Jenny Putnam spent 15 years with Missouri women’s basketball on Robin Pingeton's staff from 2010-25Â
Putnam spent the first 13 years as an assistant coach before serving as director of basketball operations for her final two seasons.
Putnam played for Pingeton at St. Ambrose and brought loyalty, consistency and stability to the Tigers program.
Putnam’s responsibilities as an assistant under Pingeton included assisting in the organization of practice plans for the team and individual student-athletes, on-court coaching with post players and assisting with daily operations and Tiger basketball camps. Putnam also played an important role with the program’s recruiting efforts and managed the scheduling for future seasons.
Mizzou Women’s Basketball consistently improved since her arrival. In 2022-23, Putnam aided in the development of Hayley Frank, who secured back-to-back All-SEC Second Team selections, improving her scoring average to 15.4 points per game. Putnam also guided Ashton Judd in her debut season as a Tiger, Judd secured All-SEC Freshman Team honors with a 44.9% 3-point shooting mark that ranked third in the conference and 7.4 points per game average off the bench.
In 2021-22, Frank elevated her play under Putnam’s guidance. The Strafford, Mo. native, earned her first Second-Team All-SEC selection after leading the team with 15.0 points and sitting atop the conference’s 3-point percentage leaderboard (.462).
The 2019-20 campaign saw the emergence of the future for the Tigers, as Aijha Blackwell and Frank each earned All-SEC Freshman Team honors for Mizzou. The duo became the fifth and sixth Tigers to earn All-SEC freshman honors, with all six coming since 2016.
In 2018-19, Mizzou won 24 games for the second consecutive season and made the NCAA Tournament for a fourth-straight season. Mizzou’s 24 victories marked the fourth consecutive season the Tigers won at least 22 games, something which has not happened since 1981-85.
Under Putnam’s guidance, Cierra Porter was named the 2019 SEC Sixth Woman of the Year after returning from medical retirement halfway through the season. Porter was the second player in Mizzou history to be given the Sixth Woman of the Year honor, as she averaged 7.8 points and 5.0 rebounds per game in 22 contests. In addition, Porter was third on the team in blocks (14), despite playing 13 fewer games, and shot a remarkable 85.7 percent from the free throw line.
During the 2017-18 season, forward Jordan Frericks earned All-SEC second team recognition for the third time in her career after averaging 11.8 points and 7.6 rebounds per game in her senior campaign (2017-18). Frericks became just the third player in Mizzou history to join the 1,000-point and 1,000-rebound club, as she ended her career with 1,032 rebounds, the second-most in program history.
In 2016-17, Mizzou finished third in the Southeastern Conference, its highest finish since joining the league and the program’s highest finish in conference play since 1990. Mizzou capped the season with a trip to the NCAA Tournament and a first-round win over South Florida, giving the program wins in back-to-back NCAA appearances for the first time in program history. The Tigers made a significant leap in 2015-16, reaching the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2006 and earning an opening-round victory for the first time since 2001.
Putnam’s influence on the post players shined, most notably with gritty forward Frericks. Frericks averaged 12.1 points per game and 7.7 rebounds per contest on her way to earning second-team All-SEC recognition. Meanwhile, rising newcomer Cierra Porter made the SEC All-Freshman squad after a stellar first campaign at Mizzou. The inside-outside attack allowed Mizzou to finish 22-10. The Tigers spent eight weeks in the AP Top 25 and ended up with eight conference victories.
The 2014-15 season saw the Tigers finish 19-14. Mizzou advanced to the quarterfinals of the WNIT, and the victories in the first two rounds were the most in postseason play since 2002-03.
Putnam’s work with the post players was again evident as Mizzou featured a defense that ranked 12th nationally in opponent field goal percentage (35.1) and 14th in the country with 29.0 defensive rebounds per game. Frericks was named second-team All-SEC after leading the league in rebounding with 9.9 boards per game, the highest mark by a Tiger since 1997-98. Frericks grabbed 327 total rebounds on the year, which ranks third in program history and was the highest total since Renee Kelly’s record of 395 set in 1985-86. With 33 starts on the season, Frericks equaled Lorraine Ferret’s program record that had stood since the 1980-81 season.
