Emporia State University Women's Basketball

Emporia State University Director of Athletics David Spafford has announced that Melissa (MJ) Baker has been named the ninth head coach of the Lady Hornet basketball program. An introductory press conference will be held on late next week in the Sauder Alumni Center on the Emporia State campus. “I am honored and humbled to accept the role as Head Coach of the historic Lady Hornet Basketball program at Emporia State University,” said Baker. “I want to express my deepest gratitude to President Ken Hush, Director of Athletics David Spafford, and Senior Associate AD Steve Rodecap for believing in me and entrusting me with this incredible opportunity.” Baker has won 334 games as a collegiate coach and comes to Emporia State after an eight year run at Eastern Florida State College.  She went 183-58 with three conference championships and three trips to the NJCAA Division I National Tournament during her time.  She led the Titans to a 33-2 record and national semifinal appearance in 2023. “Very excited to have Coach MJ join Hornet Nation to lead our Lady Hornet Women’s Basketball program,”  said Spafford. "Coach Baker’s high energy, enthusiasm, integrity, passion for the game, work ethic and her ability to continually bring her programs to compete at a championship level year in and out were all factors in our process." A winner at every stop along her coaching career, Baker has led every team she has coached to a conference championship and at least one 20 win season.  A proven recruiter and developer of talent, 41 of her players at Eastern Florida have received full ride scholarships at four year institutions with 24 going on to NCAA Division I. Each of her Titan squads has produced at least a 3.2 team GPA with her 2021 team posting a 3.84 to rank second in the nation in the NJCAA.  At this year's Women’s Final Four in Tampa, Baker was presented the Kay Yow “Heart of a Coach Award by the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Named for the late North Carolina State coaching icon Kay Yow, the “Heart of a Coach” Award is presented annually by FCA to honor a basketball coach who has exemplified biblical principles over the course of his or her career. Baker has been the Director of the Eastern Florida FCA Chapter for the last two years. In that capacity she has organized and run one to two huddle meetings a month for all of the student-athletes on the ESFC campus. “I would like to take a moment to sincerely thank Eastern Florida State College for the opportunity to be part of such an incredible community,” said Baker. “I’m especially grateful to Athletic Director Jeff Carr and President Jim Richey for their belief in me, their support, and the chance to lead and grow within a first-class athletic department. It has truly been a blessing.” Prior to Eastern Florida, Baker spent three seasons at Broward College. She went 65-20 with two conference championships in her three years in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. She spent three seasons at NAIA member Bluefield College. She led the Lady Rams to a 51-46 record with a pair of runner-up conference finishes.  In her final two seasons at the Virginia school, Baker led Bluefield to three wins over Top 25 teams. Baker’s first collegiate coaching stop was at Spartanburg Methodist in Spartanburg, S.C.  After going 14-13 in her first season she took the Pioneers to a 21-11 overall record and undefeated conference championship in her second year. Baker began her head coaching career at John Curtis HS in River Ridge, La., winning back to back state championships in 2008 and 2009. As a player, Baker excelled both on and off the court and still holds season and career records for rebounding and blocked shots at the University of West Florida, where she was an honorable mention All-American as well as the UWF Female Athlete of the Year in 2005. She also was the Female Scholar Athlete of the Year in 2004 and made the Gulf South Conference All-Academic team in 2005. A native of Delaware, Ohio, Baker earned a bachelors in Psychology at West Florida, graduating Magna Cum Laude. Following her college career, Baker played professionally in Germany. Baker and her husband, Ganon, have three children, Kayonna, Kalel and Espn. “My family and I are thrilled to join the Emporia State community,” said Baker. “We are excited about the future and truly grateful to be part of a university with such rich tradition and passionate support.”  

Boland is in his first year with the Lady Hornets and comes to Emporia State after serving as an assistant at Johnson County CC, Pittsburg State and Henderson State since 2014.     "Bringing Josh Boland on staff is a big-time addition for our program," said Baker. "Coming from a championship culture at Johnson County, he's a relentless student of the game and one of the hardest workers you'll find. There's no question—we got better the day Josh joined us."   Over two stints with Johnson County CC, Boland spent six seasons on the Lady Cavaliers bench winning two national championships with another NJCAA runner-up finish. He was on the bench for JCCC's national championship last season after serving on the staff at Henderson State. The Reddies went 20-12, won the GAC Tournament and advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2023-24. He stepped away from coaching from 2021-23 and served as an admissions counselor for Drury and Kansas State.  He was on the staff of MIAA member Pittsburg State as a student assistant from 2019-21. He began his coaching career at Johnson County CC in 2014-15. In his first five seasons, JCCC went 150-19 while winning the 2015 NJCAA national Championships, finishing second in 2017 and picking up two Jayhawk Conference titles. The Overland Park, Kan. native was a student manager at Johnson County from 2008-11 with the Cavaliers going 81-23 with three Region VI Division II titles.   "This is a great opportunity here at ESU. I'm excited to be a part of the tradition of excellence that is Lady Hornet Basketball," said Boland. "I have immense respect for Coach MJ and Coach Tay and couldn't be more excited to work with and grow as a coach with them. I couldn't thank Coach (Ben) Conrad at JCCC enough for the opportunity he gave me in my coaching career along with Coach (Jill) Thomas at Henderson State and Coach (Amanda) Davied at Pitt State."

Jones is in her first year with Lady Hornets but is no stranger to Coach Baker. "Adding Taylor Jones to our staff is a huge win. She's one of the most brilliant minds in the game—elite in player development, tireless in her work ethic, and someone I trust completely," said Baker. "As a head coach, that trust means everything. We've been in the mud together at Eastern Florida for two years, and there's no doubt she made me and our program better every single day."   Jones follows Baker to Emporia State after spending the previous two years at Eastern Florida.  Over the last two seasons the Titans went 49-14 with a 34-5 record in conference play including an undefeated 21-0 conference record in 2023-24. Jones was at Eastern Florida for two seasons, appearing in 28 games as a sophomore.  She finished her career in NCAA Division II at Lynn University of the Sunshine State Conference averaging 10.4 points per game in her final collegiate season.    "I'm incredibly honored to join the Emporia State Women's Basketball program as an assistant coach," said Jones. "This is a storied program with a tradition of excellence, and I'm excited to contribute to the growth and success of our student-athletes on and off the court. I look forward to continuing working alongside Coach MJ and being part of the Lady Hornet family."