Sytia Messer

Sytia Messer (pronounced sit-TEE-uh) enters her fourth season as head coach of the UCF Knights. A 24-year coaching veteran, Messer was named the 13th head coach in UCF women’s basketball history on April 3, 2022.

In her second season at UCF, Messer led the Knights to a record-breaking 8–0 start to the 2023–24 campaign. Her debut season featured a 6–0 start—the program’s second-best since a 7–0 opening in 1984–85. Messer also helped guide the Knights through their inaugural season in the Big 12 Conference, producing an All-Big 12 Second Team selection in league-leading scorer Kaitlyn Peterson.

Messer came to UCF following a season as associate head coach at LSU (2021–22) under Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer and AP National Coach of the Year Kim Mulkey. Before that, she spent eight seasons as an assistant coach on Mulkey’s staff at Baylor (2013–21), helping the Bears compile a remarkable 260–23 (.918) record, including eight Big 12 regular-season titles, six conference tournament championships, an NCAA title in 2019, and six Elite Eight appearances.

During her time at Baylor, Messer was instrumental in recruiting and scouting. She helped sign the nation’s No. 1 recruiting classes in 2016 and 2018, and the No. 2 class in 2015. Her efforts brought in 15 top-50 players and 14 McDonald’s All-Americans. Under her development, nine players were selected in the WNBA Draft, including Odyssey Sims (No. 2 overall in 2014), Alexis Jones (No. 12 in 2017), Kalani Brown (No. 7 in 2019), and Lauren Cox (No. 3 in 2020). Messer also played a key role in developing 2020 Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Didi Richards and 2021 Wade Trophy winner and Big 12 Player of the Year NaLyssa Smith.

Baylor’s success during Messer’s tenure included six straight seasons of 32 or more wins, highlighted by a 37–1 record in 2018–19. Her coaching résumé at Baylor also featured 23 NCAA Tournament victories, 73 All-Big 12 selections, 20 All-America honorees, five Big 12 Players of the Year, 26 Academic All-Big 12 selections, and eight players on AP All-America teams, including first-teamers Sims (2014), Nina Davis (2014), Cox (2020), and Smith (2021, 2022).

Prior to her time at Baylor, Messer served as head coach at Tennessee Tech from 2009 to 2012. There, she led the Golden Eagles to a 54–41 record (.568), including a 23–8 mark in 2010–11, an Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) regular-season championship, and two postseason appearances (WNIT in 2011, WBI in 2012). She was named the 2011 OVC Coach of the Year.

Her earlier assistant coaching stops include Arkansas State (2000–02), where she began her coaching career, Memphis (2002–04), where she helped lead the Tigers to a 21–10 record and a WNIT appearance in 2003, and Georgia Tech (2004–09, 2012–13), where she played a key role on three straight NCAA Tournament teams from 2007 to 2009.

As a player, Messer starred at the University of Arkansas from 1995 to 1999, helping the Razorbacks reach the NCAA Final Four in 1998—the program’s first ever. She was named Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA West Regional that year after scoring 24 points in a win over Kansas and leading Arkansas past Duke. That Razorback squad, seeded ninth, became the first unranked team in the modern era to reach the Final Four.

Messer finished her career ranked in the program’s top 10 in points (1,379) and rebounds (603). She was a two-time team captain, a 1996 SEC All-Freshman honoree, and helped Arkansas win the 1999 WNIT title. She was inducted into the Razorbacks Hall of Honor in 2018 and named an SEC Legend in 2012.

She graduated from Arkansas in 2000 with a Bachelor of Science degree in kinesiology. Messer also played for Athletes in Action, both as a collegiate and post-graduate player, and completed the Center for Coaching Excellence program in 2012. She has served as an honorary chair for Habitat for Humanity and remains an influential voice in women’s basketball.

Sytia Messer – Head Coaching Record