DALLAS (SMU) –
SMU Head Coach Andy Enfield has named
Eric Mobley,
Kurt Karis,
Jay Morris and
Dana Ford as assistant coaches for SMU Men's Basketball. Jeramie Hart was named recruiting coordinator and
Michael Swets joined the Mustangs as assistant athletic director for basketball operations.
Kurtis Shultz will also join the Mustangs as the Sports Performance Coach for Men's Basketball.
Mobley, Karis, Swets and Shultz worked with Enfield at USC. Mobley spent the past six seasons as an assistant coach with the Trojans while Morris was an assistant coach at Southern Cal for three seasons. Karis was also at USC for six seasons, including the 2023-24 season as an assistant coach. Ford was a head coach for the past 10 seasons, including the last six at Missouri State. Swets managed basketball operations at USC for the past eight years. Shultz spent the past 11 seasons working with men's basketball.
Enfield previously announced that
Chris Capko will be the associate head coach at SMU after spending the previous eight seasons on his staff at USC.
ERIC MOBLEY – Assistant Coach
Eric Mobley joins the Mustangs as an assistant coach at SMU. Mobley was an assistant coach on Enfield's staff at USC for the past six years.
In his six seasons with Enfield at USC, the Trojans went 126-71 with three NCAA Tournament appearances, including a run to the 2021 Elite Eight. The Trojans had six NBA Draft selections between 2018 and 2022. Mobley helped coach his sons Isaiah and Evan at USC, who are two of the six most recent NBA Draft picks from USC.
Mobley coached various AAU programs for 11 years prior to joining Enfield's staff at USC, coaching the AAU Compton Magic 16-U team (2015-18) and owned Triple Threat AAU youth basketball program (2007-18). He traveled with the Compton Magic to China and put on coaching clinics and hosted player camps. Mobley also served as the head women's basketball coach at Rancho Christian High in Temecula, California (2015-18).
Mobley played collegiately at Portland from 1987-90, where he averaged 7.2 points and 5.6 rebounds as a starter in 1989-90. He then played a season at Cal Poly Pomona, where he was the team captain.
He went on to play professionally for teams in Portugal, Mexico and Indonesia, as well as domestically in the World Basketball League and on the legendary Meadowlark Lemon's Harlem All-Stars.
Mobley was originally from Georgia and moved to the San Diego area in the 1980s, where he graduated from Helix High in La Mesa, California. He graduated from Portland in 1990 with a degree in Criminal Justice. He has worked in the Public
Defender's Office in California in both Riverside and San Diego County as a corrections officer and investigator. He is also involved in various ministry works, feeding the homeless and the Salvation Army.
He and Nicol are the parents of sons Isaiah and Evan, both taken in the NBA Draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers. Isaiah was Drafted No. 49 in the 2022 NBA Draft and Evan was drafted No. 3 overall in 2021. The Mobleys also served as foster parents for five years to teens who are now adults.
KURT KARIS – Assistant Coach
Kurt Karis joins the Mustangs as an assistant coach at SMU. Karis was on Enfield's staff at USC for the previous six years, including as an assistant coach in 2023-24.
Karis was an assistant coach on the USC staff in 2023-24 after the previous three seasons as director of scouting and two seasons as a graduate assistant. He earned his Master's in Communication Management in 2020. He also earned his undergraduate degree from USC in Communication.
Karis spent three seasons as a student-athlete with USC basketball (2015-18), and was a back-up guard for the Trojans. That was following two years at Chicago State (2013-15).
Karis played his high school ball at Glenbrook North in Northbrook, Illinois, where he averaged 17 points and seven assists as a senior. He was named all-conference his final three seasons at Glenbrook North and was named the team MVP his final two seasons. He helped lead his team to conference titles each of his final three seasons.
Karis is one of 10 children.
JAY MORRIS – Assistant Coach
Jay Morris joins the Mustangs as an assistant coach at SMU. Morris was an assistant coach on Enfield's staff at USC for the previous three seasons.
Morris helped the Trojans make two NCAA Tournaments in his three seasons (2021-24). He spent the previous three seasons as an assistant coach at San Diego State (2018-21), where he helped the Aztecs to a combined 74-20 overall record with a 42-11 mark in the Mountain West Conference. SDSU won back-to-back MWC regular-season titles (2020, 2021) and the 2021 MWC Tournament crown to reach the 2021 NCAA Tournament.
During the 2019-20 season, SDSU started 26-0 to be the last undefeated team in Division I. The Aztecs spent 15 weeks ranked in the national polls including 11 weeks in the AP top-10, finishing the season at No. 6.
