Michelle Clark-Heard

Biography

A 27-year collegiate coaching veteran who already has footprints of success at three previous stops as a head coach, Michelle Clark-Heard was announced as the 11th head coach in the history of the Mercer women’s basketball program on March 21, 2024. Clark-Heard made the move to Middle Georgia after spending the 2023-24 season on the staff at Mississippi State. She has amassed a 252-147 record in 13 seasons as a head coach, including previous stops at Kentucky State, Western Kentucky and Cincinnati, and has led her teams to seven postseason appearances, including four NCAA Tournament berths. She also has two regular season conference championships and a quartet of conference tournament titles in her stable as well. Clark-Heard served a hybrid position on the Mississippi State coaching staff this past season as both an assistant coach and the Assistant Athletics Director for Women’s Basketball. The Bulldogs flourished with her on the sidelines, amassing 21 victories and an appearance in the Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament (WBIT), while ranking among NCAA Division I’s top scoring and rebounding teams, as well as one of the nation’s top shot-blocking squads. Mississippi State also spent multiple weeks in both the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches Top 25 polls. Prior to trekking to eastern Mississippi, Clark-Heard compiled 74 wins across five seasons (2018-23) as the head coach at Cincinnati, including 20+-win campaigns in each of her first two seasons at the helm of