Former Lady Vols basketball coach Kellie Harper will make her return to Knoxville leading a new program this week.
Harper was hired as the Missouri coach in March 2025, almost a year after she was fired as Tennessee coach after five seasons. The former Lady Vols star point guard spent the year in between away from coaching and made regular appearances as an SEC Network studio analyst.
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No. 22 Tennessee (15-6, 7-2 SEC) hosts Missouri (16-10, 4-7) at Food City Center on Feb. 12 (6:30 p.m. ET, SEC Network+). It will be Harper’s first time facing her former team and alma mater as the Tigers’ coach.
When Harper met with the media on Feb. 10, she said she hadn’t thought much about her return to Tennessee.
«I know it’s gonna be hard for people to understand that, but I’m now almost two years removed, so I do think time takes a lot of emotion out of it,» Harper said. «And I’ve always been the type of person who is, ‘What’s next? What is next on my agenda?’
«I can lock in. I can compartmentalize pretty well as a coach and really dive into what needs to be done. And, I know we’re going to Knoxville on Thursday, but I’m really, really concerned about how this practice is going to look today. You know, that’s really been my focus.»
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Harper’s record at UT was 108-52 and 53-24 in SEC play from 2019-24. She led the Lady Vols to back-to-back Sweet 16 appearances in 2022 and 2023 for the first time since 2015 and 2016. Tennessee never finished below fourth in the SEC during Harper’s tenure.
The Sparta native made history as a player under legendary coach Pat Summitt. She was part of three national championship teams from 1996-98 before graduating in 1999, which included going 39-0 en route to the Lady Vols’ third straight championship in 1998.
«I’m a professional at what I do,» Harper said of the emotions returning to Knoxville. «For me, I’m just doing my job, and this is about our players. It really is. It’s about our team, and we’re going over to play a game. And I know there’s so many people who want to make it about me, and I get that, but it really isn’t. It’s about the game.
«We’ve got to do our best to have our players prepared. The challenges that we have on Thursday are enormous. We know that. They’re big. They’re athletic. But, you know, we’ll fight and play hard.»
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Cora Hall is the University of Tennessee women’s athletics reporter for Knox News. Email: cora.hall@knoxnews.com; X: @corahalll; Bluesky: @corahall.bsky.social. Support strong local journalism and unlock premium perks:knoxnews.com/subscribe
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: What Kellie Harper said about return to Tennessee for Lady Vols vs Missouri
