Columbia News

Ethan Bray has joined the University of Missouri track and field program as an assistant coach, overseeing the pole vault event. The appointment was announced by head coach Brett Halter.

Bray most recently served as an assistant coach at Kansas State, where he led recruiting and pole-vaulting efforts for the Wildcats. During his tenure, the team earned seven Second Team All-American honors, with six coming from the NCAA Indoor Championships in Boston in March.

After graduating from the University of South Dakota in 2020, where he competed as a student-athlete in pole vault, Bray worked as director of operations for the program.

"I am incredibly excited and honored to join this staff," Bray said. "There is a lot of success in the history at Mizzou and with this coaching staff. I am thrilled to be a Tiger and hit the ground running."

Bray is a three-time All-American in pole vault from his time at South Dakota between 2016 and 2021. He placed third at the NCAA Outdoor Championships his senior year with a height of 5.55 meters (18-02.50) and finished fifth earlier that year at the indoor championships with a mark of 5.50 meters (18-00.50). His performance earned him qualification for the 2021 U.S. Olympic Trials.

During his collegiate career, Bray achieved second place in both indoor and outdoor pole vault on South Dakota's all-time list, clearing personal bests of 5.65 meters (18-06.50) indoors and 5.61 meters (18-04.75) outdoors. He won two Summit League titles in pole vault and had six additional runner-up finishes.

Originally from Fisher, Indiana, Bray graduated from Hamilton Southeastern High School in 2016 before earning a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from South Dakota in 2020. He also gained experience working in South Dakota's ticket office starting June 2019 and was promoted to assistant director of ticket operations in January 2022. Additionally, he served as Student-Athlete Advisory Committee President during the 2019-20 academic year and was a SAAC representative for four years.