By Michael Sudhalter
Carter Caplan’s list of responsibilities is seemingly never-ending.
Basically, the Southern Methodist University director of women’s basketball operations does everything but the Xs and Os of coaching.
“Travel is one of my top responsibilities,” Caplan said. “I book the charter flights, the hotels, buses and food. I schedule practices on the road and shootarounds. I maintain the budget for our program and properly allocate funds to where we need to make sure our program is successful.”
Raised in a Jewish household in suburban Washington, D.C., Caplan, 28, is also the Jewish Coaches Association assistant director for women’s basketball. His goal is to grow the organization and coordinate the annual meeting at the NCAA Women’s Final Four this April in Phoenix.
“I try to show pride in being Jewish and really just want to represent well,” said Caplan, who was recently named one of the JCA’s Rising Professionals. “There are a lot of faith-based groups out there. I’m trying to build the JCA larger on the women’s side. It means a lot being recognized in such a big way.”
With the season now over, Caplan said he plans to become more involved with Chabad at SMU. He’s previously attended some events there with Rabbi Zvi Drizin.
Caplan can be seen at Moody Coliseum seated right next to Mustangs head coach Adia Barnes, who surprised much of the college basketball world when she left Arizona for SMU. The Mustangs haven’t reached the NCAA Tournament in 18 years. In 2021, Barnes led Arizona to a national runner-up finish.
Despite a tough season (9–19) in their second year in the Atlantic Coast Conference, Caplan said the infrastructure is in place for a bright future at SMU.
“We have a really supportive administration that’s invested in women’s basketball,” said Caplan. “Athletics Director Damon Evans and Executive Deputy Athletics Director Colleen Sorem are excellent. They both came from the University of Maryland. We feel like we can really build a really strong program here.”
Caplan, dressed in a blue Mustangs jacket with “Dallas” emblazoned on it, can be seen chatting with Barnes throughout the game. Although he’s not calling plays, Caplan keeps the head coach aware of how many fouls each player has, how many timeouts the team has and whether to protest a call with the referees.
Some aspiring coaches see a director of basketball operations position as a steppingstone to a spot as a full-fledged assistant coach, but Caplan loves the work he does. He hopes to become an athletic director someday.
“I love the side that I’m on — you have to have a passion for the operations to do what we do,” said Caplan.
Caplan attended his freshman year of high school in Rockville, Maryland, but made a big change as a sophomore when he moved to Alpine — 495 miles southwest of Dallas. He attended Alpine High School through a boarding program with Sul Ross State University.
“It was a cool change of life,” said Caplan, who visited Big Bend National Park and El Paso during his time in West Texas.
After that, he returned to the East Coast to attend Drexel University in Philadelphia because of its co-op program, where students alternate between taking classes and working full time.
“I had 18 years of work experience by the time I graduated,” said Caplan, who earned a bachelor’s degree in sport management with minors in business management and sports coaching leadership at Drexel.
During his time in Philadelphia, Caplan was named the 2018 Drexel University Rising Leader of the Year.
He served as a team manager for the Drexel Dragons women’s basketball team before becoming the director of basketball operations at Niagara University in upstate New York.
Caplan followed that with an assistant director of basketball operations role at Delaware, followed by a director of basketball operations position at Arizona State — where he crossed paths with Barnes, with whom he shares “a mindset, hunger and drive to succeed.”
“We got to know each other at games and in passing,” Caplan said. “I jokingly tell people that I was 0–6 against her at Arizona State, so if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em.”
