COLUMBUS — Mississippi University for Women announced Eric Vaughn as its new women’s basketball head coach on Monday, introducing a new era of the program centered on bringing wins back to campus.
Vaughn didn’t mince words in his introduction, calling the program a “sleeping giant that is about to awaken” in the university press release. With more than 30 years of experience coaching basketball, Vaughn has the know-how to recruit Mississippi and build a winning program at the Division III level.
In addition to assistant coaching stints at the college level, Vaughn has extensive experience coaching at youth camps and founded the IJN Sports Amateur Athletic Union program and Academy, where he also served as a coach from 1998-2008. Additionally, Vaughn has experience at the semi-professional level as an assistant coach in the Continental Basketball Association and a head coach in the American Basketball Association and Tobacco Road Basketball League.
Most recently, Vaughn was on the staff at Millsaps College, where he served as a men’s assistant from 2018-22 before moving over to the women’s team in 2023. Under head coach Justin LeBlanc, the Majors won the Southern Athletic Association regular season and conference tournament and finished with a 24-5 record, losing to eventual national champions New York University in the NCAA Division III tournament.
The Majors also played a home-and-home series against the Owls last season, winning 61-48 and 72-55. Now, Vaughn will look to bring his winning experience to Columbus as he takes over what he sees as an already talented team with a new motto: Win Now.
“Winning is a mindset,” Vaughn said, “and we want to change our mindset to win now.”
The Owls program got off to a fast start, winning the 2019 United States Collegiate Athletic Association national championship in its very first season back. Since then the Owls women’s basketball team has just 17 wins in five seasons, including a winless 2022-23 campaign.
That change may not come overnight, but Vaughn doesn’t plan on waiting around.
“Our goal is to come in and win,” Vaughn told The Dispatch. “We’re going to work hard and play an exciting, fast-paced brand of basketball with high pressure on both offense and defense. We’re not going to try and trick anybody, we want to outscore people. At the end of the day we want to score, we want more possessions and to dictate the tempo.”
The change has been well received by the team, who are hungry to win games and put the program back on the right track.
“I’m excited to have him as our new coach,” Owls guard Conley Langford said. “In our brief conversations, I’ve seen that we have similar philosophies in how we approach basketball. I am most comfortable in a transition game because that is where I am most experienced. We are both highly competitive and want to win. Most importantly, we both put God first in all we do and give Him glory for everything. I believe he is fully invested in our program and its success. I am excited to see what the future holds.”
Langford has been a leader for the Owls since joining the program last season. She’s averaged about 19 points per game over two years and has All-American and All-Academic accolades to her name. She and the Owls haven’t had many wins to show for those efforts, though, and they’re bought in on the new mindset.
“I believe every player on our team wants to win,” Langford said. “We had a transitional year last year but I feel we are headed in the right direction, and that Coach Vaughn has the skill set, experience, and determination to take us to the next level.”
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