Bailey resigns as QU women’s basketball coach, takes over as head coach at Drury

QUINCY — The job Kaci Bailey did of pulling the Quincy University women’s basketball program from the dregs in just two seasons didn’t go unnoticed.

It’s why the Hawks are in the market for a new coach already.

Bailey tendered her resignation Tuesday and was introduced Wednesday morning as the new head coach at Drury University, replacing former QU assistant Amy Eagan in that role. Eagan, a Shelby County native and Truman State Hall of Fame player, left Drury last week to become the head coach at NCAA Division I Lindenwood.

“I got asked a lot through this process, ‘Why Drury?’” Bailey said during her introductory press conference in Springfield, Mo. “Why not? Drury women’s basketball is a brand. I used that word a lot I think when I was on campus with people. … It is a brand wanted by all, but few are able to reach.

“This is the most successful Division II program in the country, and I’m honored to take over the reins today and follow in some very good footsteps.”

A press conference is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Thursday for Quincy University athletic director Josh Rabe to discuss the future of the women’s basketball coaching position.

Bailey replaced Jeni Garber at Quincy in April 2021 after the Hawks endured five consecutive losing seasons. They were 2-18 during the 2020-21 season, the second-worst single-season record in program history.

She led the Hawks to a 9-20 record in her first season at the helm and engineered a 13-16 season last season as QU earned a spot in the eight-team Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament for the first time since 2016.

“We knew that this was going to be a heavy lift to get back to the postseason, and we did it in two short years,” Rabe said. “We wish her nothing but the best.”

QU’s season ended with a 79-78 loss to top-seeded Drury in the tournament opener.

“I was looking for the right fit at this moment,” Drury athletic director Nyla Milleson said. “Kaci Bailey is a proven winner on the court, but more importantly, a proven winner in life.”

At Drury, Bailey will be reunited with Milleson, who was the head women’s basketball coach at George Mason from 2013-21 with Bailey on her staff from 2017-21.

“Kaci is someone I have gone to battle with, that I’ve been in the trenches with, that I have leaned on in a timeout,” Milleson said. “There is no one, and I mean no one, who has more passion and fire for what she believes in.”

Bailey played collegiately at Southern Illinois University, where she was the Salukis’ top 3-point shooter as a senior and led the Missouri Valley Conference in 3-point percentage (46 percent). 

After graduating in 2009, she went into coaching.

After two years as a graduate assistant at Arkansas-Monticello, she became an assistant at Henderson State. In 2013-14, she served as the interim head coach at Henderson State, guiding the Reddies to a 13-14 record. From there, she moved on to serve in assistant roles at Central Arkansas and Wichita State.