Dominick Walker - Men's Basketball Coach

STARKVILLE, MS - January 27, 2024 - Mississippi State Strength & Conditioning Coach Dominick Walker during the game between the Auburn and the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Humphrey Coliseum in Starkville, MS. Photo By Ivy Rose Ball

Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics

Dominick Walker

Title:
Head Sports Performance Coach/Men's Basketball
Email:
domwalker@athletics.msstate.edu

Dominick Walker embarks on his fifth season as Mississippi State’s head sports performance coach in charge of strength and conditioning for the men's basketball program in 2026-27.

Walker possesses over a decade of experience at numerous levels of basketball headed by 10 seasons as a Division I men's basketball strength and conditioning coach coupled with a one-year stint in the NBA.

The Bulldogs amassed a trio of 21-win seasons, three straight NCAA Tournament berths and been ranked inside the top 25 during Walker’s first three seasons with the program in 2022-23, 2023-24 and 2024-25.

Before joining Mississippi State, Walker served as the Assistant Director of Olympic Sports Performance at Northwestern from the Big Ten Conference during the 2021-22 season for Chris Collins.

Prior to Northwestern, Walker spent three seasons at Texas-Arlington working with Chris Ogden from 2018-19 to 2020-21 in addition to the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons at Louisiana-Lafayette under Bob Marlin in the Sun Belt Conference.

Walker had the opportunity to work as an Apprentice Strength and Conditioning Coach with the Philadelphia 76ers during the 2017-18 season. The Sixers amassed 52 wins en route to a top three finish in the Eastern Conference. It also marked the franchise's first 50-win season since 2000-01 and broke a six-year playoff drought.

Walker has trained and worked with many professional basketball players over his career. His 76ers tenure was highlighted by working with 2023 NBA Most Valuable Player and six-time NBA All-Star Joel Embiid, three-time NBA All-Star Ben Simmons and current Los Angles Lakers head coach JJ Redick who finished his career ranked among the NBA's top 20 in three-pointers made.

Walker is no stranger to Mississippi State and was previously an assistant director of basketball performance under renowned basketball strength and conditioning coach David Deets in 2015.

Walker was a team captain and a two-year letterwinner at McMurry University located in Abilene, Texas. He programmed and implemented the team's strength and conditioning program while also being a student-athlete for Chris Beard after he earned All-American Southwest Conference Honorable-Mention in 2011-12.

During his undergraduate tenure, Walker gained valuable summer internship experience working with Division I programs headed by the game's top coaches which include Baylor (2011 – Scott Drew and Kim Mulkey), Virginia Commonwealth (2012 – Shaka Smart) and Texas (2013 – Rick Barnes).

At Texas, he worked with another renowned basketball strength and conditioning coach, Todd Wright, who now serves as the Assistant Coach and Vice President of Player Performance for the NBA's Los Angeles Clippers.

Walker had the opportunity to join Beard at Angelo State as a graduate assistant strength and conditioning coach in 2013-14 and 2014-15. The Rams racked up a school single-season record 28 wins and the program's first NCAA Division II Sweet 16 appearance in 2014-15.

Walker earned an associate degree in General Studies from Lon Morris College located in Jacksonville, Texas in 2011, a bachelor's degree in Interdisciplinary Studies (kinesiology, psychology, and business) from McMurry in 2013, and a Master of Education in Coaching, Sport, Recreation and Fitness Administration from Angelo State in 2015.

Walker is certified through the National Strength and Conditioning Association as a certified strength and conditioning specialist (CSCS), Exogen certified in Wearable Resistance Training Level 1 (WRT), the Gray Institute in Applied Functional Science (CAFS), Functional Range Conditioning as a mobility specialist (FRCms), and Precision Nutrition (Pn1). He also holds First Aid and CPR/AED certifications from the Red Cross.

Walker and his wife, Kayla, have a son Elias who celebrated his 2nd birthday in September 2026.

WALKER’S STRENGTH & CONDITIONING COACHING EXPERIENCE
Seasons • School • Years at School
2023-Present • Mississippi State • 4 Seasons
2022 • Northwestern • 1 Season
2019-20-21 • Texas-Arlington • 3 Seasons
2018 • Philadelphia 76ers • 1 Season
2016-17 • Louisiana-Lafayette • 2 Seasons
2014-15 • Angelo State • 2 Seasons

Note: Seasons are represented by hyphen and begin with the year’s last date. For example, the 2022-23 season is listed as 2023 which was Walker’s first season as strength and conditioning coach at Mississippi State.