After being fired from Tennessee, Kellie Harper spent a year with SEC Network. Here’s why, when Missouri called, she returned to the sidelines.
Kellie Harper didn’t stray far from the SEC in her year away.
The former Tennessee head coach joined SEC Network as an analyst for the 2024-25 season, after she was fired after five seasons leading her alma mater.
That analyst job kept her current. She was, even more so maybe that when she sat behind a computer and scouted opponents to coach against them, even more appreciative of the league’s coaches, players and play-styles while analyzing them from behind the network’s desk.
“It was really fun to celebrate that,” Harper said, “instead of trying to figure out how you're going to beat it.”
But that’s not who Harper is at her core. It's not what she has been called to do.
Her stint as a TV analyst lasted one year. On Wednesday at the conference’s media days, Harper returned to the SEC Network airwaves, but in a far more familiar position.
“There are some things that are just meant to be, and I just feel like I'm meant to coach basketball,” Harper said. “I think being behind the desk pushed me even more to getting back out on the court.”
In less than a month, Harper makes her return to the sidelines — and the SEC — as the head coach of Missouri women’s basketball.
That’s a distinctly difficult challenge. Harper becomes just the fifth head coach in the Tigers’ program history, and she’s taking over a challenge.
Mizzou has not been to the NCAA Tournament since 2019, when the Sophie Cunningham-led Tigers made four straight trips to March Madness.
Not just that, Missouri has finished in the bottom half of the SEC and a sub-.500 conference record in every season since Cunningham graduated, which ultimately led to MU and former coach Robin Pingeton parting ways.
Ahead of the 2025-26 season, there are five SEC teams in the top 10 of the preseason AP poll. There are three more in the top 25, which adds up to eight ranked teams for the most of any conference. Mizzou was picked to finish 13th in the league in the preseason media poll.
Life’s tough in this league.
Harper isn’t shirking or downplaying the daunting task ahead.
She faces a rebuild at Mizzou. Rebuilds take time.
Harper was asked on the SEC Tipoff stage about setting goals for Year 1, and she quite candidly said that’s something that the program can think about later on in this season.
But, the beginnings of this new era are all about getting settled and proving to themselves what they can accomplish.
“But right now,” Harper said, “I think we're trying to be the best we can possibly be and see where that takes us.”
Added Harper: “I think sometimes that can be really challenging. There are so many things out of your control, right? So I think what we have to do is control what we can control, and for us, that's how we go about our business every day. We talk about this with our team every single day: When we walk off the court, we want to be better at something. We want to be a better basketball team.”
Whether or not Mizzou is a better basketball team will depend greatly on how well Harper’s first transfer portal haul acclimates.
Yes, MU has its centerpiece in standout wing Grace Slaughter. There’s a dependable shooting presence in Abbey Schreacke.
The full rotation, however, is going to be loaded with newcomers.
Mizzou has seven transfers and eight total newcomers joining the team this season, and a fair few of them seemingly are going to play major roles for Harper’s team.
Cleveland State transfer Jordana Reisma is going to play a major factor in determining whether can establish a post presence this year. Illinois State transfer Shannon Dowell is going to provide some much-needed “perimeter athleticism.” MU wants some shooting from Pepperdine newcomer Chloe Sotell.
Harper wants her team to play fast. That doesn’t just mean running fast — it means quickly making the right reads and learning how to react fast.
This is a ground-up operation, and the new year is approaching fast.
Mizzou’s 2025-26 season — and its first campaign under new direction since 2010 — gets underway Monday, Nov. 3, with a game against Central Arkansas at Mizzou Arena.
Missouri fans will get a chance to see the team before the season begins in an exhibition against Maryville on Tuesday, Oct. 28, in Columbia. SEC play for MU begins Jan. 1 with a home game against a reigning Final Four outfit in Texas.
It’s not going to be easy.
But Harper, back coaching the Xs and Os instead of dissecting them, is pleased to be back and plenty knowledgeable about the task at hand.
“I'm very familiar with the coaches in this league. Very familiar with the players in this league,” Harper said. … “But I think the biggest thing is I understand how difficult this is. I get it. I'm not new to that. This league is different, and the competitiveness and the intensity of the games, night in and night out for the duration of the season, is hard to process until you're in the middle of it.
“And I do think having that experience and understanding exactly what we're up against is really important for our team.”
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Why Kellie Harper returned to coaching, SEC when Missouri called
Category: General Sports
