ENMU hires Midwestern State assistant Segler as men's basketball coach

Eastern New Mexico University’s search is over for its new men’s basketball coach, with Tres Segler hired Tuesday.

Segler, an assistant with defending Lone Star Conference champion Midwestern State and a former grad assistant at the University of Texas, will be officially introduced in a 2:30 p.m. Wednesday press conference at Greyhound Arena.

He was chosen from a field of 110 applicants and three finalists who made on-campus visits over the last week. The search committee, chaired by ENMU Athletic Director Jeff Geiser, picked Segler over fellow finalists Houston Reed of Otero Junior College and Vinay Patel of Oklahoma City University.

Courtesy Midwestern State Athletics

Tres Segler has been named the new men's basketball coach at Eastern New Mexico University.

“I called up all the head coaches from the Lone Star Conference,” Geiser said, “and asked them which assistant coach is the most ready to become a head coach. Basically, everybody said Segler.”

His former boss, Midwestern State coach Nelson Haggerty, couldn’t agree more.

“You knew that would come soon for him,” said Haggerty, who was promoted to head coach in 2011 and named Segler his first assistant the following season. “I thought his next job would be a head coaching spot, and it would have to be the right one for him. He’s been very valuable to the success we’ve had the last few years. He felt like Eastern was a really great place for him.”

Attempts to contact Segler Tuesday were unsuccessful.

A graduate from the University of Texas, Segler has been involved in college basketball since 2003 when he was a student assistant at UT before becoming a graduate assistant in 2007. He then moved to Wichita Falls, where he’s been an assistant coach at MSU since 2009.

The Segler family has more than 80 years of coaching experience. Tres Segler is a third-generation college basketball head coach, joining father Rusty Segler and grandfather Dave Segler.

“He comes from a long line of basketball coaches,” Geiser said. “His father was a basketball coach and his grandfather was a basketball coach back in Texas and has a gym named after him. This is definitely a coup for Eastern New Mexico.”

Geiser said that Segler probably locked up the job on his in-person interview.

“Anytime we bring our candidates in, we put them in front of as many people as we can, including our coaches and our staff,” he said. “Following Tres’ time, I had a couple of our employees say they were actually moved and inspired by coach Segler. I don’t think that’s every happened before when staff has been motivated by a candidate.”

He is also a former manager for the USA National Basketball team, and NBA players he worked with at Texas include Kevin Durant, LaMarcus Aldridge and DJ Augustin.

“He’s great with players, he’s going to be great in the community,” Haggerty said. “He’s got an infectious spirit. He’s a basketball guy. He’s going to do great things there. He’s going to do things the right way.”

Segler replaces Stott Carter, who went 6-21 and 2-12 in LSC play last season.

Segler and his wife Katherine have two children, Hollis and Arden.

Geiser said Segler’s salary will be somewhere in the $70,000 range for the first year.