Recognized as a top recruiter, Putnam was instrumental in recruiting and signing Mizzou’s heralded 2015 freshman class that was ranked 17th nationally by Prospect Nation. She played a large role in recruiting Sophie Cunningham, who became the first McDonald’s All-American to sign with Mizzou, along with her Rock Bridge High School (Columbia, Mo.) teammate Cierra Porter, who was ranked the No. 37 player in the country by All-Star Girls Report. Hannah Schuchts (Tallahassee, Fla./Maclay School) rounded out the class and was ranked the No. 59 forward nationally by ESPN HoopGurlz.
With Putnam’s continued efforts, Mizzou’s successes continued through the 2013-14 season. The Tigers finished 17-14 overall and again advanced to the WNIT. Three true freshmen finished with one of the most productive seasons for an incoming class since 1997, while the Tigers reset a new school scoring record with a 126-65 victory over Bradley. The Tigers made their first postseason appearance since 2007 during the 2012-13 season as the team advanced to the WNIT.
The 2012-13 Tigers squad ended the year with a 17-15 record, which was then the best for a Mizzou team since the 2006-07 campaign. The 2011-12 team started the season 10-1, which at the time marked the program’s best start since 2006-07. With Putnam’s aid, the Tigers went undefeated through the first five games for the first time since 1997.
Putnam’s experience both as a player and coach brings a wealth of knowledge to the program, and this became apparent in the staff’s first year. In her first season with the Tigers, Putnam helped coach the team to a 13-18 overall record and a 5-11 mark in Big 12 Conference play, the best for the team since 2006-07. The Tigers also earned three wins over ranked opponents, a feat that had not been accomplished since the 2000-01 season.
Before coming to Missouri, Putnam spent seven years as an assistant coach to Pingeton at Illinois State. She helped turn around a program that had not earned a winning season in seven years. During her time with the Redbirds, the squad made five postseason appearances, earned three Missouri Valley Conference regular season titles, two State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament championships and recorded a 144-76 record. In the 2009-10 season, Putnam aided the Redbirds to a third consecutive Missouri Valley Conference regular season title. Illinois State advanced to the WNIT semifinals and a 28-8 record. During the WNIT run, the team earned wins over Butler, Purdue, Illinois and Kansas. The 28 wins tied the 1980-81 Illinois State team for the most in program history and it also marked the fourth straight year the program recorded at least 22 wins.
Putnam began her coaching career in 2001 at Bettendorf (Iowa) High School as the freshman girls coach and also served on the staff of the women’s basketball program at Marycrest International University in Davenport, Iowa. Putnam was the facilities coordinator for athletics in 2002 at Marycrest before joining Gene Steinmeyer’s women’s basketball staff at Northwest Missouri State. Her scouting and film preparation work helped the Bearcats to a 16-12 record, marking the first winning season in five years for Northwest.
Before entering the coaching ranks, Putnam played collegiately at St. Ambrose under Pingeton. She was the leading rebounder on Pingeton’s final team at St. Ambrose in 1998-99, a squad that finished 30-7 and reached the Elite Eight of the NAIA Tournament.
Putnam was also a starting outfielder on the softball team at St. Ambrose. She earned NAIA All-America honors in both basketball and softball during her playing years, equaling a feat also achieved by Pingeton previously.
A 1997 graduate of Alleman High School in Rock Island, Ill., Putnam was a standout athlete in basketball, softball and volleyball. She earned all-tournament honors as a freshman on Alleman’s 1994 Illinois High School Association (IHSA) Class A State Championship softball team. On Sept. 22, 2006, Putnam was elected into the Alleman High School Hall of Fame.
A native of Moline, Ill., Putnam has three sons, Jack, Tyler and Callen.
