Former Missouri State Lady Bears head coach Kellie Harper has been hired as the new women’s basketball coach at Missouri, where the former coach of SEC-rival Tennessee will have the job of rebuilding a once-proud program that has not been to the NCAA Tournament in six years.

The 47-year-old Harper is both a veteran of coaching and familiar with the state she will now coach in. Before taking the Tennessee job, Harper was the head coach at Missouri State from 2013-19, leading the Lady Bears to two NCAA Tournament appearances — one of which included a trip to the Sweet 16.

Former Missouri State women's basketball coach Kellie Harper has been tabbed as the next head coach at the University of Missouri. Harper was announced as the Tigers' next head coach on Tuesday afternoon. She coached the Lady Bears from 2013-19, before becoming the head coach at Tennessee, her alma mater.