Men's Basketball
Alex Barlow
- Title:
- Assistant Men's Basketball Coach
- Phone:
- 662-325-3800
Alex Barlow embarks on his first season as an assistant coach with the Mississippi State basketball program in 2026-27.
Prior to State, Barlow spent eight seasons working inside the Boston Celtics organization and three seasons as an assistant coach at his alma mater, Butler, on Thad Matta’s staff.
Barlow helped the Bulldogs to a pair of postseason berths as Butler made appearances in the 2024 NIT and the 2025 College Basketball Crown. He was involved in all aspects of the program and served as the team's offensive coordinator in addition to player development, recruiting and scouting responsibilities.
Butler’s offense averaged 79.4 points per game in 2025-26 and was ranked among the nation’s top 75 in KenPom offensive efficiency during all three of his seasons headed by a No. 38 ranking in 2024-25.
The Bulldogs were led by Michael Ajayi who earned 2025-26 Associated Press All-America honorable mention accolades and an All-BIG EAST First-Team recognition after he established a new single-season rebounding record for the program.
Barlow rose through the Boston Celtics franchise ranks where he began as a video assistant in 2015-16 under his former college coach Brad Stevens who is now the organization’s president of basketball operations. He spent five seasons coaching inside the NBA G League with the Maine Celtics as an assistant coach, an associate head coach and was promoted to the head coaches chair in 2022-23.
Barlow was third coach to guide the Celtics G-League affiliate to 30 victories during a season, and the team earned a playoff berth for the first time since 2017. He aided in the development of NBA players for the organization which included Robert Williams, Sam Hauser, Luke Kornet and Luka Samanic. Williams, Hauser and Kornet made contributions to the Celtics during the team’s 2022 NBA Finals run.
Barlow worked closely with Williams during his 2018-19 rookie season in a player development capacity where he contributed to big man’s fundamental growth that later enabled him to come away with 2022 NBA All-Defensive Team honors.
Barlow, with an eye toward a future career in coaching, chose to walk on at Butler to play for Stevens. He earned a scholarship later during his playing career and started 88 of 100 games over his final three seasons. The Bulldogs made 2013 NCAA Tournament Round of 32 during Stevens’ final season and the 2015 NCAA Tournament Round of 32 under Chris Holtmann.
On the court, Barlow earned a reputation as a gritty defender, and his 187 career steals are still ranked fourth on Butler’s all-time list. He handed out 274 assists during his career and paced the BIG EAST in assist/turnover ratio in 2013-14. Barlow provided one of the program’s most memorable game-winning shots when he hit a one-handed floater with 2.6 seconds left in overtime to lift Butler to an 88-86 victory over No. 1 Indiana on Dec. 15, 2012.
Off the court, Barlow was showered with numerous accolades. He won the 2015 Senior CLASS Award which recognized student-athletes in four areas: community, classroom, character and competition. The Springboro, Ohio native also was named a 2014-15 CoSIDA Academic All-America Second-Team pick, a two-time BIG EAST Scholar-Athlete of the Year recipient (2013-14 and 2014-2015) and captured the 2014-15 BIG EAST Sportsmanship award. He graduated with his bachelor’s degree in finance in 2015.
Barlow and his wife, Belle, have two children, son Colton and daughter Addison. Belle was a two-sport standout at Butler where she captured AVCA All-America Honorable Mention status, AVCA All-Region honors and multiple All-BIG EAST First-Team selections on the volleyball court before she started 51 of 55 games in her two seasons with the women’s basketball program.
The Alex Barlow File
Seasons • School • Years at School • Position
2027-Present • Mississippi State • 1 Season • Assistant Coach
2024-25-26 • Butler • 3 Seasons • Assistant Coach
2023 • Maine Celtics • NBA G League • 1 Season • Head Coach
2020-21-22 • Maine Celtics • NBA G League • 3 Seasons • Associate Head Coach
2019 • Boston Celtics • NBA • 1 Season • Player Development
2018 • Maine Celtics • NBA G League • 1 Season • Assistant Coach
2016-17 • Boston Celtics • NBA • 2 Seasons • Video Assistant
Note: Seasons are represented by hyphen and begin with the year’s last date. For example, the 2026-27 season is listed as 2027 which is Barlow’s first season as an assistant coach at Mississippi State.
