Auburn fires head women’s basketball coach Johnnie Harris after four seasons

Auburn has parted ways with head women’s basketball coach Johnnie Harris after four seasons, the university announced Thursday. The decision comes less than a day after the team concluded its 2024-25 season.

Harris, who led the program for four years, finished with a 58-63 overall record. The Tigers wrapped up the 2024-25 campaign at 12-18, falling to Florida in the first round of the SEC Tournament.

“Following a comprehensive review of our women’s basketball program, I have determined that a change in leadership is necessary for the best interests of Auburn University,” athletic director John Cohen said in the statement. “I appreciate Johnnie [Harris] for her contributions and the way she represented Auburn. While these decisions are difficult, we believe a new direction is needed.”

The university also stated that a nationwide search for Harris’s replacement will begin immediately.

Harris took on her first head coaching role at Auburn after serving as an assistant at Arkansas-Little Rock, NC State, Arkansas, Texas A&M, Mississippi State, and Texas. During her tenure at Mississippi State from 2012 to 2020, Cohen was the athletic director for part of that period.

Under Harris, Auburn returned to the NCAA Tournament in 2024 for the first time since 2019 and achieved its first 20-win season since 2018-19, including an upset victory over defending national champions LSU.

However, hopes of building on that success in the 2024-25 season were not realized. The Tigers struggled, securing only 12 wins—their lowest total since Harris’s first year in 2021-22. They also posted a 3-13 record in SEC play, marking their fewest conference wins since the 2020-21 season under former coach Terri Williams-Flournoy.

Injuries significantly impacted Auburn’s performance, particularly on offense. The team added standout Arkansas transfer guard Taliah Scott in the offseason, but she played only three games due to a wrist injury. Additionally, key guard Kaitlyn Duhon was sidelined midway through the season. She averaged 7.3 points across eight games and had started 20 games over her three-year career with the Tigers.

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