Men’s Hoops Announces Staff Additions
July 02, 2026 | Men's Basketball
by Matt Dunaway, Director/Communications
STARKVILLE – The Mississippi State men's basketball program has hired Corey Barker, Alex Barlow and Shunn Buchanan as assistant coaches announced Thursday by Chris Jans.
Corey Barker | Assistant Coach
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.
Alex Barlow | Assistant Coach
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.
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.
Shunn Buchanan | Assistant Coach
Most recently, Buchanan was a part of two winning seasons as an assistant coach at New Mexico State working with Jason Hooten. He was among 75 NCAA Division I assistant coaches nationwide that attended the Silver Waves Media Rising Stars Power Lunch at the 2026 NCAA Final Four.
During Buchanan's graduate assistant tenure at State, the Bulldogs captured consecutive NCAA Tournament trips and a pair of 21-win campaigns in 2022-23 and 2023-24. State picked up five victories over Associated Press Top 25 squads highlighted by three AP Top 10 triumphs in 2023-24.
Buchanan assisted in the development of Tolu Smith III, a two-time All-SEC First-Team performer and member of the NBA's Detroit Pistons. He joined State's staff from an assistant coaching stint at Navarro College under Grant McMillan in 2021-22.
During his time at Navarro, Buchanan specialized in working with guards and had oversight on the defensive end of the floor. He helped lead the Bulldogs to a 17-13 record headed by 11 victories in conference play.
Buchanan is no stranger Coach Jans where he was apart 83 wins from 2017-18 to 2019-20 as a player at New Mexico State. The Aggies repeated as three-time WAC regular season champions and earned consecutive trips to the 2018 and 2019 NCAA Tournaments.
State is led by Chris Jans who is the only coach in program history to guide the Bulldogs to the NCAA Tournament during three of his first four seasons. The Bulldogs are slated to face Tennessee Tech on November 2 for their 2026-27 season opener at Humphrey Coliseum.
Mississippi State is now accepting season ticket deposits for the 2026-27 season at www.HailState.com/tickets.
Visit www.HailState.com for the latest news and information on the State's basketball program. Fans also can follow the program on their official social media accounts by searching 'HailStateMBK' on Facebook, X and Instagram.
STARKVILLE – The Mississippi State men's basketball program has hired Corey Barker, Alex Barlow and Shunn Buchanan as assistant coaches announced Thursday by Chris Jans.
Corey Barker | Assistant Coach
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.
Alex Barlow | Assistant Coach
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.
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.
Shunn Buchanan | Assistant Coach
Most recently, Buchanan was a part of two winning seasons as an assistant coach at New Mexico State working with Jason Hooten. He was among 75 NCAA Division I assistant coaches nationwide that attended the Silver Waves Media Rising Stars Power Lunch at the 2026 NCAA Final Four.
During Buchanan's graduate assistant tenure at State, the Bulldogs captured consecutive NCAA Tournament trips and a pair of 21-win campaigns in 2022-23 and 2023-24. State picked up five victories over Associated Press Top 25 squads highlighted by three AP Top 10 triumphs in 2023-24.
Buchanan assisted in the development of Tolu Smith III, a two-time All-SEC First-Team performer and member of the NBA's Detroit Pistons. He joined State's staff from an assistant coaching stint at Navarro College under Grant McMillan in 2021-22.
During his time at Navarro, Buchanan specialized in working with guards and had oversight on the defensive end of the floor. He helped lead the Bulldogs to a 17-13 record headed by 11 victories in conference play.
Buchanan is no stranger Coach Jans where he was apart 83 wins from 2017-18 to 2019-20 as a player at New Mexico State. The Aggies repeated as three-time WAC regular season champions and earned consecutive trips to the 2018 and 2019 NCAA Tournaments.
State is led by Chris Jans who is the only coach in program history to guide the Bulldogs to the NCAA Tournament during three of his first four seasons. The Bulldogs are slated to face Tennessee Tech on November 2 for their 2026-27 season opener at Humphrey Coliseum.
Mississippi State is now accepting season ticket deposits for the 2026-27 season at www.HailState.com/tickets.
Visit www.HailState.com for the latest news and information on the State's basketball program. Fans also can follow the program on their official social media accounts by searching 'HailStateMBK' on Facebook, X and Instagram.
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