Former Gamecock assistant Nikki McCray-Penson takes head coaching job at Mississippi State

STARKVILLE, Miss. — The Gamecock women’s basketball team’s biggest rival in the SEC will have a very familiar face leading the helm next season.

Today, Mississippi State announced the hiring of Nikki McCray-Penson as the Bulldogs’ next head coach. This news comes just days after Vic Schaefer left the program to take the head coaching job at Texas.

“It’s been a dream of mine to be a head coach in the SEC, and I’m so grateful and blessed for this incredible honor and opportunity to lead Mississippi State women’s basketball,” McCray-Penson said in the school’s release. “This is a national brand with incredible people, a storied tradition and an outstanding community that is second to none. I am confident that my experiences as a coach and player have prepared me for this, and I will pour everything I have into our student-athletes and program. My family and I are so happy to be a part of the Bulldog Family and we can’t wait to get started.”

McCray-Penson worked as an assistant at South Carolina from 2008-2017, helping Dawn Staley build the foundation for the most successful decade in program history.

She left the Gamecocks after their national championship season in 2017, and has spent the last three season leading the Old Dominion Monarchs. This past season, she led Old Dominion to a 24-6 record as the Monarchs received AP Top 25 votes for the first time since 2008.

Last season, Mississippi State finished second in the SEC tournament, falling to South Carolina in the championship game in Greenville.