Dustin Kerns was named the 22nd head coach in App State men's basketball history on March 28, 2019.
During his fourth season as head coach, Kerns tallied his 100th career coaching win and increased his win total to 70 at App State. His all-time record with the Mountaineers is 70-58 with a 39-32 showing in Sun Belt games. In the 2022-23 season, App State posted back-to-back 10-win seasons at home for the first time since 2012-13 while selling the most season tickets in program history. The Mountaineers also earned their first Power Five win since 2014 in a one-point victory at Louisville.
Kerns' defensive expertise continued to shine as the Mountaineers posted their best field goal percentage defense (.403) since the 1959-60 season. That mark led the Sun Belt and was the 19th-best clip in the nation. The Mountaineers also led the conference in scoring defense, allowing only 64.6 points per game while committing only 13.8 fouls per game, the eighth fewest in the country. Under Kerns, Donovan Gregory stepped into a leadership role during his senior season and earned All-Sun Belt honors for the first time in his career in 2023.
Prior to the 2022-23 season, Kerns and several members of the App State coaching staff led the first basketball coaching seminar located on an active military base. Soldiers to Sidelines was held at Fort Bragg to provide current military service members and veterans with a first-of-its-kind coaching workshop.
In his first three seasons at the helm of the Mountaineers, Kerns has led App State to 54 wins and three consecutive winning records for the first time since 1997-2000. In addition, Kerns has guided the Black and Gold to 35 Sun Belt victories and has recorded 17 true road wins, which are the most for a coach in his first three seasons since the 1940-41 and 1941-42 seasons.
In 2020-21, Kerns led App State to a 17-12 record, culminating with the program's first ever Sun Belt Tournament title and first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2001. The Mountaineers won four games in four days at the Sun Belt Tournament to punch the program's ticket to the NCAA Tournament. Michael Almonacy was named Most Outstanding Player of the tournament, becoming the fourth player in program history to earn the honor. During the season, App State was ranked in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 for the first time since 2010. App State started the season 12-5, marking the program's best start through 17 games since the 2006-07 season.
Defensively, App State once again established itself as one of the top defensive teams in the Sun Belt. For the second straight season, the Mountaineers finished second in the league in opponent scoring, holding teams to 64.1 points, which was the lowest since the 1980-81 season. In all, the Mountaineers held 12 opponents under 65 points in a game during the season. Additionally, App State shot 74.2 percent from the free throw line, which led the conference and marked the first time the Mountaineers have finished atop the conference in free throw shooting as a Division I member (1972-73 season).
A 2002 graduate of Clemson, Kerns climbed the coaching ranks on staffs with Buzz Peterson at Tennessee, Mike Young at Wofford and Kerry Keating at Santa Clara.
CoachStat.net and the No. 20 Mid-Major Assistant Coach ranking.
During his coaching career, Kerns has seen 37 players play professionally.
Kerns graduated from Clemson in 2002 with a degree in secondary education. As an undergraduate, he worked as a student assistant for the men's basketball program and was selected to coach at the prestigious Michael Jordan Flight School for three summers from 2001-03.
Kerns played basketball at Kingsport's Dobyns-Bennett High School, a national powerhouse at the prep level and alma mater of former App State and current NFL offensive lineman Daniel Kilgore.
Kerns is married to the former Brittany Wright, and the couple has a daughter, Emory, and a son, Riggs.
