Winning is pretty much second nature to Kim Mulkey. Since stepping into the head coach role at LSU in 2021, she has made the Tigers a program to be feared. In 2023, they even went on to win the NCAA Championship under Mulkey.
Before that, she turned the Baylor program around with three national titles in 2005, 2012, and 2019. She’s the only person in NCAA history to win a national championship as a player, assistant coach, and head coach. Now, that is legendary. But where did it all begin?
Before the Blazers: Kim Mulkey’s Louisiana Tech Days That Lit Up Women’s Hoops
Before her animated and storied coaching career, Mulkey was a no-nonsense point guard with big dreams. Mulkey began her hoops journey at Louisiana Tech University. Mulkey was born in Tickfaw, Louisiana, and was already a star at her school.
Mulkey at Hammond High went on to win four straight titles, have a 4.0 GPA, and be valedictorian. Now, that is the kind of mixture that lands a student athlete in a powerhouse program like Louisiana Tech.
Mulkey was a 5’4” point guard who led the Lady Techsters to back-to-back national championships. At first, it was the AIAW title in 1981 and then the inaugural NCAA title in 1982. Mulkey even went on to earn an All-American status. In her senior year, she won the Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award, which was given to the nation’s top college senior under 5’6”. But it’s not all about the trophies and titles.
Mulkey was named to the Academic All-America® First Team in 1983 and 1984 and made the Third Team in 1982. Years later, she’d be inducted into the CoSIDA Academic All-America® Hall of Fame. In Louisiana, she built a legacy.
In 1983, she joined Team USA and won gold at the Pan American Games. Just a year later, she won Olympic gold while averaging over 5 points per game. The same grit has followed her into her coaching career.
Kim Mulkey and a Legacy That Will Be Remembered
Mulkey’s coaching is just as legendary as her collegiate era. When she stepped into the head coaching role at Baylor in 2000, the program was coming off a dismal 7–20 season. She led Baylor to its first-ever NCAA tournament appearance in her first year. Over the next two decades, she took the Lady Bears to three national championship wins in 2005, 2012, and 2019. To make it better, the 2012 run was a 40–0 season.
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Under Mulkey, Baylor made it to the NCAA tournament 19 times, cracked four Final Fours, and compiled a 632-104 record. In 2021, Mulkey returned to her home state to take over LSU. She led the Tigers to their first NCAA title in program history in her second season. Each season that Mulkey has led at LSU has ended with 26 or more wins and deep tournament runs, including back-to-back Elite Eight appearances after the 2023 title.
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