On April 6, 2016, Gamecocks athletics director Greg Seitz announced the hiring of Ray Harper as the program’s 11th head coach and the fifth to run the Gamecocks at the Division I level.
A veteran coach of over 20 seasons, Harper boasts an overall record of 600-252, with a .704 winning percentage, and a 169-125 mark in nine seasons at Jacksonville State. Harper has been nearly unmatched in his success since taking over, becoming the program’s winningest Division I coach, while directing five of JSU’s six 20-win seasons since the transition to Div. I in 1995.
In 2024-25 Harper took home Conference USA Coach of the Year honors, leading Jax State to a 23-13 record, a CUSA Title Game appearance and Jax State's first bid to the NIT in program history. The 23-win mark is the second most wins by a Jax State team in the Division I era, just trailing Harper's 2018-19 squad that reached 24 wins.
Harper made history, earning his 600th career victory in a dominant 81-64 victory over Georgia Tech in the opening round of the NIT. The win was also just the second win over an active power conference team in Jax State's program history and the first since 1952-53.
Jax State finished second in CUSA with a 12-6 record and made a run in the CUSA Tournament before falling to Liberty in the Championship game.
Of the four head coaches to steer the Gamecocks during the Division I era, Harper also ranks first in winning percentage and most winning seasons. He’s led Jacksonville State to four national postseason tournaments, including the school’s first two trips to the NCAA Division I Tournament in 2017 and 2022. In 2023-24, he led Jax State into its third different conference over the previous four seasons with the Gamecocks moving into Conference USA.
In the first year as members of Conference USA, Jax State posted a 14-18 record including a 6-10 mark in conference play. The Gamecocks finished the season in eighth place in the conference and made an appearance in the CUSA Tournament in Huntsville, Ala.
Harper guided JSU through its transition into the ASUN Conference seamlessly in 2021-22, leading to the program’s first Division I regular-season conference title with a 13-3 mark in the team’s debut season in the league. His 2021-22 squad finished 21-11 overall, earning a trip back to the Big Dance after its ASUN championship. For his efforts, Harper was named the 2022 ASUN Coach of the Year, the eighth conference coach of the year honor of his career, and first at the Division I level. The Gamecocks ended the three-year run of reigning league champion, Liberty, and emphasized that point during the regular season by handing the Flames their first home loss in their new arena on Jan. 29. It snapped LU’s 45-game home-winning streak of three years, which ranked second in the nation at the time.
In the Gamecocks’ second trip through the ASUN in 2022-23, JSU took everyone’s best shot following their championship season the prior year. Replacing all five starters, including four graduating seniors, from the NCAA Tournament lineup proved challenging as JSU finished the year 13-18 overall. Senior Demaree King highlighted the late stages of the season matching JSU’s record for three-pointers in a single game with 10 at Central Arkansas. King ultimately broke the school’s Division I career record for three-pointers with 231, setting the new mark in the final game of the season with seven triples at North Alabama.
Harper’s 2021-22 team was a special one led by a veteran core that chose to return via Covid-19 eligibility with a goal of winning a championship. Senior Darian Adams, who garnered First-Team All-ASUN honors and was an NABC All-District selection, led the way with 477 points for the third-most in a single-season by a Gamecock. Fellow seniors Brandon Huffman and Kayne Henry were also a driving force averaging right at 10 points per game while being the top two rebounders for the season. Senior transfer Jalen Gibbs joined junior Demaree King to create the best outside duo threat in the country. King led the NCAA in three-point field goal percentage at 45 percent with a school-record 84 treys in a season, while Gibbs etched his name in the record books with a Div. I program record 40-point game at Elon. The team earned a 15-seed in the NCAA Midwest Region, where they fell to Southeastern Conference champion and second-seeded Auburn in Greenville, S.C.
The 2020-21 season brought challenges unseen before in Harpers long career, dealing with limitations and protocols forced by the Covid-19 pandemic. A delayed season didn’t start until late November, and games were played in nearly empty arenas with the lingering question mark of who would be available day-to-day with testing procedures. The Gamecocks put together an 18-9 mark overall, bringing together 11 newcomers in a year that saw the least amount of available practice time. In what turned out to be Jax State’s final season in the Ohio Valley Conference, Harper’s club returned to the tournament in Evansville, Ind., where they knocked off Murray State in overtime on their way to reaching the semifinal round.
