Terrence Baxter enters his fifth season (2025-26) with the North Carolina Central women's basketball program, including his third as head coach. He served as an assistant coach at NCCU for two seasons before being promoted.
The 2024-25 season provided several highlights for Baxter and his team. Four Eagles garnered postseason conference honors including Morgan Callahan, who was a second-team All-MEAC selection and All-Defensive Team pick. Kyla Bryant joined Callahan on the second team and Jada Tiggett also made the All-Defensive Team. Shakiria Foster landed on the All-Rookie squad.
Baxter has been instrumental in the development of Callahan, who reached the 1000-point, 600-rebound mark last season. She is only the fourth NCCU player in the Division I era to reach both milestones.
Bryant was the MEAC season tri-leader in points scored during a game with 32 against Maryland Eastern Shore on Jan. 11, 2025. She also led the MEAC with the most assists in one game last season with 12 versus Morgan State on Jan. 7, 2025. Tiggett tied the MEAC for the most blocks in one game last season with 6 on three different occasions. Only one other player in the conference had six blocks in a game.
Nine players made the MEAC All-Academic team, including Aysia Hinton who was named an Academic All-District Women's Basketball honoree by the College Sports Communicators (CSC).
The Eagles were competitive in the MEAC, posting a 6-8 conference mark despite lacking experience and depth. They qualified for the MEAC Tournament, playing in the quarterfinal round.
In his first season as head coach, NCCU women's basketball set numerous modern era records.
Baxter guided the Eagles to a 16-15 overall record in 2023-24, which is the programs first winning season since joining the MEAC in 2011-12. The 16 triumphs and .516 winning percentage are both new modern-era, single-season records. The Eagles also went 9-5 in conference play in Baxter's first season atop the program, tying the MEAC-era program record for league wins (9) while raising the bar for best single-season conference win percentage (.643). NCCU earned the No. 3 seed in the 2024 MEAC Basketball Tournament, which is also a new best seed for the Eagles since joining the league. NCCU won a quarterfinals game over Delaware State, advancing the Eagles to play in just their second-ever MEAC semifinals game.
NCCU women's basketball registered an 8-3 home record in Baxter's first campaign as head coach, and those wins inside McDougald-McLendon Arena including a record-setting 132-22 victory over Mid-Atlantic Christian University on Nov. 17, 2023, that set modern-era, single-season records for points scored (132), margin of victory (110), made field goals (53), made 3-pointers (16), assists (36) and steals (35). The 110-point margin of victory is also an all-time program record while the 132 total points scored by the Eagles matched the all-time record for points scored in a game (132 vs. Bowie State in 1984). He also coached several record-breaking individual accomplishments along the way, including a triple-double.
Baxter coached one BOXTOROW All-American (Morgan Callahan) in 2023-24 while also guiding his players to four MEAC postseason awards, including Second Team All-MEAC (Callahan), Third Team All-MEAC (Bryant), All-MEAC Rookie Team (Bryant) and All-MEAC Defensive Team (Callahan).
As an assistant, Baxter coached two back-to-back MEAC Rookie of the Year award winners. Baxter helped the maroon and gray program collected eight total individual postseason awards over those two seasons.
In 2022-23, Baxter contributed to a previously new NCCU NCAA Division I era (since 2007-08) program record in wins in a season (15).
Baxter had spent 14 years coaching within the state of North Carolina, including most recently seven years with the women’s basketball program at Catawba College, prior to coming to Durham.
The Indians produced five winning seasons with Baxter on the bench. In 2014-15, Catawba qualified for the NCAA II Southeast Regional Tournament.
As head coach, Baxter led Catawba to its best start in program history (11-0) and top-25 national rankings in multiple polls. The NCAA Division II program knocked off a DI team in UNCW under Baxter’s leadership.
Baxter is a 2001 graduate of Pfeiffer University, where he was a two-time all-conference performer and helped the Falcons to a pair of league titles and one Sweet 16 appearance. In 2017, he was inducted to the Pfeiffer Hall of Fame.
Baxter began coaching as a men’s assistant for his alma mater in 2006 before joining the women’s basketball staff at Brevard College for three seasons and Queens University of Charlotte for two seasons.
