Bolivar, Mo. – SBU Director of Athletics, Clark Sheehy, announces Wyketha Harrell as the 15th Head Women's Basketball Coach. She was announced a press conference this afternoon. 

"We are thrilled about Coach Wyketha Harrell becoming our next head women's basketball coach." Sheehy said, "From our conversations, it is easy to see how she desires to use coaching as a ministry for the Lord.  She has great experience and background to help elevate our program, and we are so excited for the future.  It's a great day to be a Bearcat!!"

Watch the Press Conference

"I am so humbled and grateful for this opportunity." Coach Harrell said, "In a 'short' amount of time a lot of work was put in to really see if this was the right fit for myself, my family, the university, the community, the players, and the athletic department. By God's grace all things came into alignment. I can't say thank you enough to AD Sheehy, Dr. Melson, and their respective teams for trusting and believing in me the way they do! Thank you to everyone for their enthusiastic welcome and support. It is an honor to be a part of the Bearcat Family!"

Harrell joins the Bearcats after an eight-year stint of being the associate head coach and recruiting coordinator at Division I New Orleans University. During her time as a privateer, they advanced to four straight conference tournaments and had a school record for most conference victories. Their 2019-20 season goes down as one of the best in program history, upsetting Ole Miss. They finished the regular season just a couple games behind 1st place, giving them a strong shot at a conference tournament title. Unfortuantely, due to covid, the tournament was canceled not giving Coach Harrell and the Privateers their shot at a ring. As recruiting coordinator, the 2020 recruiting class is one of the highest rated groups in program history.

Prior to New Orleans, Harrell served as an assistant coach at Kent State for three years. She played a crucial role in the academic success of the women's basketball program. Her consistent contact with the student-athletes helped the team attain its highest team GPA and a perfect graduation rate during her time there.

Harrell spent six seasons in Missouri as an assistant coach from 2006-2012, with five of those seasons being at Division I University of Missouri-Kansas City. She helped guide the Kangaroos to numerous postseason appearances. This included their 1st ever Women's National Invitational Tournament (WNIT) and 1st Women's Basketball Invitational (WBI) tournament appearances. In her final season, the program finished with a 22-11 record marking on the fourth 20-win season in school history. Prior to UMKC, she spent a season as an assistant coach at her alma mater Missouri Southern.

She was a four-year collegiate player, beginning at Rockhurst University where she started 14-of-24 games as a freshman. After transferring to Missouri Southern her sophomore season, she helped the team improve to a school-best 19-9 overall record during her senior season. She averaged 12.2 points and 6.7 rebounds per game, shooting a team-high 57.5% from the floor.

Harrell received her Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology with an emphasis in Kinesiology from Missouri Southern State University in 2004. She earned her Master of Arts in Sport Administration t in May 2021.

Harrell has one son, Elijah Harrell-Lee