Rachel Barnes joined the Jacksonville State women’s basketball staff ahead of the 2025–26 season, bringing more than a decade of collegiate coaching experience to the Gamecocks. She arrives in Jacksonville after three seasons as an assistant coach at Texas A&M–Kingsville, where she played a key role in one of the program’s most successful stretches in recent history. During the 2022–23 campaign, the Javelinas secured the No. 5 seed in the Lone Star Conference Tournament — their highest finish since 2000–01 — and posted an 18–11 overall record, the program’s best mark in more than a decade. The team’s 15 conference victories tied a school record, and Barnes helped mentor 10 All-LSC selections across her three-year tenure, including multiple honorees in a single season and a conference Sixth Woman of the Year recipient.
Prior to her time in Texas, Barnes spent several years at Pensacola State College, where she served as an assistant coach and interim head coach. There, she helped develop seven first-team All-Panhandle Conference players and an All-American, earning recognition as the 2021–22 World Exposure Report NJCAA Assistant Coach of the Year. Her coaching career also includes stops at Seward County Community College and Windsor High School. A former standout player, Barnes was a two-time NJCAA All-American at Seward County before transferring to Providence College, where she graduated in 2012 after competing for the Friars women’s basketball program. Her diverse experience as both a player and coach adds valuable perspective to Jacksonville State’s staff.