Harper claimed his 500th career victory on Nov. 29, 2019 with a 71-62 win over Chicago State in Niceville, Fla., at the Emerald Coast Classic. With 13 wins on the year, Harper pushed his career mark to 511-183 and JSU record to 13-19 while leading the Gamecocks to a fourth consecutive appearance in the OVC Tournament.
With Jax State claiming the No. 7 seed in the 2020 OVC Tournament, Harper put the Gamecocks into the OVC’s postseason tournament for the fourth-straight season after JSU had made the OVC Tournament just three times from 2006 to 2016.
Harper, yet again, set a single-season record for wins in his third season at the helm, leading JSU to a 24-9 mark in 2018-19. The 24-win year marked the first time a Jacksonville State head coach led the program to three consecutive seasons of 20-or-more wins at the Division-I level, and the first time since legendary head coach Bill Jones accomplished the feat in 1989-90, 1990-91 and 1991-92 during the Division-II era. In addition, the 2018-19 season set a record-low for losses.
The 2018-19 season also yielded the Gamecocks' best ever finish in conference play, going 15-3 to lock up the No. 3 seed in the Ohio Valley Conference Men's Basketball Championships. Prior the the third-place finish, JSU's previous-best conference record was 12-8 during the 2005-06 campaign. Harper has now helped Jacksonville State to three-straight OVC Tournament berths - the longest streak for conference tournament appearances in the program's Division-I history.
For the third season in a row, JSU earned a win in its first contest of the OVC Championships to advance to the tournament's semifinals. Not only did the 88-81 win over UT Martin keep the first-game streak alive, it also pushed Jacksonville State's overall winning streak to eight-consecutive victories - breaking the record for the program's longest winning streak of the Division-I era at the time.
In his second year as head coach in 2017-18, Harper led Jacksonville State to 20 wins in back-to-back season for the first time in the program's Division-I history and for the first time since Jones accomplished the feat in 1990-91 and 1991-92. The Gamecocks' 23-13 record represented just the third 20-win season in their D-1 history and the second under Harper.
The 2017-18 season also brought Jacksonville State its second appearance in a national postseason tournament. After leading JSU to its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament only a year ago, Harper took the Gamecocks to the semifinals of the College Basketball Invitational. Jacksonville State claimed wins over Canisius?and Central Arkansas in the first and quarterfinal rounds, respectively, en route to its first ever wins in a major postseason tournament.
The second-year head coach also delivered a second consecutive berth in the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament in 2018 - a first in JSU's OVC history. Jacksonville State had not appeared in consecutive conference tournaments since making the Atlantic Sun Tournament in 2003 and qualifying for the OVC Tournament in 2004. While at the Ford Center in Evansville, Ind., Harper helped the Gamecocks to a 73-70 win over Tennessee Tech in the first round, handing JSU its seventh OVC Tournament win in school history. Coupled with its three wins in the 2017 OVC Championships, the four-game winning streak stood as the longest undefeated streak in the OVC Tournament in the program's history.
In his first season as head coach, Harper inherited a 2016-17 team that was 8-23 the season prior and had not qualified for an OVC Tournament since 2012. The Gamecocks were picked to finish 12th out of 12 teams during preseason polling, and since joining the Division I ranks in 1993, JSU had never won a conference championship or appeared in the NCAA Tournament. Less than one year after his hire date, the first-year head coach completely changed the perception of Jacksonville State basketball.
The Gamecocks went on to complete one of the most successful seasons in the program’s history in 2016-17. Harper led JSU to its first ever Ohio Valley Conference title, first appearance in the Division I NCAA Tournament and just the second 20-win season in the program’s Division I history. JSU finished the 2016-17 campaign as the sixth-most improved team in the nation (+10.0 wins).
The Gamecocks clinched a berth to just their fifth OVC Tournament since joining the league in 2003-04 with a 70-61 road win over Morehead State to cap the regular season. JSU entered the conference tournament as the No. 3 seed, earning a first-round bye. Jacksonville State defeated No. 5 seeded Southeast Missouri 74-51 in the first round, upset top-seeded Belmont 65-59 in the second round and downed No. 2 seeded UT Martin 66-55 to claim its first Division I title.
