Jason Trey Hooten (born April 20, 1969) is the

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

of the

New Mexico State University New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a public land-grant research university based primarily in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest public institution of higher education in New Mexico and one of the state's tw ...

men's basketball program as of March 24, 2023. Hooten was previously head coach at

Sam Houston State University Sam Houston State University (SHSU or Sam) is a public university in Huntsville, Texas. It was founded in 1879 and is the third-oldest public college or university in Texas. It is one of the first normal schools west of the Mississippi River and ...

for 13 seasons. And was an assistant coach for there for the previous six years, before being named as the Bearkats' head men's basketball coach on April 2, 2010. In his time with the Bearkats, Hooten had a 261-169 record and six 20-plus victory seasons.

Early life

Hooten is a 1987 graduate of Killeen Ellison High School and lettered in basketball and baseball. He earned all-district, All-CenTex and All-Super CenTex while leading his team to the bi-district championship as a senior. He holds school career records for scoring and assists. In baseball, he twice earned All-District honorable mention and lettered three years. Hooten holds two degrees from Tarleton State, earning a bachelor's in exercise and sport studies in 1993 and a master's in 1995. Hooten played two years at

McLennan Community College McLennan Community College (MCC) is a public community college in McLennan County, Texas. Located in Waco, Texas, it opened in 1965. MCC now serves about 9,000 students and has more than 700 employees. It is governed by a Board of Trustees ele ...

, where he was an honorable mention all-conference selection and led his team to a league title. At Tarleton, he earned two letters under

Lonn Reisman Lonn Eugene Reisman (born December 23, 1954) is the current director of athletics for Tarleton State University. He served as men's basketball coach at Tarleton State from 1988 to 2018. Early life and education Reisman was born in Cuba, New York, ...

, helping lead the Texans to a 52-10 mark.

Early coaching career

Hooten served as assistant men's basketball coach at

Tarleton State University Tarleton State University is a public university with its main campus in Stephenville, Texas. It is a founding member of the Texas A&M University System and enrolled over 14,000 students in the fall of 2020. History John Tarleton Agricultural ...

for Lonn Reisman. During his tenure, the Texans posted a combined 204-111 record. He returned to Tarleton in August 1993 after serving as a part-time assistant coach at Weatherford Junior College. Hooten assisted in all aspects of the men's basketball program, with particular emphasis in recruiting and scheduling. Hooten's recruiting efforts played a key role in Tarleton's 82-16 overall record his final three seasons with the Texans. In 2004, Tarleton posted a 28-4 record and claimed both the Lone Star Conference North Division title and the LSC Championship. The Texans won back-to-back North Division championships with a 29-4 record in 2002-03 and a 25-8 mark in 2001-02. During Hooten's 11 seasons with the Texans, nine players earned first team All-LSC honors and five were All-America. Hooten also coached and recruited Tim Burnette who was named Texas Association of Basketball Coaches Small College Player of the Year in 2004. Hooten joined the SHSU staff July 1, 2004, helping run practice, recruiting, scouting, scheduling, and academics. In 2009, RecruitingRumors.com selected Hooten as one of the top 100 NCAA assistant coaches. CollegeInsider.com named him to the Mid-Major Top 25 assistant coaches' honorable mention list. Hooten served under Bob Marlin, who coached the Kats to a 225-131 record the past 12 seasons. Marlin went on to become head coach at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. In his six seasons with the Bearkats, Hooten helped direct the program to a 127-59 record, four 20-plus victory seasons, Southland Conference regular season and tournament championships, and an NCAA tournament appearance in 2010. The 25-8 record for Sam Houston in 2009-10 marks the highest victory total for a Bearkat squad in SHSU's 23 seasons at the NCAA Division I level.

Head coaching career

Hooten's inaugural game as coach of the SHSU Bearkats came in 72-47 win over the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor at home in Johnson Coliseum. Following his first win, Hooten went on to go 3-1 in his first month of coaching. Through the 2010-2011 season, Hooten led the Bearkats to an 18-13 record, going 10-6 in the Southland Conference, while earning the Bearkats a #3 Seed in the Southland Conference Tournament. Hooten won his first post-season game as a head coach, knocking off rival #6 Stephen F. Austin in the opening round 61-45. The second round game resulted in a loss to the eventual conference tournament champions, UT-San Antonio 79-70.

Coaching record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hooten, Jason 1969 births Living people Basketball coaches from Texas Basketball players from Texas College men's basketball head coaches in the United States Junior college men's basketball players in the United States McLennan Community College alumni New Mexico State Aggies men's basketball coaches Sportspeople from Killeen, Texas Sam Houston Bearkats men's basketball coaches Tarleton State Texans men's basketball players