Kellie Harper has been named as the 5th Mizzou WBB head coach according to SB Nation WBB writer Mitchell Northam and other insiders.
Kellie Harper will be the next coach at Missouri, per source. Working to learn more. #ncaaW
— Mitchell Northam (@primetimeMitch) March 18, 2025
Harper has 20 years of experience as a head coach with four different schools. Most recently, she coached at her alma mater Tennessee from 2019-24, making the NCAA Tournament each eligible season and winning one-plus game. She took the Lady Vols to back-to-back Sweet Sixteens in the 2022-23 tournaments.
However, this was not enough to keep her at a place like Tennessee, that aims to compete for championships every season. As a result, she was fired at season’s end as an attempt to “reinvigorate” the program. A program, mind you, that went 20-13 and made it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament that same year. Harper was 6-0 against her new team while in Knoxville.
Prior to coaching at Tennessee, Harper was in the Show-Me State at the helm of Missouri State, arguably her best tenure. She had a successful six-year stint with the Lady Bears, including a 25-win season and a Sweet Sixteen appearance in 2018-19.
In total, she has made nine NCAA tournaments including one in her first year as a head coach at Western Carolina.
As a player, Harper was consistently a 8-9 PPG scorer for the Lady Vols under legendary coach Pat Summitt, even earning her a short stint in the WNBA with the Cleveland Rockers. Before starting her HC career, she had several short stints as an assistant at both Auburn at Chattanooga.
Recently, Harper has served as a WBB analyst on the SEC Network this year, including in-person coverage at the SEC WBB Tournament. As we talked about on our coaching search episode of Majority Rules, she seemed very interested in watch the Tigers on the court.
Kim Caldwell meets with the SEC Network crew and former Tennessee head coach Kellie Harper after the #LadyVols win in the first round of the SEC Tournament. pic.twitter.com/D5sqmM099L
— John Sartori (@JohnSartoriTV) March 5, 2025
Sometimes the most obvious choice just makes sense. Harper’s name had been thrown around for the Mizzou job basically since the day she was fired, including by some at this very site (ahem, Karen), and that momentum never truly slowed. Her plethora of experience both in the state of Missouri and in the SEC made her such an attractive candidate. She was one of my 15 candidates for the position and was ranked in the “Slam Dunk” category. Big Kellie Harper fans at Rock M.
Hopefully she can serve as the shot of adrenaline that this program has badly needed. Like I mentioned, Harper has been to 3 Sweet Sixteens herself. As a program, Mizzou has only been to two, and none since 2019 when Sophie Cunningham was on the team.
With Robin Pingeton’s 15-year tenure officially over, it’s time to start anew as women’s basketball has reached it’s fever pitch. Missouri AD Laird Veatch has seemingly kept his word.
“Women’s basketball is, as you all know, clearly, it is on the rise,” he said on March 7. “It is getting so much more attention, deservedly so, and we think it is a platform that can continue to provide more brand exposure and benefit to our university, to our state, and particularly in this conference.”
There have been previous concerns about Harper’s recruiting, struggling to hold top classes at a recruiting paradise like Tennessee. In addition, she has yet to take a team to the Elite Eight despite working at storied programs NC State and Tennessee.
As a whole, however, this move makes sense for all sides. Expect an official announcement from MU shortly, including what will likely be quite a lucrative contract for Harper.
Stay tuned to Rock M Nation for all your women’s basketball coverage.
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