Harper became only the second head coach in JSU history to lead the Gamecocks to a 20-win season as a Division I program. He is just the second Jacksonville State head coach to win 20 games in his first season at the helm, tying Jones who began his tenure in 1974 with a 20-7 clip. Harper is one of three first-year head coaches to enjoy a .500+ record; Jones was the last to accomplish the feat in a premiere season 42 years ago.
With over 30 years of coaching experience at the collegiate ranks, Harper boasts a 550-203 career record in 23 years as a head coach. That career includes four national championships - two at the Division II level and two in NAIA. Since becoming a Div. I head coach in 2012, Harper has made four trips to the NCAA Tournament, each coming out of three different one-bid conferences.
Harper came to Jacksonville after a five-year stint at Western Kentucky that saw him post an 89-64 mark that included three 20-win seasons and two trips to the NCAA Tournament. After serving over two years as an assistant at WKU, he took over as the Hilltoppers’ interim coach in January of the 2011-12 season and was named the full-time head coach in early February.
At WKU, he went to the NCAA Tournament in 2012 and 2013 and won 20 games in his first three full seasons, making him the first coach in WKU history to achieve the feat.
After taking the helm at Western Kentucky, the Hilltoppers went 11-8 (interim) and 7-1 after he was named full-time head coach, which came after starting the season with a 5-11 record.
His debut with the Hilltoppers saw him rally them to the Sun Belt Conference Tournament title and a win over Mississippi Valley State in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament in Dayton. A 20-12 record in 2012-13 ended with the Hilltoppers’ second trip to the Big Dance in as many years.
Prior to joining the WKU program as an assistant in 2009, Harper built a head coaching resume that included four national championships, five national runner-up finishes, eight conference titles, five national coach-of-the-year honors and a 342-63 record over 12 years at Kentucky Wesleyan and Oklahoma City University.
Harper was named the NCAA Division II National Coach of the Year four-straight years from 1999-2002, while earning the honor at the NAIA Division I level once with Oklahoma City following the 2008 title run. He was selected conference coach of the year on seven occasions, as well as the region coach of the year twice.
In nine years at his alma mater Kentucky Wesleyan in Owensboro, Ky., Harper laid claim to seven NCAA coaching records, surpassing Division I record-holders in all instances, including becoming the fastest to 200 wins (224 games), holding the most consecutive 30-win seasons (6) and compiling the most wins in each of the first four-through-eight seasons of his career.
With NCAA Division II title game appearances each season from 1998-03, he became the first NCAA head coach since John Wooden to appear in six-straight NCAA National Championship games. He won in ‘99 and ‘01.
The NCAA requires a minimum of 10 seasons at the Division II level to officially qualify for its list of head coaching records, but Harper’s nine-year record of 247-46 at Kentucky Wesleyan would give him the best winning percentage in Division II history at .843.
At Kentucky Wesleyan, he coached two National Players of the Year, seven All-Americans and nine NABC Great Lakes All-Region players. He had 11 players selected All-Great Lakes Valley Conference and two that were named the league’s player of the year.
Through seven seasons, he had more victories than any coach at the NCAA Division I and II levels (210). Harper reached 200 wins in 224 games, which was faster than NCAA Division I record holder and Hall of Famer Clair Bee, who won 200 in 231 games.
On February 17, 2008, Harper’s number 12 jersey was retired at Kentucky Wesleyan, and the floor at Jones Gymnasium was named “Ray Harper Court.”
From Kentucky Wesleyan, Harper went to Oklahoma City, where in three seasons at the NAIA Division I institution, Harper put together a 95-17 record that featured back-to-back national titles in ‘07 and ‘08.
He has also coached on the international level, having led USA Basketball men’s junior team to a 7-1 record and a fifth-place finish at the 2003 FIBA World Championships in Greece.
The native of Bremen, Ky., and a 1985 graduate of Kentucky Wesleyan, Harper was a two-year starter for the Panthers after transferring from Texas. He became the school’s first All-American as a senior, and he also earned most outstanding player in the regional as well as all-region and all-conference accolades. The 1981 Southwest Conference Rookie of the Year at Texas after averaging 9.8 points and 3.9 assists per outing, Harper finished his college career with 1,187 points and 605 assists at the two schools.
