Barnes also spent two seasons at Northern State, logging time in 48 games with eight starts.
Barnes is a two-time graduate of Southwest Minnesota State, earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees in sports management and physical education, respectively.
Tramel Barnes hired to round out South Dakota State coaching staff
