CURATORS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI - Key Persons
Gates, who has 20 years of Division I coaching experience, came to Cleveland State after eight seasons on Leonard Hamilton's staff at Florida State. Gates' tenure at FSU mirrored the Seminoles' rise to national prominence. With Gates on the staff, Florida State played in four NCAA Tournaments, advanced to the Elite Eight of the 2018 NCAA Tournament and advanced to the Sweet 16 in both 2012 and 2019.
Gates was instrumental in recruiting four straight top-15 classes at Florida State, which produced five NBA Draft picks over four years, including one lottery pick. Overall, he helped recruit seven top-100 players to the Seminoles during his tenure in Tallahassee.
Before joining the staff at Florida State, Gates worked at Marquette, Cal, Northern Illinois and Nevada. During his coaching career, he has served on coaching staffs which have made 10 postseason appearances. Gates also worked as a skill development coach with the NBA's Los Angeles Clippers (2002-03).
A combo guard at California, Gates served as a three-year captain, playing in 114 career games. He helped lead Cal to three 20-win seasons and was a two-time Pac-10 First Team All-Academic Team selection. Gates was also named the team's Most Inspirational Player in 2001, its Outstanding Student-Athlete in 1999 and 2001 and was awarded the 2002 Pac-10 Medal of Honor, which is presented to the Pac-10 Universities Top Graduating Student-Athlete
Job Titles:
- Chief of Staff / Director of Basketball Operations
Chase Goldstein is in his second season with the Missouri men's basketball program. After spending the 2022-23 campaign as the team's Director of Basketball Operations, Goldstein adds the title of Chief of Staff during his second year with the Tigers.
Joining a program that returned just three student-athletes after a 12-win campaign prior to his arrival, Goldstein helped Mizzou to the seventh-largest turnaround nationally (most among power-conference teams). Overall, during the 2022-23 season, the Tigers claimed their most wins in 11 years with 25 victories, reached the SEC Tournament semifinals for the first time since joining the conference and earned their first NCAA Tournament win in 13 seasons.
The success of his first season on campus is nothing new for Goldstein as he has worked directly with 10 postseason teams during his young career.
Goldstein joined Mizzou after a three-year stint with head coach Dennis Gates at Cleveland State, serving as the program's director of basketball operations. With the Vikings, Goldstein helped the team win two regular-season Horizon League titles in addition to a tournament championship and NCAA Tournament bid during the 2021 campaign.
Prior to his time at CSU, Goldstein spent two seasons on the video coordination staff at Florida State. In his final season with the Seminoles, Goldstein worked directly with head coach Leonard Hamilton in addition to Gates and current Mizzou associate head coach Charlton Young. The Seminoles won multiple NCAA Tournament games in both of his two seasons on campus, including the program's first Elite Eight run in 25 seasons during the 2017-18 campaign.
Following his final season with the Seminoles in 2019, Goldstein was named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) 30 Under 30 Team, which recognizes the most outstanding men's basketball coaches under the age of 30.
Prior to his time in Tallahassee, Goldstein served as the assistant coordinator of operations at Florida Gulf Coast during the 2016-17 season. In that season, he helped the Eagles reach numerous milestones, including a school-record 26 victories and the program's first Atlantic Sun regular-season title.
During the 2015-16 NBA season, Goldstein worked with the Charlotte Hornets as the team's video coordinator. In his role, he edited opponent clips, generated personnel for opponents' offensive and defensive sets and compiled video edits for potential playoff matchups. He also worked under NBA Hall of Famer Patrick Ewing in player development.
Goldstein graduated from Florida Gulf Coast with a bachelor's degree in history in 2016. He was a manager for the basketball program for three seasons, which included the team's run to the Sweet 16 in 2013.
Job Titles:
- Senior Athletic Trainer / Men 's Basketball
Chris Perrin joined the University of Missouri athletic training staff in November 2021 following a six-year stint at Detroit-Mercy.
At Detroit-Mercy, Perrin served as the men's basketball trainer in addition to men's and women's golf. He started his time at Detroit-Mercy as a graduate assistant, working with women's soccer, tennis and golf.
