Three Rivers is the 12th seed in the 2026 NJCAA National Tournament and is headed to the national tournament for a school record sixth straight season. The Lady Raiders will face No. 21 Monroe in the first round at 2:30 p.m., March 25, in Lake Charles, La.
Three Rivers has participated in the national tournament every season under head coach Alex Wiggs, in his sixth season as head coach and ninth overall with the Program.
“I have not only been blessed to coach some amazing players during my time here at Three Rivers, but also some truly wonderful people. It is because of those young ladies, their commitment to Three Rivers, their belief in me as a head coach, and their desire to be successful that this program has sustained success,” Wiggs said. “Winning is not easy; however, every group I have coached has bought into the daily process, and they have all been willing to do what it takes every single day to be successful. I cannot thank those players and all of my assistant coaches enough for helping this program get to where it is today.”
The Lady Raiders (26-5) ranked as high as third in the nation during the regular season and, in the Region XVI Championship, defeated the nationally ranked and top-seeded State Fair Lady Roadrunners to earn a trip back to the dance. With the Lady Raiders, he has a 158-22 record, resulting in a career winning percentage of 87.8%. Under Wiggs, 26 former players have gone on to play basketball at the NCAA Division I, Division II, NAIA, or NCCAA level. The 2024-25 Lady Raiders also earned NJCAA All-Academic Team honors with a 3.63 team GPA.
“It is a lot easier to win and have that type of success when you coach amazing young ladies. We have recruited a lot of players who are just winners,” Wiggs said. “They have won at every level, and they know the sacrifices that must be made and how difficult it is to be good. I just want to thank all former Lady Raiders who have helped get this program to where it is today. Again, I have been truly blessed.”
During Wiggs’ first two years as the head coach, he led the Lady Raiders to back-to-back undefeated regular seasons, a 29-0 Region XVI record, and a 52-2 overall record. In his first two seasons, Wiggs led the Lady Raiders to back-to-back Region Championships and NJCAA National Tournament appearances. In 2020-2021, the Lady Raiders made their first-ever NJCAA Final 4 appearance, reached the Sweet 16 in 2021-2022, and reached the Elite 8 in 2023-24.
The Lady Raiders finished with a combined 37 individual and team awards, two Ring of Honor Recipients at the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, two 1st team All-Americans, one 3rd team All-American, two NJCAA National All-Tournament team picks, 6 Academic All-Americans, 7 All-Region Players, and 8 All-Conference players. The Lady Raiders were also the NJCAA Academic Team of the Year in 2021-2022 with a team GPA of 3.35.
“Coach Wiggs is an outstanding asset in the success of our student-athletes,” Three Rivers President Dr. Wesley Payne said. “His leadership shows itself both on the court and in the classroom. Our fans can’t wait to see what the Lady Raiders accomplish next.”
As an assistant coach, Wiggs has helped the Lady Raiders to a 95-28 (76%) overall record and a 33-7 Region XVI record. In the 2018-2019 season, Wiggs helped guide the Lady Raiders to their third National Tournament appearance in program history, and their first since 2004. The 2018-2019 season saw the Lady Raiders go 27-4 overall and 10-0 in Region XVI play.
Prior to arriving at Three Rivers, Wiggs spent three years at NCAA Division II Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri. As the assistant coach, Wiggs was a part of one of the biggest turnarounds in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA), taking a team that had only won two conference games the year before back into the postseason.
Wiggs coached four AII-MIAA Honorable Mention players, eight players who made the All-MIAA Academic Honor Roll, and had 12 student-athletes make the Dean’s List in 2015-2016.
Wiggs joined Lincoln after spending three years as an assistant coach at Moberly Area Community College. He was a member of the Greyhounds’ women’s basketball staff, where he helped the team compile a two-year record of 40-22 after the program had gone 7-24 the previous year.
