New to the Tech bench is a face most people will likely recognize and remember in Charles Baker who comes back to Ruston after going to serve on former Tech head coach Jim Woolridge's staff at Kansas State.

Baker was a Tech assistant under Richard from 1998-2000 and helped coach the Bulldogs to a Sun Belt title in 1999.

He started his coaching career in 1990 as an assistant coach at Middle Tennessee where he then took a job as an assistant at Coppin State College in Baltimore from 1991-92.

Baker got his first head coaching position at Shorter Junior College in Arkansas where he took over a program that went 1-29 the previous season.  At Shorter, he led his teams to four consecutive Arkansas State Junior College championships, four straight 20-win seasons and a 115-38 overall record.  In 1997, Shorter was Region II runners-up in route to their 26-8 record.

A standout basketball player from Ole Main High School in North Little Rock, Ark., Baker was a five-time AAU All-State selection and named to the All-Arkansas Super Team in 1984.

After high school, Baker attended Westark Community College where he continued his basketball success.  He was named the MVP of the Arkansas Junior Colleges and earned Region II Junior College All-Region team.

at Eastern Kentucky, Baker was a member of two of the most successful teams EKU has ever produced.  During his stint there, Baker was on back-to-back 20-win seasons.