Justin Bailey is going on his fourth year after joining the Sam Houston men's basketball staff in the summer of 2021, recently being named Associate Head Coach in April 2023.
Bailey helped the Bearkats to a 19-win season in his first stint on staff and helped develop first-team All-WAC selection Savion Flagg. In Bailey’s second season, the Bearkats had a program-tying record of 26 wins en route to earning the No. 1 seed in the 2023 WAC Tournament including a win in the first round of the 2023 NIT, 2023 WAC Player of the Year Qua Grant and three other all-conference players.
In his third season, Bailey helped lead the Bearkats to an outright regular season Conference USA championship in its first year in the league, after being picked sixth in the preseason poll. The Bearkats went 13-3 in conference play, including a perfect 8-0 record at home.
Overall, the Bearkats accumulated 21 total wins for the season. Bailey recruited and helped coach/develop Lamar Wilkerson, who was named a first team All-CUSA member, Davon Barnes, who was named a second team All-CUSA member, and Cameron Huefner, who was named honorable mention.
With Bailey overseeing the defensive responsibilities, the Bearkats were ranked in the top five in CUSA in the defensive stats, second in opponent 2-point field goal percentage (47.9), third in opponent 3-point field goal percentage (32.8) and third in adjusted defensive efficiency (99.3) according to KenPom in 2023-24.
Before Sam Houston, Bailey spent two seasons an assistant coach for Pittsburg State and was promoted to associate head coach during the 2020-21 campaign.
Bailey was the head coach at the University of Arkansas Fort Smith during the 2018-19 season before joining Pittsburg State. He had previously served as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Lamar for two seasons in 2016-17 and 2017-18, helping the Cardinals to consecutive 19-win seasons and back-to-back appearances in the College Basketball Invitational (CIT).
Bailey also served as an assistant coach at UAFS for four seasons from 2012-16. He helped guide the Lions to a pair of NCAA Division II National Tournament appearances and two Heartland Conference Championships.
Prior to joining the UAFS staff, Bailey spent two years as a graduate assistant coach at Arizona State University under Herb Sendek.
Bailey, a Fort Smith, Arkansas, native played two seasons at Arkansas Fort Smith, helping the program capture the 2005-06 NJCAA National Championship. He then played three seasons at the UT Permian Basin and earned All-Heartland Conference honors.
Bailey earned a bachelor's degree in kinesiology from UT Permian Basin in May 2010 and a master's degree in higher and post-secondary education from Arizona State in May 2012.
