Bio
Former Mineral Area standout Briley Palmer is starting her 3rd season as the head women's basketball coach for the Mineral Area Cardinals. Palmer currently has a career coaching record of 30-24.
Briley coached eight seasons as an assistant coach at Mineral Area. She was instrumental in the Lady Cards winning the Region 16 title two times since she has been back. In 2015, Coach Palmer helped lead the team to the school's first-ever Region 16 Championship. In her first year, Briley helped the Lady Cards in reaching as high as #13 in the NJCAA poll.
Palmer graduated from Farmington High School in 2007 where she helped lead her team to an appearance in the state championship game. This was the first school history. Her senior year she has voted an All-Region, All-District, All-Conference, and Dream-Team player.
In the spring of her senior year, she signed her letter of intent to play for Coach Koch at Mineral Area. At Mineral Area, Palmer came in to play a big role as a freshman and carried her leadership over to her sophomore year where her team went 22-10. In the peak of the season, Palmer was ranked 3rd in 3-point percentage in the nation.
After Mineral Area, Briley signed to play at Christian Brothers University in Memphis, TN. She helped lead her team to a GSC Conference Tournament appearance in her junior year.
After her senior year at Christian Brothers, she was asked by head coach Sarah Condra to be the graduate assistant for the following season. After she coached at Christian Brothers, Briley joined Gary Koch's staff at MAC again.
Briley and her husband Jimmy Palmer were married in the fall of 2014 and live in Farmington, MO with their daughters, Dayton and Nola. Jimmy is the head boys basketball and golf coach at North County High School and teaches Mathematics.
Get to know Head Coach Briley Palmer...
Why did you get into coaching?
"I got into coaching because of the impact coaches had on me. I wanted to have that impact on kids. I have a passion for the game of basketball but building relationships with my players and having those lifelong bonds is why I truly wanted to coach. Coaching is way more than X's and O's, we can change lives, not many are in the position to that."
Why do you like coaching specifically at Mineral Area College?
"Mineral Area is a true version of a community college. We would be nowhere without the support of our communities that surround us and the fans. MAC wants to help student-athletes be successful and continue to guide them down their next road in life. It is hard to fail at anything at MAC because there is always someone willing to help!"
How would you describe your specific role within the coaching staff?
"My specific role as coach is to make sure I help guide my student-athletes down the best path for them in the classroom and on the court. Student comes before athlete at MAC, and my job is to get them smoothly transitioned to a 4-year university spending the least amount of money in student loans."
What specific coaches have had the biggest influence on your coaching style/philosophy?
"Coach Koch is at the top of my list of who has had the biggest influence on my coaching philosophy and style. He taught me the right way to lead a program to success and doing it with class. Teaching life lessons on the court that these student-athletes can translate to their real life one day was what Coach Koch did the best, and I respect that. I enjoying following other coaches like Geno, Pat Summit, Kim Mulkey, and tons more. I constantly try to study all coaches and take a little something from everyone and try and see how I can adapt it to our style and program."
All of the MAC sports teams have either had consistent winning records or won conference and region championships the last 10 years. Why do you think that is?
"The coaches! We have hands down some of the hardest working coaches in the country. We have figured out how to have success at this level and without the guidance from our coaching staffs, this would never be possible. Our kids at MAC work hard because they see their leader working harder. That is something that has been going on a long time here."
- 2020-2021 Record: 9-13
- 2021-2022 Record: 21-11
School Phone: 573-518-2259
Email:bpalmer@mineralarea.edu
