Carissa Barnes joined the SMU Volleyball program in the spring of 2026.
Prior to SMU, Barnes spent two season as an assistant coach at North Texas, joining the Mean Green staff ahead of the 2024 fall season.
Before her coaching career began, Barnes had a decorated playing career at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Texas, where she was a three-time AVCA All-Region Honorable Mention selection and three-time Southland Conference Libero of the Year at A&M-Corpus Christi. As an Islander, Barnes was named to the SLC All-Conference team in each of her four seasons before she won the national championship at the University of Texas in 2023.
She also helped lead A&M-Corpus Christi to three SLC titles and two NCAA Tournament appearances while adding three Southland All-Academic First Team selections. Barnes earned a Bachelor of Science degree magna cum laude in kinesiology in May 2023 before her graduate transfer to the University of Texas.
Barnes grew up in Weatherford, Texas and led Weatherford High School to two area championships and four district titles. She earned all-district honors in each of her four seasons, including the district MVP award as a junior. She was also named academic all-district each year.
She is engaged to current Assistant Coach Diego Aguilar. The two reside in Irving, Texas.
