Mississippi College has tabbed Rachel Travis as its new head women’s basketball coach, bringing the Division I assistant to lead the Division II program in Clinton.
Travis, who has over a decade of experience on both the high school and collegiate levels, served as an assistant at Tulsa a season ago and helped lead the Golden Hurricane to a berth in the WNIT.
She takes over for Greg Long, who coached the Choctaws for the past five seasons and recently departed the program for the College of Charleston.
“What a gift – I am honored to be named women’s basketball coach at Mississippi College,” Travis said. “Deep thanks to the search committee, (Mississippi College athletic director) Kenny Bizot, (associate athletic director) Susan Musselwhite, and President Blake Thompson for their belief in me.
“I am grateful to Greg Long and his staff for their work over the past five seasons. To my mentors, colleagues, and friends, thank you for your support. God has truly blessed me. To our team, thank you for the warm welcome. I am excited to begin this next chapter with all of you and this incredible community.”
Previous coaching stops for Travis include Austin Peay, South Alabama, and Longwood University. At USA, she was promoted to associate head coach and has “established herself as a relentless recruiter and mentor dedicated to helping student-athletes thrive both on and off the court,” per the announcement from Mississippi College.
Travis also spent time coaching prep ball, serving as program director and varsity head coach at Eagle Point High School in Oregon and Florida Air Academy. Multiple players achieved all-conference status and broke school records under her leadership.
“We are thrilled to welcome Rachel to the Mississippi College family,” Bizot said. “Her energy and enthusiasm are contagious, and her connections across the country make her a dynamic recruiter. She has a clear vision for building a championship-caliber program that reflects the values of our university.”
Travis, a graduate of Northwest University, has already begun compiling her staff. Kāvonne Towns was announced as the program’s new associate head coach and recruiting coordinator after most recently working as an assistant coach at Jacksonville State.
In 2024-25, Mississippi College compiled a 15-14 overall record – the most wins since the program returned to Division II a decade ago – and appeared in the Gulf South Conference tournament.
