Baylor's Kim Mulkey becomes the fastest Division I basketball coach to reach 600 wins

The No. 2 Baylor Lady Bears pulled away late Tuesday night in Lubbock, Texas, capturing a 77-62 victory over Texas Tech for their 17th straight win this season.

In the triumph, Baylor head coach Kim Mulkey accomplished something that no other Division I basketball coach — in the men’s or women’s game — has done before.

By beating Texas Tech, Mulkey won her 600th game as a head coach. She is the fastest to reach that win total, doing so in just 700 games across 20 seasons.

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She edges out Kentucky legend Adolph Rupp, who reached the mark in 704 games across 28 seasons with the Wildcats’ men’s team. On the women’s side, Mulkey reached the mark in 16 fewer games than UConn’s Geno Aurriemma, who passed 600 wins in his 22nd season in 2006.

Mulkey, 57, became the head coach at Baylor in 2000 after spending 15 years as an assistant coach at Louisiana Tech, her alma mater. Mulkey won a pair of national championships as a player at Louisiana Tech, one as an assistant, and has led Baylor to three national championships.

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Additionally, in her 20 seasons at the helm of the Lady Bears, Mulkey has captured 10 Big 12 titles, three USBWA Coach of the Year Awards and seven Big 12 Coach of the Year Awards. The Lady Bears have missed the NCAA tournament just once since she became head coach. Baylor has appeared in at least the Sweet 16 in each season since 2009.

After beating Texas Tech, Mulkey has a career winning percentage of .857 and an overall record of 600-100.

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This year — a season in which they are defending a national championship — the Lady Bears are 24-1 and 13-0 in Big 12 play. Statistically, they sport the fourth-best offense in the nation and the second-best defense in the nation, scoring 83.3 points per-game while allowing 50.9 points per-game.

They have been powered by sophomore NaLyssa Smith, who is averaging 14.9 points and 8.3 rebounds per-game. Baylor’s versatile attack has five players averaging double-digits in scoring.

Mulkey and Baylor will look to increase their win total on Saturday in a home contest against Oklahoma.

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