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Jody Adams (basketball)

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Jody Adams
Biographical details
Born (1972-12-28) December 28, 1972 (age 53)
Cleveland, Tennessee, U.S.
Playing career
1990–1994Tennessee
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1994–1996Auburn (Asst.)
1996–1997Wake Forest (Asst.)
1997–2000Minnesota (Asst.)
2000–2004UMKC (Assoc. HC)
2004–2007Southern Illinois (Assoc. HC)
2007–2008Murray State
2008–2017Wichita State
2018–2022Southern Illinois (Asst.)
2022–2026New Mexico State
Head coaching record
Overall245–195 (.557)

Jody Michelle Adams-Birch (born December 28, 1972)[1] is a women's basketball coach who was most recently the head coach at New Mexico State University.

Career

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Adams-Birch played high school basketball at Bradley Central High School in Cleveland, Tennessee, from 1987 to 1989. She was named All District, All Region and District MVP during those three years and was the Region Tournament MVP in 1988 and 1989. Adams-Birch was the first girl to receive the Steve Sloan award, given annually to the top athlete at Bradley Central.[2][3]

Adams-Birch played college basketball at the University of Tennessee under Coach Pat Summitt from 1990 to 1994. She was a four-year starting point guard for the Lady Volunteers and helped lead them to five SEC championships and the 1991 national championship.[2]

After one season (2007-08) as head women's basketball coach at Murray State University, Adams-Birch served as head coach at Wichita State University from 2008 to 2017.[4][5] She was also assistant coach at Southern Illinois University from 2018 to 2022.

She was hired as New Mexico State's women's basketball coach ahead of the 2022-23 season.[6] The Aggies reached the final of the 2023 Women's Basketball Invitational in her first season and the second round of the 2025 Women's National Invitation Tournament in her third season. She was fired following the 2025-26 season after a 9-21 campaign.[7]

Adams-Birch was hired as head girls basketball coach at her high school alma mater Bradley Central in May 2026.[2]

Personal life

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She married Roy Birch in June 2016.

Head coaching record

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Record table
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Murray State Racers (Ohio Valley Conference) (2007–2008)
2007–08 Murray State 24–815–5T–2ndNCAA First Round
Murray State: 24–8 (.750)15–5 (.750)
Wichita State Shockers (Missouri Valley Conference) (2008–2017)
2008–09 Wichita State 13–184–14T–9th
2009–10 Wichita State 18–158–106thWBI Second Round
2010–11 Wichita State 17–1510–85thWNIT First Round
2011–12 Wichita State 20–1312–63rdWNIT Second Round
2012–13 Wichita State 24–1015–3T–1stNCAA First Round
2013–14 Wichita State 26–714–4T–1stNCAA First Round
2014–15 Wichita State 29–517–11stNCAA First Round
2015–16 Wichita State 8–225–138th
2016–17 Wichita State 8–103–4
Wichita State: 163–115 (.586)88–63 (.583)
New Mexico State Aggies (WAC) (2022–2023)
2022–23 New Mexico State 18–1710–8T–5thWBI Runner-up
New Mexico State Aggies (Conference USA) (2023–2026)
2023–24 New Mexico State 13–186–10T–6th
2024–25 New Mexico State 18–1610–84thWNIT Second Round
2025–26 New Mexico State 9–215–1311th
New Mexico State: 58–72 (.446)31–39 (.443)
Total:245–195 (.557)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

References

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  1. "Women's Basketball Coaches Career". NCAA. Retrieved September 29, 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 WTVC (May 20, 2026). "Bradley Central High names Jody Adams Bearettes head coach, replacing Jason Reuter". WTVC. Retrieved May 21, 2026.
  3. Cannon, Joe (April 17, 2024). "Steve Sloan leaves impressive legacy". ClevelandBanner.com. Retrieved May 21, 2026.
  4. Jody Adams
  5. Suellentrop, Paul (January 22, 2017). "Jody Adams-Birch out at Wichita State, replaced by Linda Hargrove for rest of season". kansas.com. Retrieved February 11, 2017.
  6. Wagner, Stephen (March 31, 2022). "Former Wichita State coach Jody Adams-Birch hired as NMSU women's basketball coach". Las Cruces Sun-News. Retrieved March 8, 2026.
  7. Coppola, Nick (March 8, 2026). "New Mexico State fires women's basketball coach Jody Adams". Las Cruces Sun-News. Retrieved March 8, 2026.