Prior to State, Barlow spent eight seasons working inside the Boston Celtics organization and three seasons as an assistant coach at his alma mater, Butler, on Thad Matta’s staff.
Barlow helped the Bulldogs to a pair of postseason berths as Butler made appearances in the 2024 NIT and the 2025 College Basketball Crown. He was involved in all aspects of the program and served as the team's offensive coordinator in addition to player development, recruiting and scouting responsibilities.
Butler’s offense averaged 79.4 points per game in 2025-26 and was ranked among the nation’s top 75 in KenPom offensive efficiency during all three of his seasons headed by a No. 38 ranking in 2024-25.
The Bulldogs were led by Michael Ajayi who earned 2025-26 Associated Press All-America honorable mention accolades and an All-BIG EAST First-Team recognition after he established a new single-season rebounding record for the program.
Barlow rose through the Boston Celtics franchise ranks where he began as a video assistant in 2015-16 under his former college coach Brad Stevens who is now the organization’s president of basketball operations. He spent five seasons coaching inside the NBA G League with the Maine Celtics as an assistant coach, an associate head coach and was promoted to the head coaches chair in 2022-23.
Barlow was third coach to guide the Celtics G-League affiliate to 30 victories during a season, and the team earned a playoff berth for the first time since 2017. He aided in the development of NBA players for the organization which included Robert Williams, Sam Hauser, Luke Kornet and Luka Samanic. Williams, Hauser and Kornet made contributions to the Celtics during the team’s 2022 NBA Finals run.
Barlow worked closely with Williams during his 2018-19 rookie season in a player development capacity where he contributed to big man’s fundamental growth that later enabled him to come away with 2022 NBA All-Defensive Team honors.
Barlow, with an eye toward a future career in coaching, chose to walk on at Butler to play for Stevens. He earned a scholarship later during his playing career and started 88 of 100 games over his final three seasons. The Bulldogs made 2013 NCAA Tournament Round of 32 during Stevens’ final season and the 2015 NCAA Tournament Round of 32 under Chris Holtmann.
On the court, Barlow earned a reputation as a gritty defender, and his 187 career steals are still ranked fourth on Butler’s all-time list. He handed out 274 assists during his career and paced the BIG EAST in assist/turnover ratio in 2013-14. Barlow provided one of the program’s most memorable game-winning shots when he hit a one-handed floater with 2.6 seconds left in overtime to lift Butler to an 88-86 victory over No. 1 Indiana on Dec. 15, 2012.
Off the court, Barlow was showered with numerous accolades. He won the 2015 Senior CLASS Award which recognized student-athletes in four areas: community, classroom, character and competition. The Springboro, Ohio native also was named a 2014-15 CoSIDA Academic All-America Second-Team pick, a two-time BIG EAST Scholar-Athlete of the Year recipient (2013-14 and 2014-2015) and captured the 2014-15 BIG EAST Sportsmanship award. He graduated with his bachelor’s degree in finance in 2015.
Barlow and his wife, Belle, have two children, son Colton and daughter Addison. Belle was a two-sport standout at Butler where she captured AVCA All-America Honorable Mention status, AVCA All-Region honors and multiple All-BIG EAST First-Team selections on the volleyball court before she started 51 of 55 games in her two seasons with the women’s basketball program.
The Alex Barlow File
Seasons • School • Years at School • Position
2027-Present • Mississippi State • 1 Season • Assistant Coach
2024-25-26 • Butler • 3 Seasons • Assistant Coach
2023 • Maine Celtics • NBA G League • 1 Season • Head Coach
2020-21-22 • Maine Celtics • NBA G League • 3 Seasons • Associate Head Coach
2019 • Boston Celtics • NBA • 1 Season • Player Development
2018 • Maine Celtics • NBA G League • 1 Season • Assistant Coach
2016-17 • Boston Celtics • NBA • 2 Seasons • Video Assistant
Note: Seasons are represented by hyphen and begin with the year’s last date. For example, the 2026-27 season is listed as 2027 which is Barlow’s first season as an assistant coach at Mississippi State.
Friday, April 17
Thursday, March 12
Monday, March 09
Sunday, March 08
