Former Old Dominion University women's basketball head coach and two-time Olympic gold medalist Nikki McCray-Penson died Thursday. She was 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 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 Monarchs’ 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 coached the Monarchs to a 53-40 record over three seasons. In the 2019-20 season, McCray-Penson led ODU to a 24-6 record and a likely berth in the NCAA tournament before the season was shut down because of 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 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 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 accepted the head coaching position at Mississippi State. 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.
She had been diagnosed with breast cancer in 2013. But after undergoing surgery, chemotherapy and radiation, she was declared cancer-free ninth months later.
On Friday, The Tennessean reported she had died while battling a recurrence of cancer and a bout of pneumonia.
"I am heartbroken getting the news that we lost Nikki McCray,” said ODU great and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer Nancy Lieberman. “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."
McCray-Penson played for nine seasons in the WNBA following a two-year stint in the American Basketball League. As a rookie, she led the Columbus Quest to the 1996-97 ABL championship and was named the league’s MVP. 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.
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, San Antonio Silver Stars and Chicago Sky before retiring at the end of the 2006 season. With 2,528 points, she finished her career 24th on the WNBA's career scoring list.
McCray-Penson helped lead the U.S. team to Olympic gold medals in 1996 and 2000.
In her four-year college career playing for the late Pat Summitt at Tennessee, McCray-Penson sparked the Lady Vols to a 122-11 record, three SEC regular-season titles, two conference tournament championships and four NCAA tournament appearances. McCray-Penson was named an All-American and SEC Player of the Year in her junior and senior years.
McCray-Penson graduated from Tennessee in 1995 with a Bachelor of Science in education.
Following an 11-year professional playing career, McCray-Penson spent two seasons as an assistant head coach at Western Kentucky, where Selig was the athletic director. 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.
She then moved to South Carolina in a similar capacity, helping the Gamecocks earn four straight NCAA Tournament No. 1 seeds, the program's first coming in 2014. Appearing in the event's Sweet 16 in five of 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.