Columbia News

University of Missouri women's basketball has announced the addition of Liza Fruendt to its coaching staff as an assistant coach. Head coach Kellie Harper confirmed the appointment on Friday.

Fruendt previously played under Harper at Missouri State and later worked with her for three seasons at Tennessee.

"Liza has infectious energy and passion for the game," Harper said. "She cares deeply about student-athletes and builds bonds on and off the court. After working together, she is comfortable in our system and knows what it takes to build a successful program. Liza is a person of high character and a rising star in this profession."

Before joining Missouri, Fruendt served as an assistant coach at Illinois during the 2024-25 season. During her tenure, Illinois reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament, finishing with a 22-10 overall record and an 11-7 mark in Big Ten Conference play.

While working with Harper at Tennessee, Fruendt contributed to back-to-back NCAA Sweet 16 appearances in 2022 and 2023. In 2024, Tennessee produced its fourth consecutive first-round WNBA Draft pick. The Lady Vols finished the 2023-24 season with a 20-13 record, went 10-6 in Southeastern Conference games, reached the SEC Tournament semifinals, won their NCAA Tournament First Round matchup against Green Bay, but were eliminated by NC State in the Second Round.

Fruendt was also involved in recruiting efforts at Tennessee, helping secure the No. 6 transfer class in 2023 and bringing in several top-rated players including Rickea Jackson (No. 4), Jasmine Powell (No. 12), Jasmine Franklin (No. 16), and Kaniya Boyd (No. 35 espnW 100) as part of the group in 2022.

She joined Tennessee's staff as director of recruiting operations prior to the 2021-22 season and was promoted to assistant coach after new NCAA legislation took effect on July 1, 2023.

Before her time at Tennessee, Fruendt worked as a senior associate consultant for Cerner Corporation during the 2020-21 academic year and spent two seasons as a graduate assistant with Kansas City's women's basketball program.

As a player under Harper at Missouri State, Fruendt received multiple honors including selection to the Missouri Valley Conference All-Freshman Team (2015), All-MVC First Team (2017, 2018), and MVC Scholar-Athlete First Team (2017, 2018).

Fruendt is originally from Batavia, Illinois. She graduated from Missouri State in 2018 with a bachelor's degree in business administration and earned an MBA from Kansas City in 2020.

Season tickets for Missouri women's basketball's upcoming season are now available starting at $65. Current ticket holders can renew through their Mizzou Tigers ticket account.