Tyra Perry Wins #600: Five Fast Facts

Illinois coach Tyra Perry recorded the 600th win of her head coaching career on Sunday.

The Fighting Illini leader reached the milestone victory with a win over Liberty in a neutral-site matchup on Sunday morning in Clemson, South Carolina.

As the veteran coach celebrates her milestone achievement, here are Five Fast Facts about her and her career.

1. She is in her seventh season as the Fighting Illini head coach.

Perry took over the Illini program in the summer of 2015 and has led the squad ever since. She took the program to the NCAA tournament in back-to-back seasons in 2016 and ’17 and returned in 2019.

2. She is one of three active head coaches to take three separate programs to the NCAA tournament.

Before taking the reins at Illinois, Perry was the head coach at Ball State and Western Kentucky. She took the Ball State Cardinals to the NCAA tournament in 2015 and led WKU to the postseason in 2013. After leading Illinois to the postseason in 2016, Perry is now one of three active coaches to lead three separate Division 1 programs to the NCAA tournament as head coach.

3. She is a three-time conference Coach of the Year.

During her tenures at both Ball State and Western Kentucky, Perry was recognized with a Coach of the Year award. She was named the MAC Coach of the Year in 2014 while at Ball State, and she earned the award twice while at WKU, in both 2009 and 2013 from Conference USA.

4. She has been an athletic administrator in addition to coaching.

While at Birmingham-Southern, where she served as head coach for seven years at the beginning of her career, Perry also took on the titles of Assistant Athletic Director/Senior Woman Administrator and was BSC’s compliance director.

5. She was part of the first-ever LSU team to reach the NCAA tournament.

After beginning her playing career at Nicholls State in the late 1990s, Perry sat out the 1996 season and played two years at LSU in 1997 and ’98. She led the Tigers with a .345 batting average and 11 home runs during her junior year, and again led the team in home runs as a senior. She helped lead the Tigers to two SEC West Division titles and the program’s first NCAA tournament berth.