Women's Basketball
- Title:
- Head Women's Basketball Coach
- Email:
- MSUBobcatsWBB1@gmail.com
- Phone:
- 406.994.4442
When Tricia Binford took over the Montana State women’s basketball program in the spring of 2005, she inherited a program in search of stability and someone to guide the Bobcats back to the upper echelons of the Big Sky Conference.
Now, 21 years later, the former Boise State and WNBA standout is MSU’s longest tenured coach as well as its winningest in history with an unprecedented level of excellence on the court, in the classroom and within the community. Those three hallmarks make Bobcat basketball one of the most respected programs in the country.
For the past 18 years, Binford has not had a losing season, a stretch that ranks No. 1 in the annals of Bobcat women’s basketball. In 2024-25, Montana State averaged a Big Sky Conference and school-best 2,349 fans per game. The Bobcats have consistently been among the top 100 in the nation in attendance under Binford's watch.
To say Binford has turned MSU, Worthington Arena and the greater Gallatin Valley into a hot-bed for the sport is an understatement. Over the past 10 seasons the Bobcats have thrived in the warm confines of Worthington Arena. Since the 2014-15 season, Montana State has gone an impressive 114-28 (80.3%) overall and 82-19 (81.2%) in Big Sky Conference play on its home court. From the start of the 2015-16 Big Sky season to the beginning of 2017-18 in league play- MSU rattled off a 19-game home court win streak. In her 20 seasons at Montana State, Bobcat head coach Tricia Binford is 184-77 (70.5%) overall and 124-52 (70.5%) in Big Sky play in Worthington Arena.
In the last five seasons, no Big Sky Conference team has won more league games than the Bobcats. Montana State has racked up 84 Big Sky wins since the 2019-20 campaign. They are followed in the top five by Northern Arizona (76), Idaho (67), Montana (64), and Idaho State (64).
On the court, Binford’s squads have been a part of six championship games, winning the Big Sky Tournament title in 2017, 2022 and 2025. MSU has made 19 straight postseason appearances, including owning the No. 1 seed in 2016, 2017, 2020 and 2025. In the classroom, the Bobcats have been ranked among the top 15 academic teams in the nation at the NCAA Division I level on seven occasions. And, within the community, the women’s program has consistently given back its time.
A five-time Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year, Binford has notched 359 career victories at Montana State, which ranks first on MSU’s all-time basketball coaching ladder and second in league history. Against Weber State on Feb. 5, 2021, she guided the Bobcats to a 74-71 win en route to surpassing legendary coach and player Brick Breeden (283) for the top spot on Montana State’s all-time wins list for both men and women. Binford’s current total of 227 victories in Big Sky Conference play is second in league history behind Montana’s Robin Selvig.
Last winter, Montana State posted the best record in school history going 30-4 overall and 17-1 in Big Sky action. MSU's 30 wins are the most ever recorded by a women's team in the history of the Big Sky Conference.
In her 20 years in the Gallatin Valley, Binford has produced a whopping 150 Big Sky Conference All-Academic honorees; 43 Big Sky Conference Players of the Week; 42 All-Big Sky Conference performers; one Two-Time Academic All-America; six CoSIDA Academic All District VII recipients; four Big Sky MVPs: Fallyn Freije, Peyton Ferris, Jasmine Hommes and Esmeralda Morales; three Big Sky Tournament MVPs – Peyton Ferris, Darian White, and Esmeralda Morales; four Big Sky Conference Defensive Players of the Year; three Big Sky Newcomers of the Year; two Big Sky Conference Freshmen of the Year; four Big Sky Top Reserves of the Year; two All-America Honorable Mention in Katie Bussey in 2012 and Esmeralda Morales in 2025; and six MSU/Big Sky Conference Female Scholar Athletes of the Year.
Binford became the 11th Head Women’s Basketball Coach at Montana State on April 13, 2005. Prior to MSU, Binford, served two seasons at Utah State. At USU, Binford earned her coaching wings under head coach Raegan Scott-Pebley. The duo helped reestablish the Aggie program following a 16-year hiatus. With the Aggies, Binford was responsible for recruiting, defense, and guard play.
Binford, who also served as an assistant coach at her alma mater - Boise State University - from 1999-2001, was the 31st overall pick in the 1998 WNBA draft, and played professionally with the Cleveland Rockers from 1999-02, where she participated on the 2001 Eastern Conference Championship team. She played with the Utah Starzz from 1998-99. She also played professionally in Australia for two years, including stints with the NWBL’s Brisbane Blazers, Latrobe Demons and Launceston Tornadoes. Playing in the NWBL in 1997, she set a single-game scoring record with 67 points - which was part of a quadruple-double along with 14 assists, ten steals and ten rebounds.
As Tricia Bader, she was a three-time All-Big Sky Conference selection on some of the best teams in Boise State history. She led the Broncos to a national ranking and the NCAA tournament. Binford was also a member of the 1993 West Team at the U.S. Olympic Festival coached by current Connecticut head man Geno Auriemma. For her efforts, she was named the 1996 Idaho NCAA Woman of the Year and was inducted in the Boise State Hall of Fame in 2001. Binford left Boise State with the school’s career assists record and was second in steals. She posted a career 1,171 points — all from the point guard position.
Binford prepped at Roaring Fork High School in Carbondale, Colo., where she was the Colorado Player of the Year and a Street and Smith’s High School All-American in 1991. She received her degree in criminal justice from Boise State in 1995.
PERSONAL INFO: Born on Feb. 26, 1973 in Decatur, Ill....daughter of Jim and Lyn Bader...has a sister Kristin Hall and a brother Jeff...husband Todd graduated from Idaho (‘96)...two children, Justin and Brooklyn.
| 2005-06 | 3-23 | 2-12 | 8th | |
| 2006-07 | 13-16 | 8-8 | 5th | BSC Tournament |
| 2007-08 | 18-13 | 11-5 | 3rd | BSC Tournament |
| 2008-09 | 15-15 | 8-8 | 3rd | BSC Tournament |
| 2009-10 | 18-14 | 9-7 | 5th | BSC Tournament |
| 2010-11 | 17-14 | 11-5 | 3rd | BSC Tournament |
| 2011-12 | 19-11 | 10-6 | 3rd | BSC Tournament |
| 2012-13 | 17-13 | 11-9 | 6th | BSC Tournament |
| 2013-14 | 15-15 | 10-10 | 6th | BSC Tournament |
| 2014-15 | 15-15 | 9-9 | 5th | BSC Tournament |
| 2015-16 | 21-10 | 14-4 | 1st | BSC Champions; WNIT 1st Round (Utah) |
| 2016-17 | 25-7 | 15-3 | 1st | BSC Champions- NCAA 1st Round (Washington) |
| 2017-18 | 16-15 | 9-9 | 7th | BSC Tournament |
| 2018-19 | 16-15 | 11-9 | 5th | BSC Tournament |
| 2019-20 | 25-6 | 19-1 | 1st | BSC Champions - Covid-19; no NCAA Tournament |
| 2020-21 | 17-7 | 13-3 | 3rd | BSC Tournament |
| 2021-22 | 22-13 | 14-6 | 2nd | BSC Champions- NCAA 1st Round (Stanford) |
| 2022-23 | 20-13 | 13-5 | 1st | BSC Regular Season Co-Champions |
| 2023-24 | 17-16 | 10-8 | 4th | BSC Tournament |
| 2024-25 | 30-4 | 17-1 | 1st | BSC Champions; NCAA 1st Round (Ohio State) |
| Total | 359-253 | 224-128 | .587 Overall Winning Percentage |
