Southeastern University Women's Basketball

Joshua Epperson enters his second season leading the Fire in 2025-26, building on an impressive debut campaign at the helm of Southeastern Women’s Basketball. In his first season, Epperson guided the Fire to a 24-7 overall record, highlighted by a trip to the Sun Conference Championship and an appearance in the NAIA National Tournament First Round. Under his leadership, four players earned First-Team All-Sun Conference honors, while six student-athletes were recognized as Sun Conference All-Academic and NAIA Daktronics Scholar-Athletes. Two Fire players also received CSC Academic All-District recognition, reflecting the program’s commitment to excellence on and off the court. Epperson arrived at Southeastern following a successful tenure at Freed-Hardeman University, where he served as head coach from 2020 to 2024. During his four seasons with the Lady Lions, Epperson led the program to three consecutive NAIA National Tournament appearances. His 2023 squad captured the Mid-South Conference Tournament Championship for the first time in program history and advanced to the second round of the national tournament after defeating their opening-round opponent. That season, the Lady Lions also posted the ninth-highest team GPA in the NAIA, and Epperson was named a finalist for the WBCA National Coach of the Year. Before his time at Freed-Hardeman, Epperson was the first assistant and recruiting director at NCAA Division II Trevecca Nazarene University, where he directed the team’s offensive system and coordinated recruiting efforts. He also spent a decade coaching high school basketball in Tennessee, earning multiple district titles at Cumberland County and Unicoi County. Epperson began his coaching career as a graduate assistant with the men's team at NCAA Division II Lubbock Christian University, where the team spent most of the season ranked among the nation’s Top 25. He and his wife, Kelly, have two daughters, Caroline and Annabelle.

Alexis Tappe joins the Fire Women's Basketball staff. Tappe arrives from Missouri Valley College, where she served as an assistant coach for three seasons. Under her leadership, the Vikings steadily improved and reached new heights in 2023–24, finishing with 22 wins—the second-highest single-season win total in program history.  Tappe also brings a strong playing background, having competed for four years at Northern State University.