Ray Harper was named the 11th head coach in Jacksonville State men’s basketball history on April 6, 2016, and has since become the program’s winningest Division I coach. A veteran leader with more than 25 seasons as a collegiate head coach, Harper owns a 600-252 career record and has compiled a 169-125 mark at Jacksonville State. Under his leadership, the Gamecocks have captured multiple conference championships and made four national postseason appearances, including the program’s first two NCAA Division I Tournament berths in 2017 and 2022. In 2024-25, Harper guided Jax State to a 23-13 record, a Conference USA Championship Game appearance, and the program’s first-ever NIT bid, earning Conference USA Coach of the Year honors and securing his 600th career victory with a win over Georgia Tech.
Prior to Jacksonville State, Harper led Western Kentucky to multiple 20-win seasons and NCAA Tournament appearances, and previously built national powerhouses at Kentucky Wesleyan and Oklahoma City. He won two NCAA Division II national championships at Kentucky Wesleyan and two NAIA national titles at Oklahoma City, earning multiple national coach-of-the-year honors. Known for building winning cultures and guiding programs through conference transitions, Harper has coached in the NCAA Tournament across three different Division I conferences. A native of Bremen, Kentucky, and a former All-American player at Kentucky Wesleyan, Harper holds both bachelor’s and master’s degrees and has established himself as one of the most accomplished coaches in collegiate basketball history.
