COD Men’s Basketball welcomes alumnus as new head coach

COD did not have to reach very far to find their new Men's Basketball head coach, Trent Skinner, a Roadrunner alumnus with his eye on getting the program back into the post season for the first time since 2015.

Coach Skinner officially joined the Roadrunners as a head coach on May 10th and has been busy on the recruiting trail, connecting with each high school program in the Coachella Valley after spending the past nine seasons as the associate head coach at Mt. San Jacinto College (MSJC).

In an interview, posted on the COD Athletics Instagram account, Skinner commented, "we've definitely been out, hitting the streets, trying to get some players and starting locally. Trying to get some good local talent to stay here in town and maybe intermix them with some kids out of the area to see if we can't compete a little bit and get going in our first year."

He was the interim head coach for the MSJC Eagles during the 2014-15 season in which the Eagles won the Pacific Coast Athletic Conference (PCAC) - North Division title and finished the year with a 23-8 record, earning the #7 seed in the CCCAA Southern California Regional play-offs. At the conclusion of that season, Skinner was named the PCAC co-coach of the year.

The past three seasons Skinner has been the associate head coach for MSJC and helped the program to two more conference titles in that time. In Skinner's first five seasons as an assistant at MSJC, the Eagles also captured two additional PCAC-North championships and reached the Regional play-offs each season while advancing to the CCCAA State Elite Eight twice.

Prior to his stint at MSJC, Skinner spent one season as an assistant coach at Des Moines (IA) North High School where the Polar Bears were ranked in the top 10 in the Class 4-A rankings throughout the season.

Skinner played at College of the Desert during the 1996-97 season in which the Roadrunners reached the CCCAA SoCal Regionals. Following his one season as a member of the team, Skinner went on to serve four seasons as an assistant on the Desert staff, while completing his Bachelors of Science degree at California State University, San Bernardino. In Skinner's four years as an assistant with Desert, the Roadrunners reached the playoff each season, and in 2001 captured the school's first men's basketball conference championship since 1980.

Skinner shared, "I chose to come back to my alma mater, because I played here, I graduated from here and really look forward to this community's support that I know can happen here and the great things that can come to COD."

In addition to his Bachelors of Science from Cal State San Bernardino, Skinner also holds an A.A. degree from College of the Desert and a Masters of Arts in Kinesiology from Fresno Pacific University. Skinner, a native of Des Moines, Iowa and his wife April (Thomas) who also played basketball for the Roadrunners, have six children: Isaiah, Trinity, Quinton, Saylah, Xavery, and Lyric.

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For additional information, please contact the COD Sports Information Office at 760.423.6641.