The 2025-26 season marks the second for Briley Palmer at the helm of Southeast Missouri Women’s Basketball.
Coach Palmer earned her first NCAA Division I victory on November 25, 2024, with a 70-58 victory over rival Southern Illinois in the home opener at the Show Me Center. On the season, the Redhawks finished the campaign with a 6-23 overall record and a 4-16 mark in OVC play.
SEMO swept the season series with SIUE, defeated Tennessee State in Nashville, and defeated Western Illinois at the Show Me Center for the four victories in conference play in Palmer’s first season at the helm.
Coach Palmer coached the second Ohio Valley Conference ‘Freshman of the Year’ in the program’s history in guard Zoe Best as she joined Tesia Thompson (2017-18) as the only other Redhawk to win the award. She was also selected to the OVC’s All-Newcomer team and was a second team All-OVC selection under Palmer’s guidance.
Briley Palmer was hired as the ninth head coach in Southeast Missouri women's basketball history on May 15, 2024.
A native of Farmington, Missouri, Palmer enters her first NCAA Division I job after spending four years as head coach at Mineral Area College which is located less than two hours away from Cape Girardeau.
There, she compiled an overall record of 77-40, including a 25-5 mark and second-place finish in the Missouri Community College Athletic Conference (MCCAC) in 2023-24. The Lady Cards, who concluded the season ranked 24th, spent 10 weeks in the NJCAA Top-25 Poll and put together a 14-0 home record. Their 25 victories tied a school record for most in a season. In all, Palmer coached 28 players who went on to play Division I basketball during her time at MAC.
Palmer was an assistant at MAC for eight years before being named head coach. She was instrumental in the Lady Cards winning the Region 16 title twice. During the 2014-15 campaign, Palmer helped MAC claim its first-ever Region 16 Championship. The Lady Cards ranked as high as #13 in the NJCAA Poll her first year as an assistant coach.
She played at both MAC and Christian Brothers University. Palmer finished a two-year stint with the Lady Cards ranked third in the nation in 3-point field goal percentage. Following her final two seasons of college basketball at CBU, she remained there to be a graduate assistant for one year.
Palmer graduated from Farmington High School in 2007. She led Farmington to its first district championship, 24-straight wins and a final four appearance in the state tournament as a senior. Along the way, she earned All-Region, All-District and All-Conference honors her final prep season.
She and her husband, Jimmy, have two daughters, Dayton, and Nola. Jimmy is the Athletic Director at North County High School.
Briley Palmer File
Hometown
Farmington, Mo.
Educational Background
High School: Farmington
College: Christian Brothers University (Memphis, Tenn.), 2011
Bachelor of Arts in Corporate Communication
Central Methodist University (Fayette, Mo.), 2016
Master of Arts in Education
Playing Experience
Mineral Area College (2007-09)
Christian Brothers University (2009-11)
Coaching Experience
2011-12 Assistant Coach/Graduate Assistant, Christian Brothers University
2012-20 Assistant Coach, Mineral Area College
2020-24 Head Coach, Mineral Area College
Year-by-Year Records Overall MCCAC
2020-21 9-13 7-8
2021-22 21-11 9-6
2022-23 22-11 8-4
2023-24 25-5 6-3 (2nd)
Total 77-40 30-21
Winning Percentage .658 .588
What they are saying about Briley Palmer . . .
"Southeast Missouri is getting a rising star in Briley Palmer. Her passion, work ethic and ability to build relationships will pay dividends right away. She understands what it takes to build a winning program as she has done that at Mineral Area College. Her energy is infectious, and she will no doubt make an immediate impact on the program and in the community. Her teams compete with energy, passion, and attention to detail in a relentless pursuit of winning championships."
Shauna Green
University of Illinois Head Women's Basketball Coach
"Briley Palmer is a home run hire for SEMO! She is a relentless worker, an incredible leader of young women and a tremendous coach. The Southeast Missouri community will absolutely love Coach Palmer, her contagious energy and the passion she has for basketball and developing student-athletes."
Hana Haden
Georgia Southern Head Women's Basketball Coach
"Coach Palmer has clearly been a successful coach on the sidelines for many years. What has impressed me is her desire to get better every day. She is a constant student of the game and pours passion into her program. She has always considered her players family and that will be a great foundation for a bright future."
Molly Miller
Grand Canyon University Head Women's Basketball Coach
