Jabari Trotter '12 - Staff Directory - Dartmouth College Athletics

Staff Directory

Jabari Trotter '12

Title:
Assistant Coach/Recruiting Coordinator
Alma Mater:
Dartmouth ’12
Email:
Phone (603):
603-646-3926
At Dartmouth:
6th Year (2016-18, ’21-)

Jabari Trotter returned to Dartmouth men’s basketball team in 2021 for his third tour of duty with the program. A 2012 Dartmouth graduate with a degree in sociology, Trotter was originally a combo guard for the Big Green, playing in the second-most games in program history (112), starting 80 contests, and averaging 6.9 points while converting 102 3-pointers, one of less than 20 in program history to reach triple digits.

“We are thrilled that Jabari decided to come back here,” said head coach David McLaughlin. “The impact he’s had this time has been just fantastic. I’ve really appreciated how much he grew as a coach in his time apart, his time away from Dartmouth when he was at Hawaii. I’ve been able to witness that first-hand. I have a lot of faith in him and I’m excited that he’s now our recruiting coordinator. I put a lot of faith in how he understands Dartmouth and how he understands the staff.”

Most recently, in 2024-25, the team saw their first Ivy Madness appearance. The team went from winning six games in the 2023-24 season to winning 14 in the 2024-25 regular season while matching their six wins from the previous season in the non-conference slate alone. The regular season .519 overall win percentage and .571 conference win percentage marks the first time the program has finished above .500 in its overall record and league record since the 1999 season. Trotter, with David McLaughlin at the helm, coached the team to success and it showed at the conclusion of the season when Ryan Cornish '25 was named First Team All-Ivy and Brandon Mitchell-Day was named Second Team All-Ivy.

In his return to Dartmouth in 2021-22, Trotter worked closely with the guards and helped develop Brendan Barry, who was named second team All-Ivy League and finished as the Big Green all-time 3-point record holder (244). Trotter helped the Big Green to six Ivy league victories, its most in seven seasons, and played an integral role in running the defense, which led the Ivy League in allowing just 68.2 points per game. Dartmouth finished just one game out of an Ivy League Tournament position, while beating third-seeded Penn and fourth-seeded Cornell during the regular season. In the regular-season finale, the Big Green earned a 22-point triumph over Harvard, their largest margin of victory over the Crimson in 30 years and largest on the road since 1955.

“In my eyes, Jabari is our staff manager,” said McLaughlin. “He takes pride in that role, and he is passionate about managing, and being a mentor to, the staff. Beyond that, I feel like Jabari’s experience being a student-athlete here really impacts how he can build relationships with guys and how he can recruit at a place like Dartmouth. It really helps his overall impact of teaching the game on the floor. These are just are a few of Jabari’s foundational qualities that will enable him to be a head coach in the near future.”

Trotter returned to his alma mater after three years as an assistant coach at the University of Hawaii, where the Rainbow Warriors finished 46-26 during his time. There, he oversaw the development of the wing players while also focusing on rebounding and transition, helping the 'Bows finish top 30 nationally in rebounding margin in his first season. Trotter also coached All-Big West player Jack Purchase and was instrumental in the development of Samuta Avea from a reserve to the team's second-leading scorer in 2019-20. In Trotter’s time at Hawaii, he recruited Princeton transfer Jerome Desrosiers, who became an All-Conference selection for the Rainbow Warriors. Trotter worked with the wings, as Junior Madut was an All-Big West selection and part of Trotter’s player development group, as was Purchase, who garnered second team All-Conference honors.

In 2016, Trotter was part of the first coaching staff at Dartmouth under McLaughlin and spent two years on the staff in his initial return to Hanover. He was responsible for practice and game preparation, player development and scouting, and served as co-coordinator for recruiting.

Trotter began his collegiate coaching career at Lehigh in 2015-16. That season, the Mountain Hawks went 13-5 in the Patriot League, earned the No. 2 seed and hosted the league championship game. Late in the year, Lehigh reeled off 11 straight victories to tie a program record. Tim Kempton repeated as Patriot League Player of the Year while Kahron Ross was named to the first team as a sophomore, and Austin Price garnered third-team recognition.

Between his graduation and first coaching gig with the Green, Trotter traveled to Dublin, Ireland, to play professional basketball with the Dublin Thunder BC while coaching the KUBS U17 girls basketball team and the Lady Haroldites of the Ireland Division II Women’s League. He also enrolled in the Dublin Business School, from which he received a master’s in business management practice in 2014.

Upon returning to the United States, Trotter was hired at his post-graduate school, Phillips Exeter Academy, as an admissions office intern and assistant for the boys’ basketball team.