In April of 2010, Harper was named to Kentucky Wesleyan’s All-Century Team. Harper coached 12 of the 30 players on the All-Century Team
Harper scored 3,033 points during his high school playing career, earning all-state honors as a senior and District Player of the Year acclaim twice. He earned his Master’s degree from WKU in 1995.
Career Record: 600-252 (26 seasons)
Record at Jacksonville State: 169-125 (Nine seasons)
Personal
Born: October 11, 1961, Bremen, Ky.
Hometown: Bremen, Ky.
High School: Bremen (Ky.), 1980
College: Texas, 1981-82; Kentucky Wesleyan, 1983-85 (Bachelor of Science); Western Kentucky, 1994-95 (Master’s)
Wife: Shannon
Playing career
High School: Bremen (Ky.) (guard, four letters, first-team all-state, two-time district player of the year)
College: Texas (1980-82, guard, two letters, 1981 Southwest Conference Rookie of the Year); Kentucky Wesleyan (1983-85, two letters, 1985 third-team All-American, 1985 all-conference)
Milestone Victories
| No. |
Date |
Score |
| 1 |
11/16/96 |
Ky. Wesleyan 68, Delta State 60 |
| 100 |
1/25/01 |
Ky. Wesleyan 96, SIUE 20 |
| 200 |
2/15/03 |
Ky. Wesleyan 71, Northern Ky. 68 |
| 300 |
3/4/06 |
Okla. City 76, Okla. Christian 69 |
| 400 |
3/9/13 |
Western Ky. 62, South Alabama 59 |
| 450 |
3/3/17 |
Jacksonville State 65, Belmont 59 |
| 500 |
11/29/19 |
Jacksonville State 71, Chicago State 62 |
| 550 |
3/3/22 |
Jacksonville State 78, Kennesaw State 67 |
| 600 |
3/18/25 |
Jacksonville State 81, Georgia Tech 64 (NIT) |
Ray Harper’s Coaching Record
| 1996-97 |
Kentucky Wesleyan |
21-8 |
| 1997-98 |
Kentucky Wesleyan |
30-3 |
| 1998-99 |
Kentucky Wesleyan |
35-1* |
| 1999-00 |
Kentucky Wesleyan |
31-3^ |
| 2000-01 |
Kentucky Wesleyan |
31-3* |
| 2001-02 |
Kentucky Wesleyan |
31-3^ |
| 2002-03 |
Kentucky Wesleyan |
31-4^ |
| 2003-04 |
Kentucky Wesleyan |
22-8 |
| 2004-05 |
Kentucky Wesleyan |
15-13 |
| 2005-06 |
Oklahoma City |
29-8^ |
| 2006-07 |
Oklahoma City |
35-2* |
| 2007-08 |
Oklahoma City |
31-7* |
| 2011-12 |
Western Kentucky |
11-8 # |
| 2012-13 |
Western Kentucky |
20-16 # |
| 2013-14 |
Western Kentucky |
20-12 |
| 2014-15 |
Western Kentucky |
20-12 |
| 2015-16 |
Western Kentucky |
18-16 |
| 2016-17 |
Jacksonville State |
20-15 # |
| 2017-18 |
Jacksonville State |
23-13 |
| 2018-19 |
Jacksonville State |
24-9 |
| 2019-20 |
Jacksonville State |
13-19 |
| 2020-21 |
Jacksonville State |
18-9 |
| 2021-22 |
Jacksonville State |
21-11 # |
| 2022-23 |
Jacksonville State |
13-18 |
| 2023-24 |
Jacksonville State |
14-18 |
| 2024-25 |
Jacksonville State |
23-13 % |
| TOTAL: 26 Years |
|
600-252 |
(*) national championship
(^) national runner-up
(#) NCAA Tournament
(%) NIT
Ray Harper Collegiate Head Coaching History
| School |
First Year |
Last Year |
Wins |
Losses |
Percentage |
| Jacksonville State |
2016-17 |
Pres. |
169 |
125 |
.575 |
| Western Kentucky |
2012-13 |
2015-16 |
89 |
64 |
.582 |
| Oklahoma City |
2005-06 |
2007-08 |
95 |
17 |
.848 |
| Kentucky Wesleyan |
1996-97 |
2004-05 |
247 |
46 |
.843 |
| TOTAL: 26 Years |
|
|
600 |
252 |
.704 |
Updated: July 2025
