Joshua Epperson serves as the Head Women's Basketball Coach at Southeastern University (SEU), bringing a proven track record of building championship cultures that value success on the court, in the classroom, and in spiritual development. Throughout his collegiate coaching career, Epperson has built a reputation for orchestrating monumental upsets, having been a part of three different staffs that defeated NCAA Division I programs: Lubbock Christian over UTEP, Trevecca Nazarene over MTSU, and Freed-Hardeman over North Alabama.
The 2025-2026 season was a historic banner year for the Fire under Coach Epperson’s leadership. He guided SEU to an exceptional 28-4 overall record, capturing both the Sun Conference Regular Season Championship and the Sun Conference Tournament Championship. For his execution of the team's efficiency system and overall program dominance, Epperson was named the Sun Conference Coach of the Year and recognized as a finalist for the WBCA NAIA National Coach of the Year.
His high-octane, positionless offensive system dominated the country mathematically. The Fire finished the regular season with the highest 3-point shooting percentage in the NAIA. Furthermore, Southeastern ranked in the Top 3 nationally in Points Per Possession (PPP) in transition offense, and Top 5 nationally in overall PPP, proving the "Let It Rain" system to be one of the most efficient offensive machines in college basketball.
Epperson’s ability to develop talent was recognized by peers and media. Graduate player Grace Field earned WBCA NAIA Coaches' All-America honors and was named to the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-America Second-Team. Freshman Sarah Davis thrived in the offensive system, earning the Sun Conference Freshman of the Year award, highlighting a roster that saw three players earn All-Conference honors. His commitment to the program's pillars—specifically his requirement to be a hard worker—translated directly to the classroom, as his squad was proudly awarded the SEU Scholar-Athlete Team of the Year.
In his debut campaign with the Fire (2024-2025), Epperson led the team to a 24-7 overall record, a Sun Conference Championship, and an appearance in the NAIA National Tournament First Round. His squad earned four All-Sun Conference selections, while six student-athletes were recognized as Sun Conference All-Academic and NAIA Daktronics Scholar-Athletes. Two Fire players also garnered CSC Academic All-District honors.
Epperson came to Southeastern following a successful four-year stint as head coach at Freed-Hardeman University (2020–2024), where he led the Lady Lions to three consecutive NAIA National Tournament appearances and the aforementioned landmark victory over Division I North Alabama. His 2022-2023 team captured the Mid-South Conference Tournament Championship for the first time in program history, advanced to the national tournament's second round, and earned national academic acclaim by posting the NAIA's 7th-highest team GPA in the country. His success at Freed-Hardeman also earned him finalist honors for the WBCA National Coach of the Year.
Before his time at Freed-Hardeman, Epperson served as the lead assistant coach at NCAA Division II Trevecca Nazarene University for two seasons, where he oversaw the team's offensive system, directed recruiting efforts, and helped design the game plan that defeated Division I Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU).
Prior to his collegiate breakthrough, he spent a decade coaching high school basketball in Tennessee. His tenure included a massive cultural turnaround at Cumberland County, where his rebuilding efforts were featured in an article by Winning Hoops magazine. He guided the program to a 20-win season and a deep postseason run, finishing as one of the final 16 teams remaining in the state playoffs. He also secured multiple district titles across his time at both Cumberland County and Unicoi County. He began his collegiate coaching career as a graduate assistant with the men's team at NCAA Division II Lubbock Christian University, where he was on the bench for the program's upset over Division I UTEP.
He and his wife, Kelly, have two daughters, Caroline and Annabelle.
