Former MSU women’s basketball coach Nikki McCray-Penson dead at 51

Photo credit: Austin Perryman

Former Mississippi State women’s basketball head coach Nikki McCray-Penson has died at 51. McCray-Penson stepped down in October 2021 as the Bulldogs’ head coach to deal with “health concerns I had hoped were behind me.” She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2013 while serving as an assistant coach at South Carolina.

McCray-Penson was hired by Mississippi State in April 2020 following the departure of former head coach Vic Schaefer. McCray-Penson served one full season as the head coach of the Bulldogs where her team finished 5-7 in SEC play and 10-9 overall.

After stepping down in Starkville, she took nine months off then joined the Rutgers staff as an assistant coach.