BAKERSFIELD, Calif.- Two years after graduating from CSU Bakersfield, Brandon Barnes returns to his alma mater where he will serve as director of basketball operations under his father and head men's basketball coach Rod Barnes. Brandon Barnes replaces JD Pollock as director of basketball operations following Pollock's promotion to assistant coach earlier this season.
“We are excited to announce Brandon Barnes as our director of basketball operations, his hiring will complete my staff,” Rod Barnes said. “Brandon is very familiar with our players, program, University and the Bakersfield community.”
As director of basketball operations Brandon Barnes will be responsible for team travel, film breakdown, monitoring student-athlete academics, welfare and engagement.
Barnes was a member of the last CSUB squad that competed as an NCAA Division I Independent (2012-13) and the first basketball team to compete in the Western Athletic Conference (2013-14). In two seasons Barnes averaged 11 points and five rebounds per game. He shot 44-percent from the field and 31 percent from three-point range during his two seasons.
Barnes sat out the 2011-12 season after transferring from Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee.
After graduating from CSUB in 2014 with a degree in business management, Barnes followed in his father's footsteps and started coaching basketball at the high school level. His first stop was Costa Mesa High School in Costa Mesa, Calif. where he was the head coach of the frosh/soph team in 2014-15. Barnes was named head coach of the Perris High School boys' varsity team in 2014-15 where he led the Panthers to an 18-6 record and an 8-2 mark in Sunbelt League play. The Panthers also appeared in the Division 2AA CIF semifinals where they fell to eventual-champion Ayala.
Brandon Barnes not only joins his father on the CSUB coaching staff but also his younger brother Bray who is a redshirt sophomore for the Roadrunners this season.
Brandon Barnes is the third hire in as many months for the Roadrunners, with each having experience as a head coach at some level. He joins former Hawai'i and Chicago State head coach Benjy Taylor as well as former Central Arizona Community College head coach JD Pollock on the CSUB coaching staff.
“I feel very strongly about the additions I have made over the past few months,” Rod Barnes said. “This staff is very diverse and will add a lot to our program, department, University and community.”
“I am looking forward to the season and working with this staff.”
The Roadrunners recently opened practice for the 2016-17 season and the defense of their 2016 WAC Tournament Championship. Fans can get a first glance of this year's squad at the annual Blue-Gold Scrimmage presented by Bakersfield Hyundai on Thursday, October 20 at 7 P.M. in the Icardo Center. Season and single game tickets are also on sale and can be purchased by visiting GoRunners.com/tix or by calling 654-BLUE.
