Simon Harris Returns to NC State Women’s Basketball as an Assistant
RALEIGH – Simon Harris will make his return to Raleigh as an assistant coach for the NC State women’s basketball team, as announced by head coach Wes Moore on Wednesday. Harris, who was a letterwinner on the NC State men’s basketball team, was previously an assistant on Moore’s staff from 2018-20.
“We’re excited to bring a member of the Wolfpack family back home,” said Moore. “Simon brings a lot of Power Four experience, including a previous stint here with our program, which will allow him to hit the ground running. As a former athlete at NC State himself, he will also be a good resource for our student-athletes as they look to excel on the court and in the classroom.”
While Harris was an assistant at NC State, the 2019-20 squad won the 2020 ACC Tournament title, marking the program’s first conference tournament championship since 1991. That team recorded a 28-4 record (14-4 in ACC) and finished eighth in the AP Top 25, its second straight year ending the season in the top 10 final rankings and its best AP poll finish since 1990-91.
In Harris’ first season at NC State in 2018-19, that team advanced to its second consecutive NCAA Sweet 16 and achieved the longest winning streak in program history (21 games) with the best start in a season in school history (21-0).
Following his first stint as an assistant coach in Raleigh, Harris served as an assistant coach at Ohio State from 2020-21, guiding the Buckeyes into one of the top offensive teams in the country, as OSU ranked ninth in the country in scoring and 20th in pace of play.
Harris was the head coach of ETSU from 2021-22 and spent the last two seasons, 2023-25, on Loyola Chicago’s staff as an assistant coach.
Harris also served as an assistant coach at Dayton with the women’s basketball program from 2014-18. The Flyers earned three NCAA Tournament appearances, one Elite Eight showing (2015), four postseason berths and a combined 87-39 record. Prior to working with the women’s program, Harris spent three seasons with the Dayton men’s program under head coach Archie Miller.
A former student-athlete, Harris played two seasons for the Pack from 2007-09 after transferring from Elon, where he played from 2004-06. Harris graduated with a bachelor’s degree in sociology from NC State in 2008. He went on to play one season of professional basketball in Ireland during the 2009-10 season.