Morris previously spent the 2017-18 season as an assistant coach at San Jose State. He was the director of player development at Long Beach State in 2016-17. He was on the Nevada staff in 2015-16 as the Wolfpack won the CBI. He was also an assistant coach at Cal State Northridge from 2010-15. Morris got his Division I start at Long Beach State where he spent two seasons (2008-10) as the director of operations, making the 2010 Big West Tournament title game.
A member of the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), Morris received his coaching start at his high school alma mater, Westchester High in Los Angeles where he was an assistant basketball coach and strength coach for three seasons. During his stint at the prep level, Morris coached six players who went on to play Division I.
Morris earned his bachelor's degree in Kinesiology from Cal State Dominguez Hills, and later received his master's degree in coaching/athletic administration from Concordia.
Morris and his wife, Yavonna, have twins -- a son named Chance and daughter named Mercy.
DANA FORD – Assistant Coach
Dana Ford joins the Mustangs as an assistant coach following 10 seasons as a head coach, including the past six years leading Missouri State.
Ford is a three-time finalist and the 2015-16 winner of the Ben Jobe Award, which is presented annually to the top minority head coach in division I college basketball. His head coaching honors include being a finalist for the 2020-21 Skip Prosser Man of the Year Award and being named the 2015-16 Ohio Valley Conference Coach of the Year and NABC District 19 Coach of the Year. In 2022-23, his Missouri State team earned an NABC Team Academic Excellence Award.
His teams have a 163-147 record in his head coaching tenure. At Missouri State, the Bears went 106-82 (64-48, .571 Missouri Valley) including a 23-win campaign and NIT bid in 2021-22. MSU totaled 10 All-MVC honors, including multiple selections four times. He went to Springfield after four years leading Tennessee State. The Tigers were 52-39 over his final three seasons, accumulating five All-OVC honors. In his second season at TSU, the Tigers recorded the largest turnaround in the nation by going 20-11 after a 5-win inaugural campaign.
Before becoming a head coach, he had assistant coaching stints at Winthrop (GA 2006-07) and Wichita State (GA 2007-08, assistant 2011-12) under coach Gregg Marshall and later as associate head coach at Illinois State (2012-14) under coach Dan Muller. His coaching resume also includes assistant coaching stops at Chipola (Fla.) College (2008-09) and Tennessee State (2009-11). He was an assistant for two NCAA Tournament teams at Winthrop (2007) and Wichita State (2012) as well as a NJCAA national final four run at Chipola (2009). Ford was responsible for recruiting future NBA talents such as Robert Covington and Fred Van Vleet.
A native of Tamms, Ill., Ford is a 2006 graduate of Illinois State University where he was a four-year letterman for the Redbirds from 2002-06. As a senior, he was a regular starter and led ISU in steals.
Dana and his wife Christina have three daughters, Charlie Rose, Cline and Courtney, and three sons, Carson, Cameron and Crain. They are also the parents of another daughter, Promise, who passed in infancy in 2017.
The Fords are also the founders of the Rebound Foundation which raises funds and awareness to help renew and restore women who have experienced a life of domestic abuse. The foundation provides a stable home and fresh start to abuse victims and their children. The Rebound Foundation currently provides homes in Springfield, Mo., and Chicago, Ill.
JEREMIE HART – Recruiting Coordinator
Jeremie Hart was named Recruiting Coordinator by Head Coach Andy Enfield. The South Garland High School alum played a pair of his collegiate seasons in Texas and started the charity "Hustle with Hart" in South Dallas, which brings in current NBA and professional players to speak to kids about basketball, education and life.
Hart, a Dallas native, has coached for five seasons following a 10-year professional playing career. He joins the Mustangs after recent stints at New Mexico State (2023-24) and Kansas State (2022-23 – NCAA Elite Eight). He also coached at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor (2020-22 – 2022 Elite Eight) and the London Lighting of NBL Canada (2019-20).
He served as the assistant coach for player development at New Mexico State in 2023-24. Hart tracked individual player progress for Head Coach Jason Hooten, helping Femi Odukale earn All-Conference USA selection.
At Kansas State, the Wildcats made an NCAA Elite Eight run, going 26-10 and finishing tied for third in the Big 12. While in Manhattan, Kansas, he learned from Head Coach, Jerome Tang, who was selected as the Werner Ladder Naismith Men's College Coach of the Year as well as the Big 12 Coach of the Year. Hart's role in developing the Wildcat guards helped K-State set the single-season mark for assists (611) while placing second in single-season points (2,742). He worked directly with All-American and All-Big 12 First Team selections Markquis Nowell and Keyontae Johnson, assisting them to become the first Kansas State duo to be named to the AP All-America team in the same season.
