A native of Las Cruces, N.M., Casey Owens begins his third season as the Aggies' Director of Operations in 2020-21.
His first season with the Aggies as the Director of Operations in 2018-19 saw great success as the team reeled off 19-straight victories – good for third-best in program history. In addition, the team also notched a program record 30-5 record while winning both the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) regular-season and tournament title on top of earning the school’s 22nd NCAA Tournament berth.
NM State replicated its successes the following year, producing another 19-game winning streak to close out the 2019-20 season. That year, the Aggies completed the first 16-0 run through WAC play in the history of the league en route to a third-consecutive WAC regular season crown. The Aggies' season concluded prematurely as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and NM State compiled a 25-6 overall record that year.
Owens returned to the Mesilla Valley after spending two seasons (2016-18) with the Los Angeles Lakers as an assistant coach and advance professional scout on Luke Walton's staff. While with the Lakers, Owens scouted and game-planned against every opponent and also helped develop players like Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzman and Josh Hart to name a few.
Prior to his move to The Association, Owens served as the head coach of the LA Defenders – known then as the D-League team of the Los Angeles Lakers. In his lone season at the helm, Owens guided the D-Fenders to the Western Conference championship and D-League finals. He served as an assistant the previous two seasons with the D-Fenders before being elevated to the head coach position. During his tenure with the D-Fenders, Owens helped guide a pair of players make an NBA roster in Justin Harper (Detroit Pistons) and Jeff Ayres (Los Angeles Clippers).
His 19 years of experience spans across the globe and at several professional levels, including but not limited to the NBA, then D-League, Continental Basketball Association and China while having success at each level he's been at.
The Las Cruces native graduated from New Mexico State University in 1994 with a bachelor's in English before obtaining his master's degree in creative writing and poetics at Naropa University in 1996.
Owens and his wife Susannah have a daughter, Ophelia, and a son, Tennessee. Their son, Tennessee is a senior on NM State's mens' basketball team.