Perrin has a wealth of basketball training experience, previously working with the Developmental Basketball Team in China, as well as an intern with the Utah Jazz.
Perrin graduated from Michigan State in 2014 with a bachelor's degree in athletic training and a specialization in health promotions. He then received his master's in health service administration from Detroit-Mercy in 2017.
Job Titles:
- Coordinator of Scouting and Analytics
Dalon King is in his second season with the Missouri men's basketball program, serving as the team's Coordinator of Scouting and Analytics.
In his first season on campus, the Tigers completed one of their best campaigns in years. With 25 victories, the Mizzou posted its most wins in 11 seasons - capping the season with its first NCAA Tournament victory in 13 years.
Prior to his arrival in Columbia, King spent five seasons at Cleveland State, including the final three years under current Mizzou head coach Dennis Gates. His final season with the Vikings, Kings served as assistant director of basketball operations - assisting the coaching staff during on-campus recruiting visits, overseeing the team of graduate assistants and coordinating team travel and meals. He also enjoyed a stint as graduate assistant from 2019 to 2021 at CSU.
During his time with the Vikings, CSU captured back-to-back regular-season Horizon League titles in 2021 and 2022, while also claiming the league's tournament crown in 2021 and earning a bid to the NCAA Tournament.
King earned his bachelor's in history from Cleveland State in 2019 before completing a master's in 2021.
Job Titles:
- Coach
- Head Coaching Record
- Whitten Family Men 's Basketball Head Coach
Named the program's 20th head coach on March 22, 2022, Gates made his first year on the Tigers' sideline a memorable one. Inheriting a team that won 12 games and returned just three players from the season before, Gates engineered the seventh-best improvement nationally - and top among power-conference schools - during the 2022-23 campaign with the Tigers winning 25 games. The program's highest win total in 11 years, Mizzou also completed its best campaign since joining the SEC by advancing to the conference semifinals for the first time before capping the year with its first NCAA Tournament victory in 13 seasons.
When it was all said and done, Gates' 25 wins are the most by any first-year SEC coach since the Tigers joined the conference in 2012 and the fifth-most in league history - trailing only Tubby Smith, John Calipari, Eddie Sutton and Trent Johnson.
Following the campaign, Gates was honored with SEC Coach of the Year accolades by USA Today - marking the third time in four seasons as a head coach he received his league's top honor.
Individually, Gates mentored a pair of standouts in Kobe Brown and D'Moi Hodge to new heights, becoming NBA players by the end of the season. A unanimous first-team All-SEC honoree, Brown improved his shooting percentage by 9.4 percent and his 3-point mark by 21.8 percent in one season under Gates' watch before being selected in the first round of the NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Clippers.
After playing two years under Gates at Cleveland State, Hodge followed his head coach to Mizzou and set the program's single-season steals record. The National Defensive Player of the Year finalist was then signed by the Los Angeles Lakers as he aims to become the first player from the British Virgin Islands to play in an NBA game.
Striving to be champions in the classroom, on the court and in the community, Mizzou also thrived academically in the first season under Gates. Brown became the first Tiger to be named SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year, while becoming the third in program history (and first since 1983) to earn Academic All-America honors. Overall, eight Mizzou student-athletes received NABC Academic Honor Roll accolades - the second-most in the nation.
Nutt has two sons, Logan and Lucas, and a daughter Lexis. Logan is a high school basketball head coach in Arkansas and Lucas runs 3:16 Athletics Training Center.
Job Titles:
- Assistant Director of Basketball Operations
Job Titles:
- Title / Executive Staff Assistant
Matt Cline is in his second season as an assistant coach with the Missouri men's basketball program.
Cline had an immediate impact on the team's success upon his arrival in 2022. During his first season with the program, the Tigers ranked in the top 40 (of 363 schools) in nine different offensive categories - scoring offense (26th), field goal percentage (35th), effective field goal percentage (22nd), 3-pointers per game (22nd), free-throw percentage (36th), assists (21st), assist-to-turnover ratio (19th), fastbreak points (21st) and bench points (36th). Individually, Kobe Brown posted one of the most efficient campaigns nationally en route to first-team All-SEC honors and being selected in the first round of the 2023 NBA Draft.
