“Losing is contagious, just as winning is”: When Kim Mulkey embraced an elite mentality to challenge the game’s best

Kim Mulkey, the LSU Tigers coach, will start the new season with some top prospects from the Class of 2025. She joined the Tigers in 2021, after spending 21 years at the Baylor Bears, and won them a national championship in 2023.

In an interview posted by Baylor on their website on March 30, 2005, Mulkey shed light on the mindset and how fans affect the mentality.

"This is the beginning of my third year at Baylor. We took over a program that had only won 7 games the previous year. The thing you need to change quickly is the mindset of losing. Losing is contagious, just as winning is," Kim Mulkey said.

She continued to talk about how adding non conference games to their schedule will help the players.

"We scheduled a lot of non conference games that would allow us to build a program and start thinking on a positive note, and those players started believing in themselves and thinking they were better than they were."

She continued, "Once you started doing that, I told the fans that when we're at a program where we have established an identity, a reputation that's positive and losing won't devastate you, then you can play tougher opponents."

She finished her coaching career at Baylor with a 632-104 record and won the championship in the 2004-05 season, crediting it to the non conference games.

"And that's what we've done. I think if you look at our non conference schedule this year, I don't know how many of those we'll win against those top teams, but we're now at a point where our program is not going to be devastated by the loss should we lose."

During her time at Baylor, she won the 2012 Russell Athletic/WBCA National Coach of the Year. She also won the Associated Press College Basketball Coach of the Year in 2012, 2019 and 2021.

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A look at Kim Mulkey's newest additions

After making it to the Elite 8 last season, Kim Mulkey has added some top players for the new season. From the Class of 2025, she signed three five-star recruits in small forward Grace Knox from Etiwanda High School and shooting guards Divine Bourrage from Davenport North and ZaKiyah Johnson from the Sacred Heart Academy.

She also added a four-star point guard, Bella Hines, from Eldorado High School. In the transfer portal, she acquired MiLaysia Fulwiley from South Carolina Gamecocks, Kate Koval from Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Amiya Joyner from East Carolina Pirates.