Barnes joined the Iowa Lakes Men’s and Women’s Soccer staff as a graduate assistant coach in February 2025. 

Barnes began his career in collegiate athletics in 2021 as a student manager with the University of Southern Indiana Men’s Soccer program. He was named the head student manager in the spring of 2022 and continued in that role until his graduation in May of 2024. He also spent time as an analyst for the program in the spring of 2024, focusing on the analysis of referees to implement officiating trends and styles into game plans. 

Before Iowa Lakes, Barnes was an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Heidelberg University in Tiffin, Ohio for the fall 2024 season. There he focused on goalkeeper training and led all recruiting efforts. During his time there, he helped the program win their first conference game in over 3 years and set a program record for the most players on the conference all-academic team. 

Barnes received his Bachelor's of Science degree in Sport Management from the University of Southern Indiana in 2024 and is pursuing his Master’s degree in Sport Management. He is a native of Indianapolis, Indiana. He holds a USSF D level coaching license.