Franqua “Coach Q” Bedell joined the Missouri State staff in April 2019.
A national championship coach at the junior college level with over 15 years of collegiate experience, Franqua “Coach Q” Bedell spent the six seasons prior to his arrival at MSU as the head coach at Tallahassee (Fla.) Community College, where he won the NJCAA Division I national title in 2018. Bedell was the Spalding NJCAA Division I Women’s Basketball National Coach of the Year that season after leading Tallahassee to a school-record 29 wins. He finished his six-year stint at TCC with a 124-62 record, and coached a pair of NJCAA first-team All-Americans.
“I’m extremely humbled and honored to be a part of Coach Mox’s staff at Missouri State, and thankful to be coming back home to Springfield,” said Bedell. “MSU is a special place. I am excited to continue the wonderful winning tradition and be part of such a great school and community. Coach Mox is one of the up-and-coming coaches in the country. Her ‘FAB’ approach is something I preached at TCC, and my family and I are thankful and excited to join her at MSU.”
After spending part of his childhood in Springfield, Bedell graduated from Fort Smith (Ark.) Southside High School, and attended the University of the Ozarks, in Clarksville, Ark., where he lettered in basketball and earned a bachelor’s degree in general studies in 1999. He went on to obtain a master’s degree in sports and recreation management from Hardin-Simmons in 2001, where he also coached during the 1999-00 season.
Upon graduating from Hardin-Simmons, Bedell returned to Fort Smith, where he began his coaching career in earnest as an assistant at his prep rival, Northside High School. In two seasons, he helped guide Northside to a 55-5 overall record and 26-2 mark in conference play. The 2001-02 season culminated with the Class 5A state championship and a No. 3 national ranking by USA Today.
Bedell’s first Division I stop followed at Southeast Missouri State from 2003-06, where he helped the Redhawks post the program’s best overall and conference records as a Division I program, and assisted in the recruitment of future OVC Player of the Year Tatiana Conceicao.
He moved to Southeastern Illinois College from 2006-08, helping the Falcons to a fourth-place national finish as an assistant coach in 2007. Bedell was promoted to head coach for the 2007-08 season, and guided SIC to a 33-4 record and No. 6 national ranking, coaching a pair of All-Americans and earning conference, region, and Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Coach of the Year honors. He also served as athletic director and fitness director during the 2007-08 academic year.
That success earned Bedell a job as an assistant coach at Mississippi State, where he spent four seasons from 2008-12. In 2009, his first year on staff, the Bulldogs qualified for their first NCAA Tournament in six years, and then advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time ever in 2010 after a third-place Southeastern Conference finish, the best in school history at the time. He helped secure a pair of top-50 recruiting classes in Starkville and developed three WNBA draft picks.
Bedell spent the 2012-13 season an assistant coach and recruiting specialist at Virginia Commonwealth, where he helped sign the 38th-ranked recruiting class nationally and No. 1 group in the Atlantic 10.
Bedell’s work with students goes well beyond the basketball court. While at Southeast Missouri State, he received SEMO’s Faculty and Staff Award in 2006 for his work in student support services, an award voted on by students and given to the faculty and/or staff member who could be counted on most. He also spent time as a student guidance counselor, student ambassador, resident assistant director, academic advisor and student activities director during his college days.
Bedell is an active member of the WBCA and Black Coaches Association.
He is married to the former Crystal Ness, and has a son, Amir, born in February 2019.
Coach Mox on Bedell:
“Coach Q is a proven winner. He has won at every level. He brings head coaching experience, recruiting ties, and player development, along with many other attributes. Being a Springfield native, he has tremendous recruiting connections, community relationships in the city, and also in surrounding states.”
