Drury University women’s basketball head coach Molly Miller has agreed to terms with the institution on a contract extension that will run through the 2021-22 season.
Miller just completed her fifth season as the Lady Panthers head coach and her teams have gone 148-17. Her career winning percentage of .897 currently leads all active coaches in NCAA-II.
In 2018-19, she led her team to a 35-1 record, an undefeated regular season, the Great Lakes Valley Conference championship, an NCAA-II Midwest Regional title, an appearance in the national semifinals, and a number three national ranking at the end of the season. Miller was named the NCAA-II Coach of the Year by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association and was named the GLVC Coach of the Year.
“I am thrilled to accept the three-year extension of my contract as head coach of the Drury women’s basketball team and would like to thank Dr. Cloyd, Corey, Mark and the rest of our administration for this opportunity,” said Miller. “Our players, recruits, associate coaches, fans and boosters have some unfinished business, and having the privilege to guide one of the nation’s elite Division II programs to reach for that higher goal is a challenge I relish. Go Lady Panthers!”
Miller’s teams have also won at least 30 games in each of her last three seasons putting together a 96-8 overall mark and a 52-2 record in the GLVC. This year, Drury became the first team in league history to win the conference tournament championship for a third consecutive season, and they have won six straight regular season titles in the conference.
“I am thrilled that Coach Miller agreed to terms on a three-year contract extension,” said Corey Bray, Drury University Vice President & Director of Athletics. “During my brief time at Drury, I have been very impressed with Coach Miller and everyone involved with her program. I am excited about the future of the Lady Panthers program under Coach Miller’s continued leadership, and I look forward to helping Coach Miller build a dynasty at Drury.”
Miller served as an assistant coach at Drury for two years prior to taking over the helm and had a stellar playing career as a Lady Panther. Molly (Carter) Miller was the Heartland Conference Freshman of the Year in 2005, then named all-conference in the GLVC in each of the next three seasons. She exited the program ranked third in career scoring with 1,570 points, second in assists (439) and second in steals (407), and won the GLVC’s Paragon Award, the top honor given to a student-athlete by the league in recognition of athletic and academic excellence. In 2014, Miller was the first individual from Drury to be inducted into the GLVC Hall of Fame.
“Coach Miller’s program is a fine example of how The Drury Way is implemented in our Athletics Department,” said Drury University President, Dr. Tim Cloyd. “Coach Miller and her staff recruit outstanding young women that have excelled on the court and have an exemplary academic record. I couldn’t be happier that she will be continuing as the leader of our Lady Panthers program. Go Panthers!”
“The basketball programs at Drury have been a tremendous asset for the university,” said Tom Stout, a long-time Drury athletics booster and member of the university’s Board of Trustees. “Molly’s record has been exceptional, and we are extremely fortunate and pleased that she has agreed to continue her career with us. We all look forward to many more years of excitement and excellence with Molly leading the program.”
The Lady Panthers have had four head coaches in their 19-year history, and Miller ranks first among them in winning percentage while her 148 career wins ranks only behind Nyla Milleson who went 185-36 from the start of the program in 2000-01 through 2006-07.
Drury women’s basketball has gone 488-189 in their team history with eight conference championships, four NCAA-II regional titles, two trips to the Division II Final Four, and 16 national tournament appearances in the program’s 19-year history.
