Southwest Mississippi Community College Men's Basketball

Corey Schmidt enters his fourth year as Head Coach of the Bears and fifth overall with the program. He came to Summit from Wake Forest University where he spent the 2019-20 season as video coordinator. The Bears finished 16-11 in Schmidt's first year at the helm, with a 9-5 record in conference play tying for 4th place in the MACCC.  A native of Nashville, TN, Schmidt is a 2013 graduate of Belmont University and holds a B.S. degree in Computer Science. In 2015, he received a Master’s degree in Sport Administration, also from Belmont.   While at Belmont, Schmidt worked with the Bruins basketball team as a manager and graduate assistant under Hall of Fame coach Rick Byrd. During his time with the Bruins, he assisted the coaching staff during practices and individual workouts, helped organize their recruiting database, prepared detailed analytics for scouting reports, and assisted with video. His efforts helped Belmont post a 150-53 overall record, an 88-18 mark in conference action and five trips to the postseason, including four NCAA tournaments and a berth in the NIT quarterfinals.   Schmidt spent 2015-19 at the University of New Orleans and served as the Director of Basketball Operations. The Privateers reached the postseason in each of his last three seasons. In 2017, UNO won the Southland Conference Tournament and made its first NCAA Tournament appearance in over 20 years.   While at UNO, Schmidt coordinated the team’s camps, video exchange, statistical analysis, advanced scouting and on-campus recruiting as well as working with UNO’s game operations staff and managing the program’s travel on road trips.   In his role with the Demon Deacons, Schmidt assisted the coaching staff in analytic breakdowns, scouting reports, video creation, and he helped recruiting efforts by planning visits. He also served as the Director of the Danny Manning Basketball Camps.    

Nick Couluris is in his first season as assistant coach for the Bears’ basketball program. He comes to Summit from Victory Rock Prep, in Bradenton, FL, where he was the Associate Head Coach for the National High School Team from 2023-2025. They had a record of 40-22 in two seasons, appearing in Couluris’ 3rd SIAA State Final Four. All 10 upper classmen were placed collegiately, most notably Kent State freshman Jaymen Townsend.   Prior to Victory Rock, Couluris spent a year at First Love Christian in Scotland, PA. He coached the National High School and National Post Grad Teams. They had a combined 44-6 record that year. The National Post Grad team finished the year ranked 8th in the country and received a National Prep Championship Bid. Over 40 players were sent to the collegiate level, 11 at Division I programs. Notable players in the program Keyshawn Mitchell (VCU), Jake DiMichele (Duquese), Tari Francis (Rutgers), Will Sydnor (Manhattan), Preston Edmead (Hofstra), Aaron Davis (Bryant), Kahlil Singleton (Quinnipiac), Hami Ndiyae (Gardner Webb) and Jose Tanchyn (UMBC). Also on the roster was, Tylik Weeks (University of Southern Mississippi), who is Southwest’s all-time leading scorer with 1,128 points.   Before First Love, Couluris was the Program Director and Head Coach for PRISE Academy in Columbia, MO, from 2021-2022. The program finished with a 28-11 record. All nine upperclassmen were placed collegiately, four at the Division I level.   Couluris also coached at Springfield Commonwealth Academy, where he served as Head Men's Basketball Coach, as well as Dean of Students and Admissions Director, from 2019-2021. In two years he had a combined record of 43-6.   In the 2019-20 season, Couluris coached a squad that included Femi Odukale, Enoch Cheeks, Aaron Gray and Isaiah Richards, all of whom were part of the 2025 graduating class and have all signed to play professionally. This group finished the season ranked 8th in the country and received a National Prep Championship Bid.   The 2020-21 season was cut short due to COVID, but saw Commonwealth start the year 8-0 and  ranked 3rd in the National Coaches Poll. This team saw all 15 players play collegiately, eight at the Division I level. This included Jaylen “JuJu” Murray (Ole Miss) and Marcus Hill Jr. (Texas A&M). Commonwealth also had a High School feeder program with names like Walt Andrews (NJIT) and Vincent Chaudri (George Washington) competing on it.   Nick's first stint in Florida saw him with the National High School program at Potter’s House Christian Academy for the 2018-19 school year. He served as Associate Head Coach and Recruiting Director. All 11 upperclassmen went on to play collegiately, seven with Division I programs, most notably Mervin James (Ryder), Wheza Panzo, who led NCAA DI in 3-point percentage (47%) in 22-23 for Iona and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s younger brother, Thomasi. They lost in the national quarterfinals to Prolific Prep.   Couluris began his coaching career in 2017-18 at DME Sports Academy, under the late Lance Blanks, where he was the General Manager of Basketball and oversaw all recruiting and programming for Men’s and Women’s basketball. Under Couluris, the National High School program went from a 5-25 season to national prominence and a SIAA State Final Four in year 1. The Post Grad Program included players such as Camryn Wynter (Penn State player | Temple Asst. Coach), Madiaw Niang (FAU player | Rhode Island GA). From 2017-18, 15 players went on to play at the Division I level.   Couluris has helped send over 150 players to collegiate careers with more than 60 moving on to the Division I level. More than a dozen of those are now playing professionally.   A New York native, Couluris completed his undergraduate degree at St. John’s University. While at St. John’s he began an internship with one of the most prominent grassroots basketball entities in the world, Five-Star Basketball.   Upon completion of his studies, Couluris accepted a job offer as Director for Five-Star Basketball, becoming the youngest Director in the company’s 50-year history. Nick traveled across the country recruiting and training over 10,000+ players, from more than 30 countries.   Couluris has helped thousands go on to play college basketball and is now seeing a number of his campers achieve their dreams of playing in the NBA. Some notable NBA players coached at Five-Star include Emmanuel Mudiay, Myles Turner, Karl Anthony Towns, Trae Young, Dwayne Bacon and Jonathan Isaacs.