ADRIAN — The Adrian College women’s basketball program is under new leadership for the first time since 1992 as Sam Miller was recently named head coach.
Miller, who replaced Kathy Morris after she stepped down in late May after 31 seasons leading the Bulldogs, is a former Bulldog himself.
“My family and I are incredibly grateful for the opportunity to return to Adrian College to lead the women’s basketball program,” Miller said in a press release. “As alumni of the college, to say that my wife and I feel pride in returning to AC is a massive understatement. We truly love this place and most everything we have together can be attributed to the foundation and support that AC affords all of its students, both in their time on campus and as graduates.”
Miller graduated from Adrian College in 2010 and was a member of the men’s basketball team from 2006-08. His wife Jennifer was a member of the women’s basketball team from 2006-10.
Since graduating, Miller received his masters in coaching sport performance from Western Michigan and began building his impressive coaching resume.
Most recently, he was director of scouting and video operations for the women’s basketball team at North Carolina from 2021-23 and was an assistant coach, recruiting coordinator and video coordinator at Duke from 2016-20.
He began his coaching career as a graduate assistant on the Western Michigan men’s basketball team, worked for Erie Bayhawks of the G-League and as an assistant coach at Kalamazoo College.
“We are very happy to welcome Coach Miller back to Adrian College,” athletic director Craig Rainey said in the release. “Miller’s experience in collegiate coaching at the NCAA Division I level is something we are excited to have. We love that coach Miller has a connection to Adrian College and had a great experience as a student-athlete where he wanted to return home. We are looking forward to future of our women’s basketball program.”
Miller replaces Morris, who left as the winningest coach in program history. Morris’ teams went 332-461 during her tenure.
The Bulldogs haven’t won the MIAA title since 1991. Miller becomes only the sixth head coach in program history, which dates back to 1961.
“Thank you to president Docking, coach Rainey, Meg Sharp and the coaches on the hiring committee for entrusting me with the future success of this program as the head coach,” Miller said in the release. “Adrian has everything necessary to develop great student-athletes on and off the court, and the women’s basketball program will maximize all that we have in our pursuit of academic and basketball excellence. We look forward to building a culture of togetherness, positivity, and an appreciation for the process required to achieve our goals.”