Women's Basketball
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
| Liza Fruendt Career | ||
| 2014-18 | Missouri State | Player |
| 2019-20 | Kansas City | Graduate Manager |
| 2020-23 | Tennessee | Assistant Coach, Recruiting Director |
| 2024-25 | Illinois | Assistant Coach |
| 2025-Present | Missouri | Assistant Coach |
Liza Fruendt is in her second season with Missouri women's basketball after joining the program in March of 2025.
During the 2025–26 season, Liza Fruendt helped the Missouri Tigers women's basketball to a 17–17 overall record and a 4–12 mark in Southeastern Conference play in the first year of the program’s new coaching staff.
The Tigers ranked among the nation’s most efficient teams at the free-throw line, finishing 16th nationally and first in the SEC with a 77.9% free-throw percentage. Missouri also found success from beyond the arc, ranking 30th nationally and fourth in the SEC in 3-pointers made, averaging 8.5 per game throughout the season.
Fruendt was part of the staff that helped support the standout season of Grace Slaughter, who led the Tigers in scoring with 18.6 points per game and surpassed the 1,000-point milestone during the year. Slaughter finished sixth in the SEC in scoring while earning recognition on the Cheryl Miller Small Forward of the Year preseason and midseason watchlists and 2025–26 All-SEC Second Team honors.
Missouri also saw strong production from its perimeter players, as Chloe Sotell and Abbey Schreacke ranked 11th and 16th in the SEC, respectively, in 3-pointers made per game. Off the court, Schreacke was named to the 2025–26 SEC Community Service Team in recognition of her service and leadership.
The Tigers made a post-season appearance in the WBIT tournament, advancing to the second round. The 2025–26 campaign marked the first season for the Missouri coaching staff, with Fruendt helping establish the foundation for continued growth within the program.
Fruendt previously spent her playing career at Missouri State under Missouri head coach Kellie Harper and served on Harper's staff for three seasons at Tennessee.
Fruendt joins the Tigers after spending the 2024-25 season as an assistant coach at Illinois.
She helped coach the Fighting Illini to the second round of the NCAA Tournament after posting a 22-10 overall record, which included an 11-7 mark against Big Ten Conference opponents.
During her time with Harper at Tennessee, the Lady Vols earned back-to-back NCAA Sweet 16 appearances (2022 & 2023) and, in 2024, produced their fourth straight first-round WNBA Draft pick.
During the 2023-24 season, Tennessee owned a 20-13 overall record while going 10-6 in Southeastern Conference play and making an SEC Tournament semifinals appearance. The Lady Vols won their NCAA Tournament First Round game over Green Bay before falling to No. 11 NC State in the Second Round to conclude the season.
On the recruiting front, Fruendt played a role in Tennessee landing the No. 6 transfer class in 2023 and a group in 2022 that included No. 4-rated Rickea Jackson, No. 12 Jasmine Powell, and No. 16 Jasmine Franklin along with No. 35-ranked espnW 100 standout Kaniya Boyd.
Fruendt joined the Lady Vols staff as the director of recruiting operations prior to the 2021-22 campaign and served two years in that position before being elevated to an assistant coach in conjunction with the NCAA legislation that went into effect on July 1, 2023.
Fruendt headed to Rocky Top after spending 2020-21 as a senior associate consultant for Cerner Corporation. Prior to that, she served two seasons as a graduate assistant with the women's basketball program at Kansas City.
A standout on teams coached by Harper while she was at Missouri State, Fruendt excelled both on and off the court as a Lady Bear. She was named to the Missouri Valley Conference All-Freshman Team (2015), All-MVC First Team (2017, 2018), and MVC Scholar-Athlete First Team (2017, 2018).
A native of Batavia, Illinois, Fruendt is a 2018 graduate of Missouri State with a bachelor's degree in business administration, and she earned a master's in business administration in 2020 from Kansas City.
