Corey Barker - Men's Basketball Coach

Corey Barker

Title:
Assistant Men's Basketball Coach
Phone:
662-325-3800

Corey Barker has reunited with Coach Jans and heads into his first season as an assistant coach with the Mississippi State men’s basketball program in 2026-27.

Previously, Barker worked with Coach Jans at Bowling Green in 2014-15 and at New Mexico State during the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons.

The Aggies captured their third consecutive Western Athletic Conference (WAC) regular season crown in dominant fashion on the strength of a 25-6 record fueled by a 19-game winning streak, an undefeated conference regular season and were on the cusp of a NCAA Tournament bid in 2019-20 before the season ended prematurely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Five New Mexico State players claimed All-WAC accolades.

Barker’s time at Bowling Green under Coach Jans was highlighted by 21 victories and College Insider Tournament postseason appearance. The Falcons paced the Mid-American Conference (MAC) in scoring defense, and Richaun Holmes earned MAC Defensive Player of the Year.

Barker spent the 2015-16 season at Louisiana Tech on Eric Konkol’s staff followed by three memorable campaigns at TCU working for Jamie Dixon. All four seasons resulted in 20-plus wins and a quartet of postseason trips.

During his first season with the Horned Frogs, Barker played an integral part in a 12-win improvement which marked the program’s second-largest turnaround. TCU dialed up 24 victories and the 2017 NIT Championship with a convincing 88-56 triumph over Georgia Tech at Madison Square Garden. At the time, the 24 victories equaled the second-most wins in school history trailing only the 1997-98 squad mark of 27-6.

Barker’s second season saw TCU dial up a 21-12 record, a program-watermark No. 10 ranking in the Associated Press Top 25 poll on December 25, 2017 and a NCAA Tournament berth for the first time in two decades as the No. 5 seed in the Midwest region.

Barker capped his TCU tenure with a 23-14 mark and a 2019 NIT Semifinals run. It marked only the second time that the Horned Frogs won 20+ games in three straight seasons. Desmond Bane, RJ Nembhard and Kenrich Wiliams went onto NBA careers after their time in Fort Worth.

Barker’s Louisiana Tech stint was headed by a 23-10 mark as Alex Hamilton secured Conference USA’s Player of the Year and Associated Press All-America Honorable Mention status. His first taste as an assistant coach at the NCAA Division I Level was two seasons at Arkansas State (2012-13 • 2013-14) headed by four players who received All-Sun Belt honors.

The building blocks for Barker’s coaching career began as a high school assistant coach at North Forest High School in Houston, Texas, and the Humble Christian Life Center Academy in Humble, Texas from 2005-10. His top prep prospects were Latavious Williams, who was drafted by the Miami Heat in 2010 along with Junior Cadougan (Marquette) and Kourtney Roberson (Texas A&M).

Then, Barker climbed to the junior college ranks as an assistant coach at Paris Junior College (2011-12) in Texas that resulted in a Region XIV Zone Conference Championship.

Barker graduated from Prairie View A&M University in 2003 with a degree in kinesiology. He helped the Panthers win the 2002-03 SWAC regular season title which marked first conference title since 1961-62. Following his playing career, he served as a graduate assistant at his alma mater.

BARKER’S COACHING EXPERIENCE
Seasons • School • Years at School • Position
2027-Present • Mississippi State • 1 Season • Assistant Coach
2020-21 • New Mexico State • 2 Seasons • Assistant Coach
2017-19 • Texas Christian • TCU • 3 Seasons • Assistant Coach
2016 • Louisiana Tech • 1 Season • Assistant Coach
2015 • Bowling Green • 1 Season • Assistant Coach
2013-14 • Arkansas State • 2 Seasons • Assistant Coach

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 was Barker’s first season as an assistant coach at Mississippi State.