DES MOINES, Iowa – Rob Klinkefus, Tramel Barnes, Billy Brown and Gavin Block have been named to the Drake men's basketball coaching staff as assistant coaches, head coach Eric Henderson announced on Friday.
Klinkefus, Barnes and Brown come to Des Moines after being on staff with Henderson at South Dakota State. During their time with Henderson in Brookings, the trio helped guide the Jackrabbits to multiple Summit League Championships and births to the NCAA Tournament in 2022 and 2024.
Block is a familiar face to the Missouri Valley Conference recently serving as the Director of Basketball Operations for the Bradley Braves this past season. Block was part of a staff in Peoria that finished the 2024-25 season with an overall record of 28-9 including a trip to the MVC Championship game in Arch Madness and a Quarterfinal run in the National Invitation Tournament.
Klinkefus, a Harlan, Iowa, native, spent the past 19 years on the coaching staff at South Dakota State prior to joining Drake. During his tenure, he was part of nine Summit League regular season titles and seven conference tournament championship teams. In his time in Brookings, SDSU compiled a 320-141 overall record. That includes a 175-13 record on the Jackrabbits home floor at Frost Arena that has home winning streaks of 17, 21, 30, 33 and 34 games.
"I am extremely excited to have Coach Klinkefus join us at Drake," Henderson said. "Coach Klink has a great eye for talent and his basketball mind will be a great asset to our program. We are elated that Rob, Megan, Roman, and Morris will be joining the Bulldog family."
Klinkefus played a key role in leading the Jackrabbits consistently to the top of The Summit League as a recruiter, coach and mentor. Klinkefus coached NCAA Division I All-Americans in Nate Wolters and Mike Daum, and three Academic All-Americans in Jordan Dykstra, Brayden Carlson and Matt Dentlinger. Klinkefus worked primarily with SDSU's front court which most recently saw William Kyle III in 2024 earn The Summit League's Defensive Player of the Year award along with claiming First Team All-Summit League honors.
Prior to SDSU, Klinkefus worked as an assistant coach at Buena Vista University in Storm Lake, Iowa, from 2001-06 under Brian Van Haaften. Klinkefus helped the Beavers post a 115-33 record in his five seasons, winning nearly 80 percent of their games while claiming five straight IIAC tournament titles and five national tournament berths.
Klinkefus graduated from Buena Vista in 2000, where he was the starting quarterback on the football team for four seasons, with a Bachelor of Arts in secondary education. He also owns a Master of Science degree in education from Drake, which he received in 2004. He and his wife, Megan, have two sons, Roman and Morris.
"My family and I couldn't be more excited to join the Drake Bulldog family," Klinkefus said. "Having the opportunity to continue to work with Coach Henderson in a program with the tradition that is in place at Drake University is extremely exciting and humbling."
Barnes comes to Drake after two stints at South Dakota State from 2019-21 and the previous 2024-25 season serving as an assistant coach.
"Tramel Barnes is a rising star in this profession," Henderson said. "He is a tireless recruiter and his ability to build up players will elevate our program. Tramel, Britt, Booker, and the new Bulldog due in September are great assets and we welcome them to the Bulldog family."
Barnes was a part of Henderson's staff in his first two seasons guiding the Jackrabbit program. The two campaigns saw SDSU earn a pair of Summit League regular season championships.
During his stay in Brookings, Barnes was instrumental in the development of all-league performers Baylor Scheierman and Douglas Wilson. Both were Summit League Players of the Year during their time in Yellow and Blue. For his efforts, Barnes was named to Silver Waves Media's Top-50 Impactful Mid-Major Assistants list.
Barnes also had stops at the University Utah and Utah State on the coaching staffs led by Craig Smith. He served as a director of player personnel and assistant coach for the Utes and during the 2018-19 season at Utah State he served as director of basketball operations and player development.
Barnes began his coaching career at Southwest Minnesota State after a four-year collegiate career capped by two seasons with the Mustangs. He spent six seasons on the SMSU coaching staff. While with the Mustangs, Barnes led them to a South Division Championship in the NSIC back-to-back years while going 53-15 in those two seasons – including a record-tying 28 victories in 2016-17.
Barnes received his bachelor's in sports management from Southwest Minnesota State in 2013 before earning his master's in physical education from SMSU. Barnes is married to his wife, Brittani Wiese, who was four-year letter winner at Minnesota Crookston, and have one son together, Booker, and are expecting their second child due in September.
"My family and I are ecstatic for the opportunity to be joining the Bulldog family with Coach Henderson," Barnes said. "We look forward to building on to the great traditions here at Drake University and can't wait to meet everyone in the Des Moines community."
Brown was on staff at South Dakota State for five seasons under Henderson. He spent three seasons as SDSU's Director of Player Development and was previously a graduate assistant.
"Billy is a native Iowan, who starred at Spirit Lake High School," Henderson said. "His understanding of the game and how he develops young players will make an incredible impact on our program. He is a constant learner with the ability to make great relationships that will also help our recruiting efforts."
Brown was part of four regular season title teams along with two NCAA Tournament squads while in Brookings. He played an integral part to SDSU having run of 14 consecutive seasons with First Team All-Summit League performers.
A native of Spirit Lake, Iowa, Brown was a four-year letterwinner at North Dakota. He started all 63 games over the final two years of his career for the Fighting Hawks. He led the team with 32 steals as a senior in 2019-20, and as a junior, his .458 success rate on 3-pointers was a team high.
Brown was named to the Iowa Newspaper Association all-state second team as a senior in high school. He ranked fourth among all Class 3A players in scoring at 21.7 points per game and first in assists, tallying 5.6 per game.
Brown earned his bachelor's degree in banking and financial economics at UND. He completed his master's degree in sport and recreation administration at SDSU in 2022. His younger sister, Anna, played for the Drake women's basketball team during the 2023-24 season as a graduate transfer.
"I am beyond ecstatic for the opportunity Coach Henderson has given me to join the Drake Bulldog family," Brown said. "I'm excited for the chance to learn, grow, and contribute to a program with such a strong tradition of excellence."
After spending last season on the Bradley Braves coaching staff as the Director of Basketball Operations, Block moves to Des Moines to serve as an assistant under Coach Henderson.
"Gavin continues to rise in the coaching profession," Henderson said. "His tireless work ethic and engaging personality will make our players better and will also attract recruits to Drake. He loves player development and will be a big part in helping our players get better daily. We welcome Gavin, Tayler, and the baby that is due in September to the Bulldogs."
Block began his coaching career at Duquesne University as the Assistant Director of Basketball Operations for the Dukes from 2019-2021.
He earned his first assistant coaching spots beginning with Northern State University, while also spending time at Illinois Wesleyan University. In his time as an assistant coach Block has helped develop notable names such as Micheal Hughes (Duquesne), Sincre Carry (Duquesne & Kent State), Sam Masten (Northern State), and Jacksen Moni (Northern State).
Block, a native of Lincoln, Illinois, played collegiately at the University of Ohio from 2015-2019 accumulating 121 games with 72 starts. Block ended his playing career with 847 points, including 141 career three pointers and 285 assists. He was also named as a two-time captain of the MAC All-Academic Team.
Block is married to his wife, Tayler, and are expecting their first child in September.
"My wife and I couldn't be more excited for the opportunity to join Coach Henderson and be a part of the Bulldog family," Block said. "We look forward to continuing the great traditions here at Drake and meet everyone in the Des Moines community."
