NORFOLK, Va. – Former Old Dominion University women's basketball head coach and two-time Olympic Gold Medalist Nikki McCray-Penson passed away on Thursday at the age of 51.
"It's a challenge to put into words how devastating the news of Nikki McCray-Penson's death is for all of us associated with ODU. Nikki had a lasting impact on the game of basketball across the globe as she enjoyed the pinnacle of success on the world's biggest stages both as an athlete and a coach," ODU Director of Athletics Dr. Wood Selig said. "From the first day I met Nikki, I knew she would experience the same success as a coach that she experienced as an athlete. Her drive, passion, enthusiasm and love for the game made everyone around her better and motivated everyone to work harder to achieve the high standard of excellence that Nikki always expected. It is such a shame that the world and future student-athletes will never get to enjoy Coach McCray-Penson fulfilling her coaching career. Nikki's husband Thomas and son Thomas, Jr. are in all Monarch's thoughts and prayers at this time. The ODU women's basketball program is better today because of the many contributions made by Nikki and her family while they were here in Norfolk."
McCray-Penson was the head coach of the ODU women's basketball program for three seasons and led the Monarchs to a 53-40 record. In the 2019-20 season, McCray-Penson led the Monarchs to a 24-6 record and likely berth in the NCAA Tournament before the season was shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"I am saddened to learn of the passing of my former teammate and friend Nikki McCray-Penson," ODU women's basketball head coach DeLisha Milton-Jones said. "Nikki courageously fought hard for others on and off the court and her legacy left will be lasting. She was a tremendous person, teammate, coach and mentor to me and hundreds of other women in the game of basketball. She will be deeply missed."
After going 8-23 in her first season in 2017-18, the following season McCray-Penson sparked a turnaround that saw the Monarchs finish 21-11 and earn a bid to the WNIT.
Following the 2019-20 season, McCray-Penson was named the head coach at Mississippi State where she coached the Bulldogs for one season before stepping down for health reasons. She got back into coaching for the 2022-23 season and completed her first season as an assistant coach at Rutgers.
"I am heartbroken getting the news that we lost Nikki McCray. She was an incredible mom and a great in our game from Tennessee to USA Olympic teams and then taking her knowledge and kindness to the coaching ranks. We are all better for having known her and Nikki being in our lives. The ODU Monarch family is hurting today for this beautiful woman. May she rest in paradise," former ODU great and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer Nancy Lieberman said.
Prior to moving into the coaching world, McCray-Penson enjoyed a nine-year career in the WNBA, following a two-year stint in the ABL. She signed her first professional playing contract with the ABL's Columbus Quest in 1996 and proceeded to lead the team to the league championship, earning league MVP honors along the way. Joining the WNBA's Washington Mystics in 1998, McCray-Penson was the team's leading scorer in each of her first two seasons and played in the WNBA All-Star game three times in her four years in Washington. She earned a starting spot in the league's inaugural All-Star game in 1999 and was the leading vote-getter among Eastern Conference guards in 2000 and named an All-Star in 2001.
McCray-Penson went on to play five more seasons in the WNBA, spending two with the Indiana Fever and one each with the Phoenix Mercury, the San Antonio Silver Stars and the Chicago Sky prior to her retirement at the end of the 2006 season. With 2,528 points, she finished her career ranked 24th on the WNBA's career scoring list. Averaging 10.1 points per game, she was a career 41.3 percent shooter.
McCray-Penson was part of the USA Basketball program on three separate occasions. Those stints were highlighted by trips to the Olympic Games in 1996 and 2000, both of which resulted in gold medals for the United States. She was a key element on the 1995-96 team that spent more than a year together in residency, something never done before in USA Basketball's history. The effort helped the group to a 60-0 record in international competition and sparked two professional women's basketball leagues in the United States.
In her four-year career playing under the late Pat Summitt at Tennessee, McCray-Penson keyed three SEC regular-season titles, two conference tournament championships and four NCAA Tournament appearances for the Lady Vols. In addition to helping UT build a 122-11 record, McCray-Penson picked up All-America and SEC Player of the Year honors in both her junior and senior years. She scored 1,572 career points, a number that still ranks her among the Lady Vols' all-time Top-15.
McCray-Penson graduated from Tennessee in 1995 with a Bachelor of Science in education.
Following an 11-year professional playing career, McCray-Penson moved into the coaching ranks in 2006, spending two seasons as an assistant head coach at Western Kentucky before joining South Carolina serving in a similar capacity. A three-time WNBA All-Star and the 1996-97 American Basketball League's Most Valuable Player, McCray-Penson proved to be a standout recruiter who helped South Carolina land the nation's No. 2 recruiting class and the top player in the country in 2014.
South Carolina earned four straight NCAA Tournament No. 1 seeds, the program's first coming in 2014. Appearing in the event's Sweet 16 in five of the last six seasons, the Gamecocks reached their first NCAA Final Four in 2015. South Carolina capped the 2016-17 season with its best final national ranking, coming in at No. 1 in the USA Today Coaches Poll.
McCray-Penson got her start in coaching at Western Kentucky when Selig was the Director of Athletics. With her on the staff, she helped lead the Lady Toppers to a 49-17 record, which included a WNIT semifinal appearance in 2006-07 and a Sun Belt Tournament title and a berth in the NCAA Tournament in 2007-08.
ODU Mourns the Passing of Former Women's Basketball Head Coach Nikki McCray-Penson