Job Titles:
- Special Assistant to the Head Coach
Bringing more than 100 head coaching victories to the Missouri men's basketball program, Matt Lottich is in his first year on the Tigers staff as special assistant to the head coach.
Lottich compiled 108 wins in seven years leading the Valparaiso program from 2016 to 2023, ranking third in school history for victories. During his tenure, the Beacons won one regular-season conference championship, while he also helped lead Valpo to its first Missouri Valley Conference Championship game in any sport in 2020.
In 10 years overall as a head and assistant coach, Lottich won 184 games on the sideline with three regular-season championships, one conference tournament title and five invitations to postseason tournaments.
"I couldn't be more excited to add Coach Lottich to our staff," said Whitten Family Men's Basketball Head Coach Dennis Gates. "I have known Matt for a number of years and his winning experience as a head coach will no doubt elevate Mizzou. He had success leading a program in both the Missouri Valley Conference and Horizon League and his extensive knowledge of the game will be a tremendous asset to our staff and team. He fits perfectly with what we're looking to achieve at Mizzou."
A top frontcourt coach in the country, Rob Summers joined the Missouri men's basketball program in April 2024.
A 7-foot graduate of West Virginia who played two seasons under John Beilein after starting his career at Penn State, Summers will work directly with the Tigers' post players at Mizzou, while also serving as the team's offensive coordinator.
"As somebody who specializes in post development, Rob is the perfect piece to round out our coaching staff," said Whitten Family Men's Basketball Head Coach Dennis Gates. "Very few coaches have frontcourt-playing experience and his knowledge and ability to teach the position will no doubt elevate our program. As our top assistant coach at Cleveland State, he has familiarity with our system and was behind all of our success at CSU. Rob has continued to grow as a coach as he spent the last two seasons as associate head coach at Miami, helping turn that program into a MAC contender. He is without a doubt a future head coach and we look forward to him joining our program as we strive to win championships in the classroom, on the court and in the community."
Summers joins the Tigers after spending the previous two seasons at Miami University as associate head coach. He made an immediate impact with the RedHawks - helping the program to its top placement in the MAC standings in 13 years, while mentoring Anderson Mirambeaux to all-conference accolades in both of his seasons on campus. Mirambeaux, who increased his scoring average from 1.5 points in 2021-22 to 13.6 in his two seasons at Miami, became the first RedHawks frontcourt player to earn All-MAC honors in back-to-back campaigns in 10 years.
Prior to Summers' time at Miami, he and Gates first worked together during a successful three-year stint at Cleveland State. An assistant coach and the team's offensive coordinator, Summers helped the Vikings increase their scoring average by more than 10 points per game as CSU collected two regular-season Horizon League titles and one tournament championship.
Summers joined the Vikings after spending the previous two seasons as an assistant coach at James Madison. He also enjoyed coaching stops as the head coach at Division II Urbana (Ohio) from 2014 to 2017, one season as James Madison's director of operations and two years at Glenville State as associate head coach and compliance coordinator.
Summers played in 125 games with 78 starting assignments at Penn State (2002-04) and West Virginia (2005-07). As a Mountaineer, Summers made 33 appearances in his first season with the program, helping WVU reach the Sweet 16. In his final campaign, he was a team captain on the team's NIT championship squad, starting 36 games and shooting 63.3 percent from the field - a mark that stands as the second-highest single-season percentage in school history.
Summers was a three-time Big East Academic All-Star at WVU, where he received his bachelor's degree in sports management in 2007 before earning his master's in athletic coaching education in 2012. Summers was selected in the 2007 NBA Development League Draft, ultimately deciding to compete overseas. He played professionally in Europe, Asia, Africa, and South America.
Ryan Sharbaugh is in his second season with the Missouri men's basketball program, joining the Tigers as an assistant coach after spending three seasons with head coach Dennis Gates at Cleveland State.
Serving as the program's defensive coordinator, Sharbaugh helped Mizzou to one of its most successful seasons in more than a decade during his first year on campus. The Tigers finished the campaign ranked second nationally with 10.2 steals per game, while leading all teams in the nation with a turnover margin of +5.8. The strong defensive showing helped Mizzou collect its most wins in 11 seasons - capped by its first NCAA Tournament victory in 13 years - and complete its most successful year since joining the SEC with a trip to the conference semifinals.
