Vicky Bullett has played basketball at every level imaginable. The West Virginia Wesleyan College (WVWC) women’s basketball coach and United States Sports Academy graduate can even count the name “Olympian” among her many accomplishments on the court.
Bullett is in her fourth season coaching WVWC’s Lady Bobcats, who compete at the NCAA’s Division II level. She earned her Master of Sports Science degree in sports coaching from the Academy in 2015, having earned her degree while she coached and taught at Hagerstown Community College in Maryland.
“The Academy was beneficial to me, and it especially helped me to become a head coach at the DII level,” Bullett said. “I was able to earn my master’s degree while continuing to work as a coach and teacher. The Academy taught me that, outside of coaching on the court, it takes a lot to run a program. Coaches have many important administrative duties that consistently need their attention.
“I like being a coach and teacher because it allows me to teach the strategic part of the game and develop the student’s basketball IQ,” she said. “Developing the individual skills and teaching defense are my favorite, especially if you have the talented athletes who can be productive in the progress.”
A native of Martinsburg, W.Va., Bullett starred in basketball at Martinsburg High School and earned a scholarship to play at the University of Maryland. There, she earned her bachelor’s degree in general studies with an emphasis on early childhood education. She also starred on the court and was named All-ACC First Team in 1987, 1988, and 1989. She was the 1989 ACC Player of the Year, MVP, and a Kodak All-American. She was the first player in Maryland history to register two seasons of more than 500 points and is one of only six players in school history to score more than 600 points in a season (686). In 2003, Bullett was named to the ACC Women’s Basketball 50th Anniversary Team.
Bullett was selected to play on the United States Olympic team in both 1988 and 1992, teams which won gold and bronze medals.
“My experience playing for Team USA in 1988 was the best,” Bullett said. “I met so many great player-mentors and great coaches. I knew I would grow being the youngest player on the team. The level of competition among my teammates shaped my mentality and made me a more determined player.”
When the WNBA started play in 1997, Bullett was the first player drafted by the Charlotte Sting. She played three seasons for the Sting and an additional three seasons with the Washington Mystics and recorded 2,018 points in her career. She also played internationally in Italy and Brazil.
Bullett was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2011 and is a member of the Martinsburg High School Hall of Fame, the West Virginia All Black Schools Sports and Academic Hall of Fame, the University of Maryland Hall of Fame and the West Virginia Sports Writer Hall of Fame.
