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A former assistant basketball coach at California State University-Bakersfield has been detained and is awaiting trial after authorities allege he worked as a pimp in four states.
Kevin Mays, 33, was arrested in September 2025 on multiple charges, including trafficking a woman in several states and possession of child abuse material, after a tipster alerted the university to his off-the-court activity, ESPN reported.
Mays, who played basketball at the university from 2014-2016, was working in a temporary coaching role last summer when then-head coach, Rod Barnes, received the tip.
"FIX IT OR THE WHOLE STAFF WILL FALL," the tipster allegedly wrote, adding that the email was a "first warning and a final warning,” according to ESPN.
An investigation conducted by the university’s police led to multiple charges against Mays, from pimping to possession of pornography, automatic firearms, and methamphetamine and marijuana with intent to sell, per ESPN.
Mays has pleaded not guilty to all charges, per ESPN.
In September, the school announced that Barnes and the school’s athletic director, Kyle Conder, were no longer with the university.
Conder has filed a lawsuit for wrongful termination in which he said he was made a “convenient scapegoat” and that he tried to warn administration about the goings-on within the athletic department, according to ESPN.
In September, the school announced that Barnes and the school’s athletic director, Kyle Conder, were no longer with the university.
Conder has filed a lawsuit for wrongful termination in which he said he was made a “convenient scapegoat” and that he tried to warn administration about the goings-on within the athletic department, according to ESPN.
