David Carter in his third season at Mizzou as the team’s assistant to the head coach.
In his first two seasons with the Tigers, Mizzou earned two bids to the NCAA Tournament and posted back-to-back double-digit win seasons in SEC play for the first time in school history. The Tigers have also collected eight wins over ranked teams, including a trio of top-five victories during the 2024-25 campaign – the most by Mizzou since 1988-89.
Carter joined the Tigers after spending four seasons as an assistant coach at Loyola Marymount University. Among the highlights during his time with the Lions, LMU defeated two teams ranked in the top 15 – including the program’s highest-ranked win in school history when it defeated No. 6 Gonzaga in 2023 – won the 2022 Jamaica Classic with victories over Georgetown and Wake Forest and posted as many as 19 wins during the 2022-23 campaign – the team’s third-most since 1990.
Prior to LMU, Carter spent two seasons with San Diego from 2018-20 as an assistant coach and enjoyed a six-year run as head coach at Nevada (2009-15), a place where he spent 16 years rising from assistant to head coach. He won 98 games in his time leading the Wolfpack and was named the 2012 WAC Coach of the Year after leading Nevada to a 28-7 record, a regular-season conference championship and a trip to the NIT, where they reached the quarterfinals.
Carter and Gates spent two seasons together on staff at Nevada with Gates serving as his assistant coach from 2009 to 2011.
As an assistant at Nevada from 1999 to 2009, Carter was key in recruiting future NBA players Ramon Sessions, JaVale McGee and Kirk Snyder. He was on the staff of four NCAA Tournament teams (2004-07) with the 2004 team reaching the Sweet 16. In total, Carter and the Wolfpack reached the postseason in nine of his 16 seasons (four NCAA, three NIT and two CBI).
In addition to his 16 years at Nevada, Carter has coached at Saint Mary’s – where he played for four years – Washington, Eastern Washington and Georgia.
A four-year starter and team captain during his playing days, Carter led his Saint Mary’s team to the NCAA Tournament in 1989 and registered a No. 17 national ranking with a 25-5 record. He graduated with a degree in liberal studies in 1989 and became a member of the school’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 2006.
Carter and his wife, Kim, have two children – Alexis and Cameron.