ENMU introduces Segler

Tres Segler says he’ll treat his locker room, his university and his community like a family. And he’s all in with his new family at Eastern New Mexico University.

Segler, a former assistant coach at defending Lone Star Conference champ Midwestern State and a grad assistant at the University of Texas, was introduced Wednesday as the 13th men’s basketball coach at ENMU during a ceremony at Greyhound Arena.

“My energy is off the charts. I’m so excited to be here,” said Segler, whose message of family was even conveyed in his dark green tie — purchased Tuesday night in a JCPenney by his wife, Katherine, who texted Tres a photo for approval right as he was turning in his keys at MSU.

Staff photo: Kevin Wilson

Tres Segler is introduced Wednesday as the new men’s basketball coach at Eastern New Mexico University. Segler was the first assistant at Midwestern State for the last five seasons.

He got his new keys, and his first batch of Greyhound shirts and hats courtesy of Athletic Director Jeff Geiser, who believes the university has found the person to lead the program to its first LSC title since 2004.

“If you win the Lone Star Conference,” Geiser said, “you have a legit chance at the national championship. That’s how tough this conference is.”

Segler, who has been at MSU since 2009 and spent the last five seasons as the first assistant under Nelson Haggerty, said one of his favorite moments was hearing a Division-I program’s players say the Mustangs were the most punishing team they saw all season.

“The toughness we’re going to embody happens in the lane,” said Segler. “It’s a physical league, the most physical league in the country. We are going to take their best thing away from them.”

Segler, who now joins his father Rusty and his grandfather David in the college coaching fraternity, spent much of the press conference speaking directly to his returning Greyhound roster. He said he was not going to be OK with mediocrity, and insisted on a culture that supported all ENMU athletic teams.

“We’ve got to get the program to where it deserves to be, which is back on top in the Lone Star,” Segler said. “We’re going to make the nation lean our way a little bit.”

Regarding a question on recruiting players to help turn around a 6-21 season, Segler said his foundation is already in Portales. Segler is heading to a recruiting event in Dallas this weekend, and he’s already had a stream of junior college and high school programs touting their prospects, but he looked to his team and said, “Your say is going to be the final say.”

He thanked his previous head coaches for teaching him, including former Texas coach Rick Barnes (now Tennessee), former MSU coach Grant McCasland (now Arkansas State) and Haggerty, and said it was a bittersweet experience to leave an MSU family that prepped him to be a head coach and helped him deliver a winning pitch to ENMU.

Geiser, who chaired the eight-person search committee, said one of the first things he did was call every men’s basketball coach in the Lone Star Conference and ask which LSC assistant was most prepared to lead a program. That included Angelo State’s Cinco Boone. Geiser did ask Boone, a 2001 Portales High grad, if he was interested in applying for the position. Boone politely declined but insisted ENMU couldn’t go wrong with Segler.

Everybody else said the same thing, Geiser said, so he sought and received permission to call Segler and encourage him to apply.

He was one of 110 applicants, Geiser said, and stood above the field with a YouTube video and other multimedia presentations bearing ENMU colors and logos.

University President Steven Gamble told Segler to give the area 90 days and he’d feel like home.

“They’re going to tell you it’s home, they’re going to show you it’s home, then you’ll be glad it’s home,” Gamble said.

The Seglers have two daughters, Hollis and Arden, and are expecting a third child in September.