Sam Houston State University has compiled 11 20-victory seasons in its 31 years at the NCAA Division I level, and Hooten has been a part of nine of those either as head coach or as an assistant.
Since he joined the staff in July 2004, the Bearkats have compiled a record of 343 wins and 205 losses. The Sam Houston men have earned Southland tournament berths each of his 18 years in Huntsville (winning the event 2010, also reaching the finals in 2006, 2014 and 2015 and the semifinals nine times).
Southland Conference champions in 2019, Sam Houston has finished among the top three teams in the league 12 of the last 16 years. In that time, the Kats have won three West Division titles and advanced to national postseason play five times.
AS SAM HOUSTON HEAD COACH
• Named the 19th head coach in Bearkat history on April 2, 2010
• Has directed SHSU to 20-win seasons in five of the last eight seasons
• Guided SHSU to the Southland Conference regular-season championship in 2019 and the school’s first appearance in the postseason NIT.
• Led SHSU to five of its six postseason appearances in program history when they took part in the CIT from 2014 to 2016 and again in 2018
• Pushed Kats to a pair of wins and the semifinals of the CIT in 2018
• Has the Bearkats as the fifth winningest program among the 23 Division I teams in Texas since the beginning of the 2013-14 season (only behind SMU, SFA, Houston and Baylor)
• The Kats have posted 168 wins since 2013-14, the most in a eight-year span in program history
• 20 All-Southland Conference selections as SHSU head coach
• Has had three players named to the SLC All-defensive team
• Coached 2021 Southland Conference Player of the Year Zach Nutall, 2019 Southland Conference Player of the Year Cameron Delaney, 2011 Southland Conference Player of the Year Gilberto Clavell, 2019 Southland Conference Newcomer of the Year Kai Mitchell, 2014 Southland Conference Newcomer of the Year Jabari Peters, 2015 Southland Conference Defensive Player of the Year Michael Holyfield and 2021 Southland Conference Freshman of the Year Bryce Monroe
• Had three players reach the career 1,000-point mark in the same year when Dakarai Henderson, Aurimas Majauskas and Paul Baxter achieved the feat in the 2016-17 season
• Of the eight times in program history the Kats have led the SLC in field-goal percentage defense, five of those years being with Hooten on staff as either an assistant or head coach
• Bearkats have qualified for SLC Tournament in each season under Hooten and currently own the longest such streak in the league, having taken part in the last 19 SLC Tournaments
• Directed the Bearkats to their third consecutive Southland Conference West Division championship and the program's seventh consecutive winning season in his first season as Bearkat head coach in 2010-11
• The Bearkats' 18 wins in 2010-11 represented the most victories by a first-year head coach in the program's NCAA Division I history
• In all, the Kats have won 10 games in the SLC Tournament under Hooten, including wins in seven of eight opening games
• They reached the SLC tournament finals with victories over Oral Roberts and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in 2014, and the Islanders again in 2015
AS SAM HOUSTON ASSISTANT COACH
• Helped direct SHSU to a 127-59 record. in six years as an assistant
• Helped guide the 2009-10 Bearkats to the Southland Conference regular season and tournament titles to earn a berth the NCAA New Orleans regional
• Joined the SHSU staff July 1, 2004
• In 2009 RecruitingRumors.com selected Hooten as one of the top 100 NCAA assistant coaches and CollegeInsider.com named him Mid-Major Top 25 assistant coaches honorable mention
PRIOR TO SAM HOUSTON
• Served as assistant coach at Tarleton State University for head coach Lonn Reisman from 1993 to 2004, helping lead the Texans to a combined 204-111 record in that time
• Served as an assistant coach at Weatherford College from 1991 to 1993
• Played guard at Tarleton State from 1989-91 following a two-year stint at McLennan CC
• Led the Texans with 123 assists in the 1990-91 season, helping Tarleton to a pair of TIAA championships and a 52-10 record in his two years
• A 1987 graduate of Killeen Ellison High School where he lettered in basketball and baseball
• Earned All-CenTex and All-Super CenTex honors
• Named as a Killeen ISD Distinguished Alum
PERSONAL
• Holds two degrees from Tarleton State, earning a bachelor's degree in exercise and sport studies in 1993 and a master's in 1995
• Married to the former Kristen Miller
• The pair have a daughter, Jadyn, and a son Jayce
