Lilburn “Ray” Harper, Class of 1985
Ray grew up in the small Muhlenberg County town of Bremen, Kentucky. His father was a coal miner and his mom stayed home to care for the house and children. It was a very normal small town, Kentucky upbringing with church every Sunday and a lot of sports. His sisters, Darlene, and Sheila, were both cheerleaders and Ray played basketball, baseball and ran cross country. Ray didn’t have any chores as a child – his only requirement was to shoot basketball and make one hundred free throws every day because practice makes perfect. At 10 years old, Ray served as the bat boy for his father’s Babe Ruth State Championship team. This taught him how to win championships and strive for nothing less. He has never lost that winning attitude that was instilled in him by his father.
A 1985 graduate of Kentucky Wesleyan, Harper was a two-year starter for the Panthers after transferring from Texas. He became the school’s first All-American as a senior, and he also earned most outstanding player in the regional as well as all-region and all-conference accolades. The 1981 Southwest Conference Rookie of the Year at Texas after averaging 9.8 points and 3.9 assists per outing, Harper finished his college career with 1,187 points and 605 assists at the two schools.
A coaching veteran of over 30 years in the collegiate ranks, Harper boasts an overall record of 563 -221. This career includes four national championships.
In the 9 years as head coach at Kentucky Wesleyan, Ray laid claim to seven NCAA coaching records, surpassing Division I record holder in all instances, becoming the fastest to 200 wins, holding the most consecutive 30-win seasons (6) and compiling the most wins in each of the first four-through-eight seasons of his career.
Ray coached the Panthers in 6 straight NCAA Division II national championship games between 1998 and 2003. They won two national championships in those years, 1999 and 2001. He became the first NCAA head coach since John Wooden to appear in six-straight NCAA National Championship games.
The NCAA requires a minimum of 10 seasons at the Division II level to officially qualify for its list of head coaching records, but Harper’s nine-year record of 247-46 at Kentucky Wesleyan would give him the best winning percentage in Division II history at .843.
At Kentucky Wesleyan, Ray coached two National Players of the Year, seven All-Americans and nine NABC Great Lakes All-Region players. He had eleven players selected for the All-Great Lakes Valley Conference and two that were named the league’s player of the year.
Through seven seasons, he had more victories than any coach at the NCAA Division I and II levels (210). Harper reached two hundred wins in 224 games, which was faster than the NCAA Division I record holder and Hall of Famer Clair Bee, who won 200 in 231 games.
On February 17, 2008, Harper’s number 12 jersey was retired at Kentucky Wesleyan, and the floor at Jones Gymnasium was named “Ray Harper Court.” He was inducted into the Kentucky Wesleyan Athletic Hall of Fame in 2013 and named the College’s Outstanding Alumnus in 2023.
After leaving Kentucky Wesleyan, Ray has continued coaching success at Oklahoma City University, Western Kentucky University and is currently the Men’s Basketball Coach at Jacksonville State University in Alabama. He has earned numerous awards and accolades including:
- Two-time National Coach of the Year
- GLVC Coach of the Year
- NAIA National Coach of the Year in 2007 and 2008
- ASUN Coach of the Year in 2022
In addition to his NCAA Division II Championships, Ray has also coached teams to the NAIA Tournament Championship in 2007 and 2008, Sunbelt Conference Championship in 2012 and 2013, OVC Tournament Championship in 2017 and ASUN Conference Championship in 2022.
He is happily married to his wife, Shannon.
Ray Harper is an enormous competitor who competes at the highest level in everything he does. He has the unique talent of coaching his players to compete at this same level. Ray is a champion’s champion and a Kentucky Wesleyan icon.