Michelle Clark-Heard

Last updated

Michelle Clark-Heard
Current position
Title Head Coach
Team Mercer
Conference SoCon
Record0–0 (–)
Biographical details
Born (1968-07-27) July 27, 1968 (age 56)
Louisville, Kentucky
Playing career
1987–1990 Western Kentucky
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1998–2002 Nebraska (assistant)
2002–2005 Cincinnati (assistant)
2005–2007 Kentucky State
2007–2012 Louisville (assistant)
2012–2018 Western Kentucky
2018–2023Cincinnati
2024–present Mercer
Administrative career (AD unless noted)
2023–2024 Mississippi State (assistant A.D. for women's basketball)
Head coaching record
Overall252–147 (.632)

Michelle Clark-Heard (born July 27, 1968) [1] is the head coach for the Mercer Bears women's basketball team. [2] [3] [4]

Contents

Career

In her first year at Western Kentucky University her team posted a 22–11 record, after going 9–21 the season prior to her arrival.

In 2018, the University of Cincinnati hired her as the head coach for the Cincinnati women's basketball team. In her first season, she led the team to more than 20 wins for the first time since 2003 and at least 12 conference wins for the first time since 1999. [5]

On March 7, 2023, she was fired as the head coach of the Cincinnati women's basketball team. She finishes with an overall record of 74–74 and a conference record of 35–46. [6]

On May 17, 2023, Mississippi State University announced that she was hired as the Assistant Athletic Director for Women's Basketball. [7]

Career statistics

Legend
  GPGames played  GS Games started MPG Minutes per game RPG  Rebounds per game
 APG  Assists per game SPG  Steals per game BPG  Blocks per game PPG Points per game
 TO  Turnovers per game FG%  Field-goal percentage 3P%  3-point field-goal percentage FT%  Free-throw percentage
 Bold Career best°League leader

College

YearTeamGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGTOPPG
1987–88 Western Kentucky 34--43.50.059.65.50.20.40.2-6.9
1988–89 Western Kentucky 31--40.00.067.06.90.40.70.5-7.3
1990–91 Western Kentucky 29--48.80.060.85.70.60.50.4-8.7
Career94--44.10.062.66.10.40.50.4-7.6
Statistics retrieved from Sports-Reference. [8]

Head coaching record

Statistics overview
SeasonTeamOverallConferenceStandingPostseason
Kentucky State (Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference)(2005–2007)
2005–06Kentucky State 5–234–129th
2006–07Kentucky State 19–912–4T-4th
Kentucky State:24–32 (.429)16–16 (.500)
Western Kentucky (Sun Belt Conference)(2012–2014)
2012–13 Western Kentucky 22–1113–73rd WNIT Second Round
2013–14 Western Kentucky 24–913–52nd NCAA 1st Round
Western Kentucky (Sun Belt):46–20 (.697)26–12 (.684)
Western Kentucky (Conference USA)(2014–2018)
2014–15 Western Kentucky 30–516–21st NCAA 1st Round
2015–16 Western Kentucky 27–715–3T-2nd WNIT Quarterfinals
2016–17 Western Kentucky 27–716–21st NCAA 1st Round
2017–18 Western Kentucky 24–812–42nd NCAA 1st Round
Western Kentucky (C-USA):108–27 (.800)59–11 (.843)
Western Kentucky (Overall):154–47 (.766)
Cincinnati (American Athletic Conference)(2018–2023)
2018–19 Cincinnati 24–1112–43rd WNIT Quarterfinals
2019–20 Cincinnati 22–911–52nd
2020–21 Cincinnati 8–166–127th
2021–22 Cincinnati 11–174–1111th
2022–23Cincinnati 9–212–1411th
Cincinnati:74–74 (.500)35–46 (.432)
Mercer (Southern Conference)(2024–present)
2024–25Mercer 0–00–0
Mercer:0–0 (–)0–0 (–)
Total:252–147 (.632)

      National champion        Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion        Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion      Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

