BALTIMORE — Former WNBA player and University of Maryland alumni Laura Harper, has been named Coppin State University's new head women’s basketball coach.
WMAR-2 News sports reporter Shawn Stepner broke the story.
A source tells me Coppin State will name #Terps great Laura Harper its new women’s basketball coach. Eagles now have Maryland legends leading both hoops programs with Juan Dixon coaching the men. @WMAR2News
— Shawn Stepner (@StepnerWMAR) July 20, 2020
"It is a dream come true to be named the new head women’s basketball coach at Coppin State University,” said Harper. “Having a platform as a woman of color, while coaching at an HBCU during this racially sensitive time in our country, inspires me, and I am beyond ready to help lead this group of committed, young women into a new era of Eagles basketball."
Starting off as an assistant coach at Loyola University during the 2013-14 season, Harper's return to Baltimore has brought her coaching career full circle.
Most recently Harper was the head coach at Montverde Academy, one of Florida's premier high school programs. She guided the team to an 18-6 mark this past season and helped all five of her seniors earn NCAA Division I scholarships. In between, Harper spent time as an assistant coach at George Washington University and the University of Florida.
A four-year standout at the University of Maryland, Harper was named the 2006 NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player after leading the Terrapins to a National Championship.
Following her collegiate career, Harper was selected 10th overall by the Sacramento Monarchs in the 2008 WNBA Draft.
Harper now joins fellow Terps legend Juan Dixon in heading up the university's two basketball teams.
