Hampton University Athletics

Hometown:   Albany, N.Y. 

Education:    B.S. Indiana, 2019 

Coaching:     Assistant Coach, Wallace State CC (Ala.), 2019-20 

                      Graduate Assistant, Nevada, 2020-21 

                      Director of Operations, Rider, 2021-23 

                      Director of Operations, Rice, 2023-24 

 

Mike Carr enters his second season with the program. Carr was an inaugural member of Coach Ivan Thomas’s staff. This offseason, he was promoted to and the role of Defensive Coordinator. Hampton saw a massive jump in defensive efficiency according to kenpom.com. This past season, the Pirates were 200th in the country for defensive efficiency, which was a 114-spot jump from the 2023-24 campaign. Hampton held opponents to 70 points per game (ppg) during the 2024-25 season, improving by 6.4 ppg from the 2023-24 season and 193 spots in the national rankings. The program also saw an increase in the turnovers forced per contest to 12.9, ranking the Pirates 92nd in the nation and second in the CAA for the 2024-25 campaign. Carr joined the Pirates after spending the previous season at Rice under Scott Pera. 

 

While with the Owls, the program was in its first season in the American Athletic Conference. Carr primarily worked on the defensive side of the ball with Assistant Coaches Russ Pennell and Van Green. In his one season, the Owls improved 138 spots in the NCAA Division I rankings for points allowed.  

 

Prior to arriving at Rice, Carr spent two seasons at Rider University. While at Rider, he managed the day-to-day administrative components of the program, including logistics of travel, meals, and scheduling. He also assisted the staff with player development, scouting, academics, and on-campus recruiting, while overseeing the student manager program and summer camps. While directing the Rider team camp he recruited over 70 high-school teams from New Jersey, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., New York City, and Connecticut to compete in an event featuring multiple top 100 players. 

 

While at Rider, Carr assisted Coach Kevin Baggett in a rebuild of the program. The Broncs improved from an 11th place finish in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference in 2021, to a ninth-place finish in 2022, and a second-place finish in 2023. Carr worked primarily on the defensive side of the ball. During the 2022-2023 season, Rider ranked as high as 64th in opponent field goal percentage and as high as 30th in rebounding margin. Throughout his tenure the Broncs developed two All-MAAC selections.  

 

Before joining Rider’s coaching staff, Carr spent one season as a graduate assistant at Nevada. He would have the opportunity to coach under Steve Alford. His responsibilities with the program were assisting with player development, film, and scouting. In his one season with the Wolfpack, Carr coached one All-Mountain West selection Grant Sherfield. Along with making the first team, Sherfield made the all-tournament team where he averaged 25.5 points per game on 57 percent shooting from the field.  

 

Prior to joining Alford’s staff at Nevada, Carr spent the 2019-2020 season at the Junior College level where he served as an assistant coach on Collin Dimitroff’s staff at Wallace State (NJCAA D1) in Hanceville, Ala. The 2019-2020 coaching staff at Wallace State was one of the youngest coaching staffs in all of college basketball, with an average age of 23.6 years. In his one season in Hanceville, Carr helped Dimitroff lead the Lions to a winning season and sent three members of the 2020 graduating class on to compete at four-year institutions. 

  

Before the start of the 2019-2020 season, Carr spent three months in New York City working for Pro-Reps Performance as a Player Development Coach. He trained and assisted in the development of players of all ages and skill levels across Manhattan and Queens. He worked individually with actor Daniel Lee Bellomy, as he prepared for his role as “Zeke,” a basketball player in the STARZ network series Power Book II: Ghost. 

  

Carr is a 2019 graduate of Indiana University where he received a degree in finance from the Kelley School of Business. He was a three-year student manager for the men’s basketball team under both Tom Crean and Archie Miller. During his college years, he worked summer camps at several schools, including Indiana, West Virginia, Seton Hall, Boston College, Xavier, Albany, Nevada, and Rider.