Related Research Articles

Semeka Chantay Randall-Lay is the current head coach for the Winthrop Eagles women's basketball team. She is also a former collegiate and professional basketball player. She was hired as recruiting coordinator at Wright State in June 2016 after serving as the head coach of the Alabama A&M University women's basketball team for three years. Randall was also head coach of the Ohio Bobcats, from 2008 to 2013. She previously served as an assistant coach of the women's basketball teams at West Virginia University, Michigan State University, and Cleveland State University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lin Dunn</span> American basketball coach

Lin Dunn is an American women's basketball coach, currently general manager with the Indiana Fever. She is most known for being the first coach and general manager for the Seattle Storm. She has more than 500 wins to her name.

Mickie Faye DeMoss is a former American college basketball coach and player. She was the women's head coach at the University of Florida and the University of Kentucky. She was also an assistant coach at Louisiana Tech University, University of Tennessee, University of Texas, Auburn University, Memphis State University, and the WNBA's Indiana Fever. DeMoss was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2018 as a Contributor - Assistant Coach. She retired after 45 years of coaching basketball in some capacity in July 2022, while chief of staff for Georgia Tech women's basketball.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nell Fortner</span> American basketball player and coach

Nell Fortner is the current women's college basketball coach at Georgia Tech. She is most well known for leading the 2000 Olympics team to a gold medal. She has received numerous awards including the 1997 National Coach of the Year, the 2000 USA Basketball Coach of the Year and the 2008 SEC Coach of the Year. In April 2018, she was inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Muffet McGraw</span> American basketball coach (born 1955)

Ann "Muffet" McGraw is an American former college basketball coach, who served as the head women's basketball coach at Notre Dame from 1987 to 2020, compiling a 848–252 (.771) record over 33 seasons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western Kentucky Hilltoppers and Lady Toppers</span> Athletic team for Western Kentucky University

The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers and Lady Toppers are the athletic teams that represent Western Kentucky University (WKU), located in Bowling Green, Kentucky, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the NCAA Division I ranks, competing in the Conference USA (C-USA) since the 2014–15 academic year. The Hilltoppers and Lady Toppers previously competed in the Sun Belt Conference from 1982–83 to 2013–14; and in the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) from 1948–49 to 1981–82.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Courtney Banghart</span> American basketball coach (born 1978)

Courtney Rosholt Banghart is an American basketball coach who is currently the head women's basketball coach at North Carolina. Prior to North Carolina, she served as head coach at Princeton from 2007 to 2019.

Adele Cecilia "Ceal" Barry is an American retired basketball player and coach. She was head women's basketball coach at the University of Cincinnati from 1979 to 1983 and University of Colorado Boulder from 1983 to 2005. Barry was also a longtime college athletics administrator, having been associate athletic director and senior woman administrator at Colorado from 2005 to 2020 and interim athletic director at Colorado in 2013. She was inducted into the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame in 1997 and into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Troy Trojans women's basketball</span> College basketball team

The Troy Trojans women's basketball program is the intercollegiate women's basketball of Troy University. The program is classified in the NCAA's Division I and the team competes in the Sun Belt Conference.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heather Macy</span> American basketball player and coach

Heather Michell Macy is an American college basketball coach who is the current Head Coach at Barry University and is the all-time winningest head coach of the East Carolina University women's basketball team. Macy is also the Elite Performance CEO for the 2FeetIn organization and the author of the books Two Feet Forward and Believe-Think-Live Two Feet In.

The Stony Brook Seawolves women’s basketball team is the college basketball program representing Stony Brook University in Stony Brook, New York. The Seawolves currently participate as part of the NCAA Division I basketball, and compete in the Coastal Athletic Association. The Seawolves currently play their home games in the Island Federal Credit Union Arena.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2017–18 NCAA Division I women's basketball season</span> American college basketball season

The 2017–18 NCAA Division I women's basketball season began on November 10, 2017 and ended with the Final Four title game at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio on April 1, 2018. Practices officially began in September 29, 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2017–18 Western Kentucky Lady Toppers basketball team</span> Intercollegiate basketball season

