Morehead State women’s basketball head coach Jackie Alexander balances Division I coaching with U.S. Army Reserve service

Morehead State University’s new women’s basketball head coach said she is continuing to serve in the U.S. Army Reserve while leading a Division I program, describing how military obligations and coaching responsibilities overlap in day-to-day planning.

Jackie Alexander was introduced at Morehead State during an April press conference, where she told fans, alumni, and the community that the program would be built “for years to come.” In a later report from LEX 18, she said the commitment to service remains active even as she works the sideline with the Eagles.

According to LEX 18, Alexander’s path to coaching began after she was recruited out of Rockcastle County High School, when she enrolled at the United States Military Academy at West Point. She later transferred to the University of the Cumberlands, where she participated in ROTC and, as she described it, commissioned as a second lieutenant.

LEX 18 reported that Alexander spent four years on active duty and served on a tour in Iraq in 2016. After her active-duty service, she returned to basketball and eventually moved into coaching roles, which led her to Morehead State as head coach.

Alexander told LEX 18 that she is “still in the military” and that she is currently in the Army Reserve. She said filling both roles is not “an easy assignment,” but described relying on coordination and leadership from both the team and her military chain of command to maintain both commitments.

In the LEX 18 report, Alexander said she has “a boss here and military boss” who are “lenient” so long as she “get[s] the job done.” She characterized the arrangement as a management challenge that requires discipline and communication, rather than a conflict that forces a choice between service and basketball.

The Morehead State program enters the offseason facing the operational demands typical of a new Division I head coach, including recruiting, staff management, and preparation for upcoming practices and games. Alexander’s statements add a separate layer to the public-facing expectations of coaching leadership in Kentucky, because she described continuing military service as an ongoing duty rather than a past chapter.

Morehead State did not publicly provide additional details in the reporting cited by LEX 18 about any specific reserve training schedule or whether her service will affect particular team dates, practices, or travel. Alexander’s comments indicate that the university and her military supervisors are coordinating so her responsibilities can be met on both fronts as the Eagles season approaches.