Darian DeVries adds veteran coach Mike Bargen to Indiana staff

Darian DeVries is continuing to shape his first Indiana basketball staff with familiar and trusted faces. The latest addition brings both experience and deep-rooted connections.

Mike Bargen, who spent the past decade as associate head coach at Bradley, is joining the Hoosiers in a non-assistant coaching role, a source confirmed to On3 on Friday.

Bargen’s hire was first reported by Aaron Ferguson of The Indianapolis Star.

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Although his official title has not been finalized, Bargen is expected to take on an off-court position, adding another seasoned voice to DeVries’ rapidly forming staff at Indiana.

The two have a longstanding relationship that dates back to their early coaching days under Dana Altman at Creighton. DeVries, then an assistant coach, was on the same Bluejays staff that welcomed Bargen as a graduate manager in 2002.

Their paths have since diverged and reconnected, including matchups in the Missouri Valley Conference where DeVries led Drake and Bargen served as the offensive coordinator at Bradley under head coach Brian Wardle—a former Marquette teammate of Bargen.

At Bradley, Bargen helped orchestrate one of the most impressive turnarounds in the MVC. He helped guide a young and inexperienced team in 2015-16 into back-to-back conference tournament champions in 2019 and 2020, snapping a 31-year title drought. The Braves earned consecutive NCAA Tournament berths for the first time in more than six decades and won the regular-season title in 2023.

Before his time at Bradley, Bargen built a strong resume at the junior college level. He served as head coach at Butler Community College in Kansas for eight seasons, compiling a 164-93 record and averaging more than 20 wins per year. His 2014-15 squad rose as high as No. 4 in the NJCAA national rankings and set multiple program records while finishing 29-4.

A former team captain and MVP at Marquette, Bargen played from 1995 to 1999 and later earned a master’s degree at Creighton. He began coaching shortly thereafter and has developed a reputation as a detail-oriented tactician and steady program builder. During his time at Bradley, he helped recruit and develop six All-MVC players and seven All-Freshman honorees.

Bargen’s ties to the current Indiana staff extend beyond DeVries. He worked alongside assistant coach Drew Adams at Bradley from 2015 to 2022. His arrival marks another strategic hire by DeVries, who has added Nick Norton from West Virginia, Adams from Cincinnati, and Kenny Johnson, whose return to Bloomington was announced earlier on Friday.

Bargen is expected to bring a wealth of experience and behind-the-scenes insight to Indiana’s staff as the program begins a new era under DeVries.