| Intro | American basketball player-coach |
| A.K.A. | Kellie Jolly |
| Is |
Athlete Sports coach Basketball player Basketball coach |
| From | United States of America |
| Type | Sports |
| Gender | female |
| Birth | 3 May 1977, Sparta, White County, Tennessee, U.S.A. |
| Age: | 43 years |
| Star sign | Taurus |
Kellie Jolly Harper (born May 3, 1977) is an American basketball coach who is currently the head women’s basketball coach of the Missouri State University Lady Bears. Prior to coaching at Missouri State, she served as head coach for four years of the NC State Wolfpack women’s basketball team.
Playing career
Born Kellie Jean Jolly in Sparta, Tennessee, she is a graduate of White County High School in Sparta, Tennessee, where she earned many honors as a high school basketball player and ranked third academically in her graduating class.
In college, she was one of the starting point guards for the Tennessee Lady Volunteers during their three consecutive NCAA women’s national championships from 1996 to 1998. In 1997, Harper was named to the Final Four All Tournament team.
Coaching career
On January 28, 2008, Kellie earned her 66th win, passing Beth Dunkenberger as the second winningest women’s basketball coach in Western Carolina history with a 60–49 victory over College of Charleston at the Ramsey Center.
NC State athletic director Debbie Yow fired Harper on March 26, 2013, after Harper compiled an overall four-year record for the Wolfpack of 70-64 but only 23-29 within the Atlantic Coast Conference.
On April 10, 2013, Harper was named head coach of the Missouri State Lady Bears. Missouri State is a member of the Missouri Valley Conference.
Personal life
Harper married Jon Harper in 1999. He served on her coaching staff at Western Carolina and at NC State.
Coaching record
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Western Carolina (Southern Conference) (2004–2009) | |||||||||
| 2004–05 | Western Carolina | 18–14 | 10–10 | T-5th | NCAA First Round | ||||
| 2005–06 | Western Carolina | 10–20 | 9–11 | 5th | |||||
| 2006–07 | Western Carolina | 24–10 | 15–3 | 1st | WNIT Second Round | ||||
| 2007–08 | Western Carolina | 25–9 | 15–3 | 2nd | WNIT First Round | ||||
| 2008–09 | Western Carolina | 21–12 | 14–6 | T-3rd | NCAA First Round | ||||
| Western Carolina: | 98–66 (.598) | 63–33 (.656) | |||||||
| NC State (Atlantic Coast Conference) (2009–2012) | |||||||||
| 2009–10 | NC State | 20–14 | 7–7 | T-5th | NCAA First Round | ||||
| 2010–11 | NC State | 14–17 | 4–10 | 10th | |||||
| 2011–12 | NC State | 19–16 | 5–11 | 9th | WNIT Second Round | ||||
| 2012–13 | NC State | 17-17 | 7-11 | 7th | WNIT Second Round | ||||
| NC State: | 70-64 (.522) | 23-39 (.442) | |||||||
| Missouri State (Missouri Valley Conference) (2013–present) | |||||||||
| 2013–14 | Missouri State | 14-17 | 8-10 | T-6th | |||||
| 2014–15 | Missouri State | 18-15 | 13-5 | 3rd | WNIT First Round | ||||
| 2015–16 | Missouri State | 24-10 | 14-4 | T-2nd | NCAA First Round | ||||
| 2016–17 | Missouri State | 7–9 | 3–2 | ||||||
| Missouri State: | 63-51 (.553) | 38-21 (.644) | |||||||
| Total: | 231–181 (.561) | ||||||||
|
National champion Postseason invitational champion |
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