In less than a week’s time, ULM women’s basketball installed their new head coach, Scotty Fletcher. His hiring comes after the resignation of Missy Bilderback, who spent two seasons with ULM and ended her tenure at the end of March with a 32-33 record. When describing the potential of ULM women’s basketball at his press conference, Fletcher deemed the program a “gold mine.”
A native of Petal, Mississippi, Fletcher’s coaching experience stretches across his home state. He launched his career in 2007 at Ole Miss as a graduate assistant for the men’s basketball team under then-head coach Andy Kennedy.
After one season with the Rebels, Fletcher ventured roughly four hours south of Ole Miss to serve as an assistant coach for the William Carey men’s basketball team for two separate terms. His first term was from 2008-2009, and his second term spanned from 2011-2015. Upon his return in 2011, the Crusaders saw a substantial increase in overall win percentage from 2011-2014 (a 0.484 difference between the 2011-2012 season and the 2013-2014 season specifically). Fletcher’s leadership also allowed the Crusaders to maintain a 74-20 overall record during his 2011 to 2015 term.
Between his two appearances at William Carey, Fletcher became the assistant coach for the Jacksonville State men’s basketball team from 2009-2011. While there, he helped lead the Gamecocks to their first Ohio Valley Conference Tournament after not qualifying over a five-year slump.
From 2015 -2025, Fletcher resided as the head coach of the Pearl River women’s basketball team. Under his reign, the Wildcats secured four consecutive 20-win seasons and three MACCC regular season championships. Because of his remarkable success, Fletcher earned the Co-MACCC Coach of the Year award in 2024 and the MACCC Coach of the Year award in 2025.
During his induction press conference, Fletcher spoke about the mentality he would like to add to the ULM women’s basketball program.
“There are two types of people in life: the people that want things to happen and people that make things happen,” Fletcher said.
“We make things happen; we’re a staff that’s going to get more done with less.”
He concluded by providing a brief overview of the upcoming style of play from the Warhawks next season.
“We’re going to be very aggressive on the defensive end; we will get down and guard for 94 feet, and we’ll have active hands.”
As a final note, it must be said that recruitment will heavily influence the upcoming success the program has, as senior players comprised most of last season’s team. Though the rebuilding process may not happen overnight, a promising future awaits the ULM women’s basketball program as Fletcher takes on his new role on the Bayou.
