Harper Adds Veteran Coach Mike Nicholson to Staff
6/9/2026 9:28:00 AM | Women's Basketball
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou women's basketball head coach Kellie Harper has added veteran assistant coach Mike Nicholson to her staff, the program announced on Monday.
A WBCA National Assistant Coach of the Year honoree, Nicholson arrives at Mizzou with over 30 years of both men's and women's coaching experience, including 27 years in the state of Missouri.
Throughout his career, Nicholson has developed 41 all-conference selections, seven All-Americans, two honorable mention All-Americans and a first-round NBA draft pick.
He spent the previous five seasons at Kansas State, where he served as chief of staff. During his tenure, Nicholson helped guide the Wildcats to 112 wins and three NCAA tournament berths, including a run to the 2025 Sweet 16, the program's first in 23 years.
While on staff, he helped develop 10 all-conference selections, while two athletes were named All-America Honorable Mention.
Prior to Kansas State, Nicholson was the top assistant coach at Central Missouri and worked with the guards. During his time in Warrensburg, Nicholson helped the Jennies to a 161-53 (.752) overall record, the 2018 NCAA Division II National Championship, a 2021 NCAA Division II Final Four appearance, two MIAA regular season titles and one MIAA postseason crown.
Nicholson, the 2021 WBCA National Assistant Coach of the Year, helped in the development of three-time All-American Paige Redmond as well as All-Americans Morgan Fleming and Megan Skaggs. The Jennies had five All-Americans during Nicholson's tenure and 20 named to the All-MIAA team.
As part of his duties at Central Missouri, Nicholson was the lead recruiter and in charge of scouting. He ran the scout team, going over opponents' offensive and defensive sets in practice. Off the court, Nicholson was involved in the academic side and was in charge of study hall. In Nicholson's six years, 60 Jennies earned MIAA Academic Honor Roll honors.
Prior to joining Central Missouri, Nicholson was an assistant coach for the men's team at Missouri Western under head coach Tom Smith.
Nicholson spent 14 seasons over two stints as the top assistant at Missouri Western, most recently from 2007-2013. During his time in St. Joseph, he helped the Griffon men to 228 wins, three MIAA regular season championships, a pair of MIAA Tournament titles and five appearances in the NCAA-II Tournament. He helped in the development of two All-Americans, two MIAA MVPs and 11 All-MIAA players.
Before his time at Missouri Western, he spent six seasons as an assistant coach at Kansas City. Under the tutelage of Lee Hunt and Bob Sundvold, Nicholson developed a philosophy and understanding of what makes for a successful player and program at the collegiate level. He was a member of the staff that led Kansas City to the most wins in Division I in school history and he also played a role in the development of Tony Dumas, drafted in the first round (19th overall) by the Dallas Mavericks in the 1995 NBA Draft.
A University of Missouri graduate, Nicholson played one season of college basketball at Nebraska Wesleyan University in Lincoln, before transferring to Mizzou, where he received his degree in Business Administration in 1990. Nicholson received his master's degree in Educational Administration from UMKC in 1994.
Mike and his wife, Lisa, have two boys, Jake and Joe.
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