Betsy Harris has been named as the new assistant women’s basketball coach as announced by Troy State head coach Jerry Hester.

Harris replaces Brad West, who left Troy State to become an assistant coach at Illinois-Chicago.

"Betsy brings a wealth of basketball experience to Troy State," said Hester. "She has five years of professional experience and she played in a great college program that went to the Final Four. On top of that, she’s also had the experience of coaching at the collegiate level as an assistant, going on the road recruiting. She signed one of the top five players in Mississippi to a Division II scholarship. That just shows how good of a recruiter she is."

Harris was a four-year starter at the University of Alabama, helping lead the Crimson Tide to the Final Four her senior year in 1994. She averaged 14.5 points per game her senior season, which was third on team. Harris received her bachelor’s degree in Sports Management in 1995.

A native of Decatur, Miss., Harris helped lead Decatur High School to the Class 2A state championship in 1989. She was named first-team all-state her senior season, as well as first-team all-south state her last three years of high school.

Prior to joining the coaching ranks, Harris played professional overseas, with stops in Spain, Iceland, Sweden, Greece and Switzerland.

She returned to the United States in the fall of 1999, becoming an assistant coach at the University of West Alabama. She helped lead the Lady Tigers a third-place finish in the East Division of the Gulf South Conference in each of her two seasons. She also completed her work on a Masters of Art in Teaching in the spring of 2001 from West Alabama.

"I’m just excited about the opportunity to coach here at Troy State," said Harris. "I’m glad to be a part of this program with Coach Hester and Coach Jennings, and look forward to the future of this program."