Nikki McCray-Penson, the former Tennessee Lady Vols basketball star who would go on to become a three-time WNBA All-Star and two-time Olympic gold medalist before embarking on a long college coaching career, died Thursday while reportedly battling cancer and a bout of pneumonia. She was 51.
South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley mourned McCray-Penson, her former Olympic teammate whom she hired as an assisant coach with the Gamecocks, on Friday, saying she was heartbroken that “cancer has taken that light from us.” Multiple sources also confirmed to the USA TODAY Sports Network that the former head coach of Old Dominion and Mississippi State was battling pneumonia.
“It’s hard to think about Nikki’s passing because all I can see is how fully she lived,” Staley wrote in a statement. “From her days as a brash rookie in USA Basketball to becoming my friend and colleague to the way she mentored young players, Nikki did everything with her whole heart. Every teammate, every coach, every player who spent time with her knew first that she cared about them as a person, and everything else came from that place. Her presence was something you could feel before you saw her because she had such light, such positive energy inside her no matter what was going on.”
McCray-Penson battled breast cancer in 2013. When she resigned at Mississippi State in 2021, less than a month before the beginning of her second season as head coach, she said it was to address “health concerns I had hoped were behind me.” McCray-Penson told Knoxville News Sentinel in 2022 that her previous cancer battle wasn’t related to her resignation and said it was because of mental and personal health concerns and the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, which was “mentally draining” for herself, her staff and her players.
“It is with a heavy heart that we mourn the passing of Nikki McCray-Penson,” Mississippi State coach Sam Purcell said in a tweet Friday. “She was an incredible basketball coach and a true leader of women, but more importantly, she was a loving Mother and Wife. Nikki and her family will continue to be in our hearts & in our prayers.”
McCray-Penson was a two-time SEC Player of the Year at Tennessee in 1994 and 1995 after a decorated career at Collierville High School near Memphis. She led Tennessee to three SEC regular-season championships, two SEC Tournament titles and a 1995 Final Four appearance in her four-year career. She was a two-time All-American and who was inducted into the National Federation of State High School Associations Hall of Fame in 2015 and the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame in 2022.
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“Our hearts are broken as we mourn the loss of a beloved Lady Vol. We also offer our love and sincere condolences to her family, friends and colleagues across the country,” Tennessee coach Kellie Harper said in a statement. “Nikki had a bright and loving personality and touched the lives of everyone she met. Her kind and genuine spirit will be missed.”
McCray-Penson spent 16 years coaching after her playing career, which landed her in the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2012. Her coaching career began in 2006 at Western Kentucky, where she spent two seasons. She was hired by Staley at South Carolina and stayed there from 2008-17, helping lead the Gamecocks to their first NCAA championship in her final season. Her two head-coaching stops were at Old Dominion (2017-20) and Mississippi State (2020-21). She spent last season as an assistant at Rutgers.
McCray-Penson finished 10-9 in her lone season at Mississippi State. She was 53-39 during her tenure at Old Dominion.
“One of the most beautiful souls I’ve ever met,” Tennessee senior forward Rickea Jackson, who started her career at MSU under McCray-Penson, said Friday. “The one who genuinely went out their way to understand me when I was so misunderstood. The one who was always there. You fought so long and hard and I am grateful to have known you. I love you. Rest easy.”
Staley and McCray-Penson were teammates on the famous 1996 U.S. Olympic team that led to the creation of the WNBA. McCray-Penson was recently featured on the ESPN 30-for-30 documentary about that 1996 team, and McCray-Penson returned to Team USA in 2000 and added another Olympic gold medal to her resume.
McCray-Penson spent nine seasons in the WNBA and was a three-time all-star who scored 2,550 career points. She averaged 14.3 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. She also played two seasons in the ABL before the WNBA was formed, where she won league MVP and an ABL championship with the Columbus Quest.
“Nikki touched the lives of many because she made it her mission to uplift others and help them achieve whatever dreams and goals they expressed,” Coquese Washington, McCray-Penson’s former teammate with the Indiana Fever, said in a statement Friday. “She was so devoted to her husband and son, and still gave all of herself to everyone in the program. We will miss her dearly but will keep Nikki’s memory alive in our hearts.”
McCray-Penson is survived by her husband, Thomas Penson, and her son, Thomas Jr. Funeral arrangements were not immediately available.
Clarion Ledger sports writer Stefan Krajisnik contributed to this report.
