Kellie Harper Named to Prestigious Late Season Watchlist

Tennessee Lady Vols Head Coach Kellie Harper Named to Prestigious Late Season Watchlist

Tennessee Lady Vols head coach Kellie harder has been tabbed with a spot on the Late Season Watch List for the 2022 Werner Ladder Naismith Coach of the Year Award, the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced on Wednesday, 

Harper joins 14 others on the list and is one of three coaches to represent the SEC on the list with LSU head coach Kim Mulkey and South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley. 

Harper has led the Lady Vols to a 21-4 (10-2 SEC) record thus far in her third season. The Lady Vols are currently ranked No. 12 in the nation coming off a bounce back 2-0 week with wins over Mizzou and Vanderbilt. The winning week was desperately needed for the Lady Vols, as the week beforehand Harper's squad had sustained two losses by a combined 44 points to Florida and UConn. 

The LVFL is 60-22 since taking the reins on Rocky Top, and her third season has been her best yet as she has her team among the best in the league and destined to make their 40th NCAA Tournament appearance in the Tournament's 40 years of existence. 

Harper's team has found ways to rally for late comebacks in multiple games this season and has stayed sharp despite season-ending injuries to post players Marta Suarez and Keyen Green and an injury to star forward Rae Burrell that sidelined her for 12 weeks. 

Harper's coaching style has been linked to that of late, great Lady Vol coach Pat Summit's in not only philosophy but leadership wise as well. The comparisons especially started to become more popular SEC Network's show SEC Inside released a feature on the Lady Vols that included the video of a Harper halftime speech.

Harper addressed the comparisons in a mid-week media availability earlier this week. 

"I'm ok with it," Harper said of the comparisons. "I get there are going to be comparisons. First, when I saw the video clip, the first thing I thought was, 'Oh, our fans are going to say this looks like Pat.' And that's ok. I have no problem with that. I get it, and you know, I loved her too. We just miss her, and so you want to cling to anything that can remind you of her or that can bring back those memories. That's why I'm ok with it, and I understand it. I'm not trying to live up to the comparisons. I'm not. But I'm ok with it, because I do understand it's coming from a genuine place of just love from our fans."

Harper and the Lady Vols will look to make it three wins in a row when the Big Orange Women travel to Tuscaloosa, Alabama for a rematch with the Crimson Tide on Thursday night at 7:00 p.m. ET. 

Tennessee defeated the Tide 62-44 in the first SEC game of the season in late December. 

Harper's entire media availability leading up to the date with the Tide is above. 

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