Track & Field/Cross Country
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
- Email:
- Jamaal.Barnes@usm.edu
During year two with Southern Miss, Barnes saw a pair of his high jumpers make trips to the NCAA Championships, as Corvell Todd finished 5th and earned First-Team All-American honors at the NCAA Indoor Championships and Eric Richards finished tied for 19th at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. In total, three different Golden Eagles made trips to the podium at the C-USA Outdoor Championships as Todd and Richards finished second and third, while Zaria Jones finished earned silver in the women's high jump. Landon Chalden broke the school record in the 400m hurdles during the outdoor season. Barnes coaches Marquasha Myers and Ashlee Osaji to point-earning performances at the Conference USA Indoor Championships as the Golden Eagles captured the first indoor title in program history.Â
In his first season with the Golden Eagles, he inherited Eric Richards as his athlete who already held the school record for the indoor high jump. Richards would break that record again with a jump at 7’04.5” at the Houston G5 and Super 22 Invitational. At that time, he moved into the top-five of the NCAA and top-15 in the world. Richards would go on to earn gold at the C-USA Championships for the second year in a row, earning First Team All-Conference honors. He was set to compete in the NCAA Indoor Championships when the rest of the season was canceled due to coronavirus, or COVID-19, causing widespread health concerns.Â
In his first season as head coach in 2017-18 at Pratt Community Collge, he found immediate, sustained success. Out of the gate, the Beavers track and field program would qualify over ten competitors for national meets, breaking dozens of records in the process. The 2018 season saw one Region VI/Jayhawk Conference champion during the outdoor season, as well as both the men’s and women’s programs moving up in the final standings several places. Directing other standouts such as Madeline Jacobsen and Jevony Murray to multiple national appearances, the first season at PCC for Coach Barnes was quite the success with records dating as far back as 1987 being eclipsed during the season.
Coach Barnes came to PCC from Georgia State University, where he was an assistant coach for the 2014-15 and 2016-17 seasons. He gained invaluable recruiting experience throughout the Southeast, including the states of Alabama, Florida, and Georgia while being headquartered in Atlanta. During his time at GSU, Coach Barnes helped produce five Sun Belt Conference champions, nineteen All-Sun Belt Performers and five NCAA First Round Qualifiers, along with five school record holders. He was also a member of the 2015 Sun Belt Conference Outdoor runner up team. Coach Barnes’ work for the Panthers was especially noticed in the development of multiple-time conference champion Ravin Gilbert, who was named Most Outstanding Outdoor Performer in 2015 by the Sun Belt Conference.
Between stints at Georgia State, Coach Barnes was also the lead assistant coach at Augusta University. While there, he was able to mentor one Peach Belt Conference champion and twelve All-Peach Belt performers. Coach Barnes was able to lead Heather Hammett and Kiana Smith (née Kelly) to USTFCCCA Division II All-Region honors in the 400m hurdles and the Heptathlon, respectively. Augusta University’s first and only sprint event conference champion, Levonta Reddick was tutored by Coach Barnes during his short tenure at Augusta. In 2016, the Jaguars broke nine different records under the tutelage of Coach Barnes.
Coach Barnes began his coaching career upon graduating from Auburn University at nearby Opelika High School from 2011-2014. During his three seasons there, the program rewrote the record books with countless new marks while also guiding four New Balance All-Americans and four state champions, including Jakayla Hand, who would go on to become an All-American for Auburn University. The 2014 boys’ team finished runner-up in the top classification in the state of Alabama. Coach Barnes had a hand in over fifteen athletes receiving scholarships to compete on the collegiate level.
A native of Decatur, Georgia, Coach Barnes ran at the NCAA Division I level as a sprinter at Auburn University from 2004-2008. He graduated with a degree in Exercise Science in 2011. He was a member of the Auburn 4x100m relay team that qualified for the NCAA Regional with a best time of 40.57. He is currently pursuing his master's in Sport Management at Southern Miss.Â
BARNES FILE
2017-2019......Head Coach (Track & Field), Assistant Coach (Cross Country), Pratt Community College
-Five NJCAA All-Americans
-Four KJCCC Conference Champions
-57 NJCAA National Qualifiers
-Three Region VI Champions
-70 KJCCC All-Conference Performers
-36 All-Region VI Performers
-One NJCAA Academic All-American
-39 School Records BrokenÂ
2016-17.............Assistant Coach (Sprints/Hurdles/Jumps/Relays), Georgia State University
-Two NCAA Regional Qualifiers
-Seven All-Sun Belt Conference Performers
-Ravin Gilbert broke school's 100m record under Barnes' watch (11.45s)
-One Presidential List selection
-Six Dean's List selections
2015-16.............Assistant Coach (Sprints/Hurdles/800m/Jumps/Multis/Relays), Augusta University
-One Peach Belt Conference Champion
-12 All-Peach Belt Conference Performers
-Two USTFCCCA Division II All-Region Performers
-Oversaw nine school record holders during his lone season
2014-15..........Assistant Coach (Sprints/Hurdles/Relays), Georgia State University
-Sun Belt Conference Outdoor Track & Field Runner-Up
-Three NCAA Regional Qualifiers
-Three Individual Sun Belt Conference Champions
-One Sun Belt Conference Relay Champion
-12 All-Sun Belt Conference Performers
-Oversaw the breaking of three school records
2011-14.........Associate Head Coach (Sprints/Hurdles/800m/Jumps/Relays), Opelika High School (Ala.)
-2014 State Runner-Ups
-Four State Champions
-Four New Balance All-Americans
-Assisted 16 school-record holders (Individual & Relay)
-Saw 15+ athletes receive collegiate scholarships
 2008-11......Assistant Coach (Sprints/Hurdles/Jumps/Relays), New Horizon Technical School (Ga.)
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