Prior to accepting a job with K-State, Hart served two seasons as a student assistant coach for Head Coach Clif Carroll at Division III Mary Hardin-Baylor in Belton, Texas, where he finished his bachelor's degree in general studies in May 2022.
During his time at Mary Hardin-Baylor, the Crusaders posted a combined 44-7 overall record, including a 28-3 mark and a trip to the NCAA Division III Elite Eight in 2021-22. It marked the school's third-ever trip to the national quarterfinals and the first NCAA Tournament since 2013. Following his playing days, he started his coaching career on the staff of the London Lightning – a Canadian professional team based in Ontario. Prior to the stoppage of the 2019-20 season, Hart helped lead the Lightning to a 15-9 overall record.
As a player, Hart traveled the professional circuit for 10 years for teams on four different continents (Africa, Asia, North America and South America), including a two-year stint playing for Frayles De Guasave in CIBACOPA, the top league in Mexico.
His collegiate career concluded at McMurry in Abilene, Texas, in 2009-10 where he averaged 20.6 points and 9.0 rebounds to lead the War Hawks to a 17-9 record and a trip to the American Southwest Conference Tournament. He was named the ASC West Division Newcomer of the Year and was a member of the All-South Region and First Team All-ASC teams. His 536 points in 2009-10 still rank 20
th on the school's single season scoring list.
Hart started his college playing career at McLennan Community College in Waco, Texas, in 2007-08, averaging 12.0 points and 3.0 assists as the Highlanders went 18-8 and made an appearance in the 2008 Region V Tournament. He then transferred to Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas, averaging 5.2 points and 2.8 rebounds per game.
Hart and his wife, Latrice, have six children: Angel, Kamiya, Kershauna, Jaden, Johnny and Demorie.
MICHAEL SWETS – Assistant Athletic Director for Basketball Operations
Michael Swets joins the SMU staff as assistant athletic director for basketball operations. He spent the the previous eight seasons on Enfield's staff at USC.
Swets joined Enfield's USC staff as the director of operations in 2016 and was promoted to assistant athletic director for basketball operations in 2022. The Trojans made four NCAA Tournaments in those eight seasons, including a run to the 2021 Elite Eight. He oversaw team travel, budget, daily schedule and the team of student managers while also working on the Trojan's non-conference schedule. Swets served as the liaison to other departments within athletics as well as the rest of the campus community and also led the program's community outreach.
Prior to the 2021-22 season, he was named one of Division I college basketball's Top 50 Notable Support Staff by Silver Waves Media. In April 2018, Swets was a featured panelist at the NABC Convention during the Final Four in Houston for the forum "Director of Basketball Operations: Standard Operating Procedure."
Swets spent five seasons at Towson (2011-16), including the final four years as the director of basketball operations. His four seasons in operations marked the winningest four-year period in the history of the program (75 wins). The Tigers set a program record for D-I wins (25) in 2013-14 and earned postseason bids in 2014 and 2016. He previously spent two years as a graduate assistant (2009-11) at Providence.
Swets was a student manager under Head Coach Al Skinner at Boston College for three seasons (2006-09) and was named head manager as a senior. He helped the program earn two NCAA Tournament bids. He received the Mary Kaye Waldron Award in 2009 as the support staff member who best exemplified inspiration, loyalty and unwavering dedication to the Boston College basketball program.
Swets graduated magna cum laude from Bostin College in 2009 with his bachelor's degree in marketing, information systems and management leadership. He also received the Athletic Director's Award for Academic Achievement. He earned his MBA from Providence in 2011.
KURTIS SHULTZ - Sports Performance Coach for Men's Basketball
Kurtis Shultz was named the sports performance coach for men's basketball. He spent the previous 11 seasons working with USC men's basketball.
During his time with Southern Cal men's basketball, the Trojans made six NCAA Tournaments, including a run to the 2021 Elite Eight.
Shultz arrived at USC after six seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2006-11), including the final three as head strength and conditioning coach. He previously spent two seasons with the Minnesota Vikings (2004-05) as the head strength and conditioning coach. In 2003 he served as the assistant strength coach with the Cincinnati Bengals.
Shultz spent the bulk of his early career as the strength coach for Maryland basketball, helping the team to the 2001-02 NCAA title.
Shultz was also a basketball player at Maryland (1991-95) and served as team captain as a senior. In his final two seasons with the Terrapins, they advanced to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen.
He and his wife, Sharon, have three children, Jacob, Courson and Jaxson.
