Mississippi State to Name Nikki McCray-Penson Women’s Head Basketball Coach

STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) — Mississippi State is set to hire Old Dominion head coach Nikki McCray-Penson to take over the Bulldogs women’s basketball program.

McCray served as an assistant under South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley from 2008-2017.

However, McCray’s experience in the Southeastern Conference goes well beyond that.

McCray got her start in college basketball as a player at Tennessee under legendary women’s basketball coach Pat Summit for four seasons.

From there McCray went on to become a two-time Olympic gold medalist, spent eight years in the WNBA becoming a three-time All-Star.

After her time as a pro, McCray retired to become an assistant coach at Western Kentucky, before moving onto South Carolina.

McCray took over Old Dominion for her first head coaching job in 2017. In three seasons with ODU, McCray finished with a 53-40 overall record, a C-USA Coach of the Year honor, and a WNIT appearance.

McCray-Penson takes over for eight year head coach Vic Schaefer. Schaefer left April 4th to take the head women’s basketball coaching position at the University of Texas.

Mississippi State Athletics has not made an official announcement.