Emilee Whittle-Harmon Named NBL1 Women’s Head Coach
Whittle-Harmon joins the Cobras following a decorated playing career and impressive track record of player development as a coach, with the former WNBL, NBL1 and SEABL star set to lead Kilsyth into an exciting new era of basketball. The Ohio, USA native makes the move to Kilsyth following a successful stint with the Melbourne Tigers, where she served as both the Junior Girls Director of Coaching, and head coach of the Melbourne Tiger VYC Women. She led Melbourne to an impressive 20-2 regular season record and preliminary final appearance in 2025, with the Tigers boasting the league’s top ranked offence and defence, and an average winning margin of over 28 points per game.
Prior to her time at Melbourne, Whittle-Harmon spent time in the Basketball Victoria high performance pathway, and served as an elite player development coach within a number of Victoria’s larger basketball associations. And whilst she’s a rapid riser through the elite coaching ranks, Whittle-Harmon’s background as a player is even more impressive, as she starred in the SEABL and NBL1’s for the better part of a decade.
Whittle-Harmon began her Australian playing career with the Albury-Wodonga Bandits in 2014, before moving on to play with the Launceston Tornadoes, Nunawading Spectres, Perth Redbacks, and Dandenong Rangers, and signed with the Cobra Women in 2023 (but was unable to play due to injury). During that time, Whittle-Harmon clearly established herself as one of the league’s premier front court players, and eventually earned an import contract in the WNBL, playing with both the Southside Flyers and Canberra Capitals from 2021-2023.
Those who have competed both with and against her, and played underneath her as a coach, write rave reviews about Whittle-Harmon’s pride, passion and detail focused approach to honing her craft; with the former Ohio State University star set to impart those values onto the Cobras program in 2026 and beyond.
“I’m incredibly excited and honoured to lead the Kilsyth NBL1 Women’s program into its next chapter,” Whittle-Harmon said.
“Kilsyth is a proud club with a rich history of success across all levels, and I’m looking forward to building on that legacy.”
“We’re committed to building a team that plays with toughness, energy, and pride — one that reflects the relentless spirit of Kilsyth and gives our community something to be proud of."
“We’re thrilled to have Emilee on board to lead our Women’s program,” Kilsyth Basketball CEO Will van Poppel said.
“Emilee has made a positive impact in each of her coaching stops, and has demonstrated an impressive ability to both develop elite athletes, and connect to players on a personal level.”
“We are confident that Emilee’s coaching expertise, ability to develop strong player relationships, and her impressive playing experience will hold our senior Women’s program in good stead moving forward.”
