Dantrell Kelley was named Running Backs coach on the Missouri Southern Football team ahead of the 2026 season.
Kelley comes to Joplin after spending the past three seasons at Iowa State, where he served as assistant director of player personnel, after returning to his alma mater in August of 2023.
Kelley helped the Cyclones to bowl eligibility in three-straight seasons, including a Pop-Tarts Bowl championship in 2024 after defeating No. 15 Miami in a 42-41 thriller.
In 2025, Iowa State went 8-4 overall and 5-4 in Big 12 action. That season included wins over nationally-ranked Kansas State, as well as a home win over in-state rival Iowa and a road victory at TCU to highlight the season.
The 2024 Cyclones posted the greatest season in school history, finishing 11-3 overall and reaching double-digit victories for the first time in program history.
In 2023, Iowa State finished 7-6 overall and played in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl.
Kelley, a Clinton, Iowa, native, rejoined the Cyclones after spending the 2022 season as a running backs coach at Black Hills State University.
In his only season with the Yellow Jackets, Kelley helped BHSU to a 7-4 record behind a rushing attack that led the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) in rushing yards per game, while also finishing second in total rushing yards and rushing touchdowns.
Kelley coached fifth-year senior Nolan Susel to second-team all-conference honors while freshman running back Cameron Goods averaged 7.3 yards per carry.
Prior to BHSU, Kelley served as a tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator at Basha High School in Chandler, Arizona, from 2020 to 2022. The 2021 squad went 10-0 in the regular season and made the Open State Division Playoffs.
Kelley earned his bachelor’s degree in kinesiology and exercise science in 2018 from Iowa State University. While at ISU, he worked with the strength and conditioning staff and the quarterback coaches. He also earned his Liberal Arts degree from Ellsworth Community College in 2015.
Kelley and his wife Denisse, have one son.