The 2017–18 Western Kentucky Lady Toppers basketball team represented Western Kentucky University during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Lady Toppers were led by fifth-year head coach Michelle Clark-Heard. They played their home games at E. A. Diddle Arena in Bowling Green, Kentucky and were members of Conference USA (C-USA). They finished the season 24–9, 12–4 in C-USA play, to finish in second place. They won the Conference USA tournament for the second year in a row and earned an automatic bid to the NCAA women's basketball tournament where they were defeated by Oregon State in the first round.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018–19 NCAA Division I women's basketball season</span>

The 2018–19 NCAA Division I women's basketball season began in November 2018 and concluded with the Final Four title game at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida, in April 2019. Practices officially began in September 2018.

Heather Oesterle is a former collegiate basketball player who is currently an assistant coach for the Stanford Cardinal women's basketball team. Previously, she was the head coach of the Central Michigan and the strategic program director of Notre Dame women's basketball teams. Oesterle was named CMU's head women's basketball coach in July, 2019, succeeding her long-time mentor Sue Guevara. Oesterle served for nine seasons on Guevara's staff at CMU, helping lead the program to unprecedented heights including three Mid-American Conference championships, two MAC Tournament titles, and five MAC West Division crowns. She earned her bachelor's degree in kinesiology from Michigan in 2002 and her master's degree in sports studies from Miami in 2008.

Peggie Gillom-Granderson is a chaplain at the University of Mississippi since 2009. Before starting her religious position, Gillom played on the Ole Miss Rebels women's basketball team between 1976 and 1980. During her time at Ole Miss, Gillom set career records for Mississippi with 2,486 points and 1,271 rebounds. After university, Gillom briefly played in the Women's Professional Basketball League for a year with the Dallas Diamonds. As an assistant coach, Gillom worked with Ole Miss from 1981 to 1997 before continuing her assistant coaching tenure in the Women's National Basketball Association. With the Houston Comets, Gillom and her team won the 1997 WNBA Championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hilda M. Hankerson</span> American basketball player and coach

Hilda M. Hankerson is an American high school girls basketball coach. She is the head coach for the Westlake High School (Georgia) Lions girls basketball team where she won one National Championship and four Georgia State High School girls basketball Championships. She played for the Mercer Bears women's basketball team alongside of Hall of Famers Cindy Brogdon and Sybil Blalock from 1974 to 1978. Hankerson was also an assistant coach for the Mississippi State Bulldogs women's basketball team. In 2020, she won the USA Today 2020 Girls High School Basketball Coach of the Year.

Katrina Merriweather is an American basketball coach who is currently the head women's basketball coach at the University of Cincinnati. Prior to that, she was head coach at Wright State University and the University of Memphis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022–23 NCAA Division I women's basketball season</span>

The 2022–23 NCAA Division I women's basketball season began on November 7, 2022. The regular season ended on March 12, 2023, with the 2023 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament beginning on March 14 and ending with the championship game at American Airlines Center in Dallas on April 2.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2023–24 NCAA Division I women's basketball season</span>

The 2023–24 NCAA Division I women's basketball season began on November 6, 2023. The regular season ended on March 17, 2024, with the 2024 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament beginning on March 20 and ended with the championship game at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio, on April 7.

References

  1. "Women's Basketball Coaches Career". NCAA. Retrieved September 28, 2015.
  2. "2018–19 Women's Basketball Roster".
  3. WBKO Staff. "Michelle Clark-Heard leaving WKU for Cincinnati" . Retrieved March 27, 2018.
  4. "Mercer Announces Michelle Clark-Heard As Women's Basketball Head Coach". Mercer University Athletics. March 9, 2024. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
  5. "Bearcats Cap Regular Season with 80–65 Win at Tulane".
  6. "UC Athletics Announces Women's Basketball Change in Leadership".
  7. "Michelle Clark-Heard Named Assistant A.D. for Women's Basketball". Mississippi State. May 17, 2023. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
  8. "Michelle Clark-Head College Stats". Sports-Reference . Retrieved April 11, 2024.