Who could join Casey Alexander's staff at Kansas State basketball

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MANHATTAN — Casey Alexander's first order of business as Kansas State's new basketball coach will be filling out a staff, presumably before the transfer portal opens after the NCAA Tournament national championship game.

The make-up of Alexander's staff at Belmont has been former Bruins players and long-time assistants with Nashville ties. As he ventures west of the Mississippi River for the first time in his coaching career, Alexander will likely need to find someone with Midwest ties, perhaps even Kansas State roots. There will also be a need for a defensive-minded coach, considering he's more known as an offensive mind.

We went through his Belmont tree and looked at some other names that may make sense with regional and Kansas State ties. Here's a look at some names that could join Alexander on the sideline.

Brian Ayers

Ayers was Alexander's associate head coach at Belmont, where he has spent the last 28 seasons. He entered the 2025-26 season as the longest-serving Division I assistant coach at a single institution.

Belmont's website says Ayers specializes in post-play instruction — offensive moves, footwork, positioning and defense. Ayers is a Clarksville, Tennessee, native. He spent time as an assistant coach at Vanderbilt and Austin Peay, while playing college ball at Lipscomb.

Shane Southwell

A four-year standout at K-State from 2010-14, Southwell is coming off his second season as an assistant at Northwestern. That came after two-year stints as a Northern Illinois associate head coach and two years as an assistant under Bruce Weber at K-State, where he helped recruit Markquis Nowell and Robert Morris. This should be an early call for Alexander.

Kyle Lindsted

Sunrise Christian's head coach, Lindsted, has an impressive assistant coaching résumé at the college level, having served on Gregg Marshall's staff at Wichita State. He's also been an assistant at Minnesota and a scout for the Brooklyn Nets.

Kerron Johnson

Johnson finished his fourth season on Belmont's staff. He's one of the best players in Belmont history and is credited with working closely with standouts Ben Sheppard and Ja'Kobi Gillespie. His responsibilities included game planning, scouting reports, and recruiting. His brother is former Auburn and NFL running back Kerryon Johnson.

Luke Smith

Smith finished his second year on Belmont's staff after previously serving as the program's director of player development. He played three seasons at Belmont.

JJ Butler

Butler is coming off his first season as a Belmont assistant after spending the previous three seasons on staff at Delaware. He played for Alexander at Lipscomb.

Bryce Haase

Haase finished his third season at Belmont, his first as the director of strategy and analytics. He previously served as a graduate assistant for the Bruins.

Sean Rutigliano

Rutigliano departed Belmont after last season, taking the head coaching job at Division III Colby College. He was Belmont's associate head coach when he departed and had spent six years on Alexander's staff.

Mick Hedgepeth

Hedgepeth was Alexander's director of basketball operations during his first season at Belmont. He's currently the head coach at Division II Alabama-Huntsville, which he led to the Sweet 16 a year ago. He could be in the mix to replace Alexander at Belmont.

Evan Bradds

Bradds is Belmont's all-time leading scorer and has been climbing the coaching ranks since. He spent a lot of time in the NBA, coaching for the Boston Celtics and Utah Jazz organizations. He became an assistant at Duke before this past season. He could be in the mix to replace Alexander at Belmont.

Penny Collins

Collins was a player at Belmont when Alexander was an assistant. He was the head coach at Tennessee State, where he struggled, before he stepped down to join the Memphis Grizzlies as an assistant. He's also been an assistant at East Tennessee, Illinois State and Cumberland.

Wyatt D. Wheeler covers Kansas State athletics for the USA TODAY Network and Topeka Capital-Journal. You can follow him on X at @WyattWheeler_, contact him at 417-371-6987 or email him at [email protected]

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Casey Alexander coaching staff at Kansas State basketball possibilities

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