Nikki McCray-Penson finished her first season as an assistant coach on the Scarlet Knights' women's basketball coaching staff in thr 2022-23 seaspm. McCray-Penson came "On the Banks" with 15 years of college coaching experience, most recently as a head coach at Mississippi State and Old Dominion, which followed a standout college playing career at Tennessee, nine seasons in the WNBA, and two gold-medal winning performances with Team USA at the 1996 and 2000 Summer Olympics.
"Simply put, Nikki is a winner," Washington said of her former Indiana Fever teammate from the 2002 and 2003 WNBA seasons. "She has excelled at the highest levels of our game. Her experience as a college All-American, a WNBA All-Star, an Olympic gold medalist, and her national championship-caliber coaching pedigree provides us with tremendous knowledge and wisdom. She is an incredible competitor, and our players will learn a ton from her as they feel her dedication to excellence on a daily basis."
"I am excited to join Coquese at Rutgers," McCray-Penson said. "As former teammates, I know her well, and we are determined to build off the incredible legacy of
C. Vivian Stringer at this great academic institution. I look forward to bringing my personal assets and energy to the program and get in the foxhole with Coquese. I am ready to get to work."
In the 2022-23 season, McCray-Penson helped head coach Coquese Washington set a solid foundation for the team. She aided the program to reach its 1,000th win with a victory over Minnesota (Jan. 12) on the road, becoming the 22nd Division I team and the third squad in the Big Ten to reach the milestone.
McCray-Penson guided freshman guard Kaylene Smikle to find success, as she was named to the All-Big Ten Second Team (Media & Coaches) in addition to the All-Freshman team (Media & Coaches). The guard also collected three Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors, the most in program history. With McCray-Penson's help, Smikle paced the team with 17.9 points per game in addition to averaging 19.5 points in Big Ten play. She was the only Scarlet Knight to net 20+ points in a game this season and has accomplished the feat 15, including versus 12 Big Ten opponents, to lead all freshmen in reached double-digit scoring in 27 of 32 outings this campaign including in the last 19 of 20 games. The Farmingdale, New York product became the all-time leading freshman scorer in program history, ending the season with 573 points, beating the previous best of 536 points. She also paced the team with 56 three-pointers and 69 steals to rank top-10 in the conference in both categories.
A 2020 WBCA National Coach of the Year finalist, McCray-Penson has won championships at all levels of her basketball career. As a coach, she has been a part of one national championship (in 2017 as an assistant with South Carolina), four conference championships and four conference tournament championships. As a player, she was a two-time Olympic gold medalist and 1998 World Cup gold medalist while competing for Team USA. She led her Columbus Quest team to the 1997 ABL Championship. In college, she helped Tennessee win three SEC regular-season championships and two SEC Tournament titles.
McCray-Penson's prolific and decorated playing career earned her a place in the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame. The three-time WNBA All-Star spent nine years in the league. She scored 2,550 career points while averaging 14.3 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. Prior to the WNBA, she played two seasons in the ABL, where she earned MVP honors during her championship season. In 2000, McCray was named to the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, which advises the President and Secretary of Health and Human Services on improving American's participation in sports and physical activity.
During her collegiate career at Tennessee, McCray-Penson spearheaded legendary coach Pat Summitt's teams to four NCAA Tournament appearances. The two-time All-American garnered SEC Player of the Year honors as a junior and senior, one of just three Lady Vols to ever win the yearly award twice. She helped lead Tennessee to the Final Four in 1995 and earned NCAA All-Final Four Team honors. McCray-Penson was named Best Defensive Player for Tennessee each of her four years between 1992 and 1995 and helped the Lady Vols to a 122-11 record during her career.
The 2020 C-USA Coach of the Year, McCray-Penson finished her third season at Old Dominion in 2019-20, when she led the Monarchs to a 24-6 record, a second-place finish in the conference standings and an RPI ranking of 33 to end the year. It was the second season in a row that ODU won at least 20 games, an accomplishment that hadn't been achieved since 2006-08. Her squad's success was recognized by coaches from around the country, as Old Dominion received votes for the top 25 rankings, something that hadn't happened since 2008. Her defense ranked first in the country in three-point field goals allowed and 15th in scoring defense. Overall at ODU, McCray-Penson compiled a 53-40 record and coached four players to all-conference honors, two individuals to all-defensive team recognition and two selections for the all-freshman team.
McCray-Penson earned a head coaching job in the SEC at Mississippi State in 2020-21. She coached the Bulldogs to 10 wins before stepping down after one season to focus on her health.
Prior to becoming a head coach, McCray-Penson served on staff as an assistant coach for Dawn Staley at South Carolina, where she helped the Gamecocks claim their first-ever National Championship in 2017. South Carolina earned six-consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances during her tenure, reaching five Sweet 16s, two Elite Eights and two Final Fours. During her last four seasons in Columbia, she helped lead the Gamecocks to four-straight SEC regular-season championships and three SEC Tournament titles.
Part of South Carolina's success on the hardwood was a result of McCray-Penson's ability to identify talent as the assistant recruiting coordinator. Regarded as one of the top recruiters in the country, she helped land the No. 2 class and the top player in the nation in 2014.
In her first coaching job, McCray-Penson played a big role in guiding Western Kentucky to back-to-back postseason appearances and a 2008 Sun Belt Tournament championship as an assistant coach. She was also the program's head recruiting coordinator and signed one of WKU's top all-time classes in 2007-08.
McCray-Penson graduated from Tennessee in 1995 with a Bachelor of Science in Education. She is married to Thomas Penson, and they have a son, Thomas Nikson Penson.