Individually, Sharbaugh played a key role in the development of D'Moi Hodge at both Mizzou and Cleveland State. In his one season with the Tigers, Hodge was named a finalist for the Lefty Driesell National Defensive Player of the Year after setting a school record (and ranking fourth nationally) with 91 swipes. Tre Gomillion and Hodge were also named the 2021 and 2022 Horizon League Defensive Players of the Year, respectively, under his watch at Cleveland State before Hodge would sign a free-agent contract with the Los Angeles Lakers following his graduation.
Prior to joining the Tigers, Sharbaugh spent three seasons with Gates turning Cleveland State into the premier program of the Horizon League. He helped the Vikings win back-to-back regular-season titles in 2021 and 2022 with CSU also claiming the tournament title and NCAA Tournament bid in 2021.
Sharbaugh's first taste of championship success was at Bradley from 2016 to 2019 as the school's Director of Basketball Operations - joining a program that won just five games prior to his arrival and finishing with back-to-back 20-win campaigns and the school's first Missouri Valley Conference title in 31 seasons in 2019.
Overall, Sharbaugh has helped three different schools earn an NCAA Tournament bids in the last five seasons.
Sharbaugh joined Bradley following two seasons as a graduate assistant at Florida State on Leonard Hamilton's staff. During his time with the Seminoles, FSU featured a top-20 NBA Draft pick in Malik Beasley, landed a pair of top-10 recruiting classes and advanced to the second round of the NIT in 2016. He also enjoyed assistant coaching stints at Urbana University (2012-14) and West Virginia Wesleyan College (2011-12), while serving as a graduate assistant at California University (Pa.) from 2009 to 2011.
A 2008 graduate of Westminster College in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania, Sharbaugh has earned master's degrees from both California University and Florida State.
Sharbaugh and his wife, Marianna, have two sons - Sutton and Banner.
Job Titles:
- Director of Athletic Performance - Men 's Basketball
Joining the Missouri men's basketball staff with more than 10 years of strength and conditioning experience, Sean Conaty is now in his second season at MU as the program's Director of Athletic Performance.
In just one season with the Tigers, Conaty has worked with a program that earned its most victories in 11 years with 25, capped by the school's first NCAA Tournament win in 13 seasons. He also worked with two NBA signees as Kobe Brown was selected in the first round of the 2023 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Clippers, while D'Moi Hodge signed a free-agent contract with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Conaty came to Columbia after spending the 2021-22 season as the head men's basketball strength and conditioning coach at Oregon State. Prior to his time with the Beavers, Conaty was Director of Sports Performance for Olympic Sports at the University at Buffalo, where he oversaw the Olympic Sports Performance Department and was directly responsible for the physical development and sports nutrition efforts of the men's basketball and volleyball programs.
Conaty's first Division I position came at Eastern Michigan, where he spent three seasons as an assistant sports performance coach and worked directly with the men's and women's basketball programs in addition to women's soccer and women's golf. Before joining the EMU sports performance staff, Conaty served as an assistant strength & conditioning coach at Christopher Newport University, where he worked with both basketball programs and all varsity sports. He was a part of the CNU men's basketball team's run to the Division III Final Four.
Before his time at CNU, Conaty was a graduate assistant strength & conditioning coach at Springfield College. He also held several strength & conditioning internship positions, including stops with the Buffalo Bills, Merrimack College, IMG Academy and East Carolina University.
Conaty received his master's degree in strength and conditioning from Springfield College, after earning his bachelor's degree in exercise science from East Carolina University.
A native of Monticello, New York, Conaty is a certified strength & conditioning coach through the CSCCa (SCCC) and NSCA (CSCS). He is an approved CSCCa mentor, and a registered strength & conditioning coach (RSCC) through the NSCA. Conaty is also a certified sports nutritionist through the International Society of Sports Nutrition (CISSN), as well as Precision Nutrition Level 1 Certified (Pn1). Additionally, he holds USAW, USATF, FMS and RPR credentials.
Conaty and his wife, Suzan, reside in Columbia with their newborn son, Caden.