KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) announced its 2020 Victory Club honorees on Tuesday, and Tennessee’s Kellie Harper was among those being recognized.
The WBCA Victory Club honor is bestowed annually on each WBCA-member head coach who achieves a milestone of 200, 300, 400, 500 or more career victories during the current season on the level of competition at which they currently coach. Victories recorded at differing levels of competition cannot be combined.
Harper won her 300th game as a head coach when the Lady Vols beat Alabama, 65-63, on Jan. 20, 2020, and finished the season with a 306-218 record in 16 full seasons as a head coach. Her 2019-20 Lady Vols put together a 21-10 record and finished tied for third in the SEC with a 10-6 mark after being picked seventh. They did so with only one active returning starter contributing and with two freshmen and a sophomore in the starting lineup for the bulk of the season.
The former Lady Vol point guard (1995-99) took the reins of the UT program on April 9, 2019, after guiding Missouri State to a 118-79 record in six seasons. She was named the 2019 Kay Yow Coach of the Year and the Missouri Valley Coach of the Year after leading the Lady Bears to the 2019 MVC Tourney title, an NCAA Sweet 16 berth and a No. 24 ranking in the final USA Today Sports Coaches Poll. It marked MSU’s first national ranking in 15 seasons.
Harper, a native of Sparta, Tenn., had previous head coaching stops at NC State (20009-13) and Western Carolina (2004-09). She is one of only 11 coaches to lead three different women’s programs to NCAA Tournament appearances, and she has directed her teams to 12 postseason berths (five NCAA, 7 WNIT). She was in line for No. 13 before the 2020 NCAA Tournament was canceled due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) global health crisis.
About the WBCA
Founded in 1981, the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association is the professional association for coaches of women’s and girls’ basketball at all levels of competition. The WBCA offers educational resources that coaches need to help make themselves better leaders, teachers and mentors to their players; provides opportunities for coaches to connect with peers in the profession; serves as the unifying voice of a diverse community of coaches to the organizations that control the game; and celebrates those coaches, players and other individuals who excel each year and contribute to the advancement of the sport. Visit www.WBCA.org for more details about the Association.
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