Auburn fires Harris after early SEC Tournament exit caps 12-18 season

AUBURN, Ala. (AP) — Auburn fired women’s basketball coach Johnnie Harris on Thursday, one day after the Tigers lost to Florida 60-50 in the first round of the Southeastern Conference Tournament.

Harris had gone 58-63 in four seasons. Auburn earned its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2019 last season, but the Tigers followed that up by going 12-18 overall and 3-13 in SEC competition this year.

Auburn's SEC Tournament defeat marked its seventh consecutive loss. The Tigers finished the regular season in a four-way tie for last place in the SEC with Missouri, Texas A&M and Arkansas.

“I have a tremendous amount of respect and admiration for Johnnie,” Auburn athletic director John Cohen said in a statement. “Having worked with her for more than a decade at two institutions, I know Johnnie is an exceptional person with a great basketball mind. I thank Johnnie for the way she represented Auburn and for her contributions to our women’s basketball program. While these decisions are never easy, the program must move in a new direction.”

Harris had been an associate head coach on Vic Schaefer’s Mississippi State staff from 2012-20, while Cohen was Mississippi State’s athletic director from 2016-22. Harris followed Schaefer to Texas and was associate head coach there in 2020-21 before taking over Auburn’s program.

She went 10-18 her debut season at Auburn, which had gone 5-19 the year before her arrival. Auburn went 16-15 in 2022-23 — the Tigers’ first winning season since 2018-19 — and 20-12 in 2023-24 before backsliding this season.

Auburn’s 2023-24 team posted its highest win total since 2019 and went 8-8 in SEC play, the first time since 2019 the Tigers finished .500 or better in league competition. That team lost to Arizona 69-59 in the First Four round of the NCAA Tournament.

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