Yolett Alessia McPhee-McCuin (born April 30, 1982) is a Bahamian-American basketball coach who is the current head coach of the Ole Miss Rebels women's basketball team.[1] Her team at Jacksonville University won the 2016 ASUN Conference Tournament and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
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| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Head coach |
| Team | Ole Miss |
| Conference | SEC |
| Record | 106–85 (.555) |
| Annual salary | $1.035 million |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | April 30, 1982 Freeport, Bahamas |
| Alma mater | University of Rhode Island (BBM) University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (MPEd) |
| Playing career | |
| 2000–2002 | Miami Dade CC |
| 2002–2004 | Rhode Island |
| Position(s) | Point guard |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 2004–2005 | Frank Phillips (assistant) |
| 2005–2007 | Arkansas–Pine Bluff (assistant) |
| 2007–2008 | Portland (assistant) |
| 2008–2010 | Pittsburgh (assistant) |
| 2010–2013 | Clemson (assistant) |
| 2013–2018 | Jacksonville |
| 2014–2017 | The Bahamas |
| 2018–present | Ole Miss |
| 2024–present | The Bahamas |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 197–147 (.573) |
| Tournaments | 3–4 NCAA Division I (.400) 4–3 WNIT (.571) |
Early life and education
editYolett Alessia McPhee was born April 30, 1982, in Freeport, Bahamas.[2] Her parents both worked at Grand Bahama Catholic High School in Freeport: Her father Gladstone "Moon" McPhee was head boys' basketball coach, and her mother Daisy McPhee was school principal.[3]
McPhee-McCuin graduated from Grand Bahama Catholic in 2000.[4] Although she initially signed with Florida Atlantic University out of high school, she instead attended Miami-Dade Community College from 2000 to 2002, playing at point guard on the women's basketball team.[4][2][5] In the 2001–02 season, McPhee-McCuin earned all-state honors and averaged 9.0 points and 6.9 assists, ranking third nationally in assists per game.[2] She graduated from Miami-Dade with a 4.0 GPA in 2002.[2]
From 2002 to 2004, McPhee-McCuin attended the University of Rhode Island and played at point guard for the Rhode Island Rams.[2] She averaged 3.2 points, 1.1 rebounds, and 1.8 assists.[2] In her senior season of 2003–04, McPhee played in 29 games with 15 starts, averaging 2.7 points, 0.9 rebounds, and 2.0 assists.[6] She graduated from Rhode Island in 2004 with a B.A. in business management and the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff in 2007 with a master's degree in secondary school physical education.[7]
Coaching career
editEarly coaching career (2004–2013)
editMcPhee-McCuin began her basketball coaching career as an assistant at Frank Phillips College, a junior college in Borger, Texas, in the 2004–05 season. Her first NCAA Division I coaching job was at Arkansas–Pine Bluff, as an assistant coach from 2005 to 2007.[8]
After one year as assistant coach at the University of Portland in 2007–08, McPhee-McCuin was an assistant coach at Pittsburgh from 2008 to 2010 under Agnus Berenato.[8] The 2008–09 Pittsburgh Panthers finished the season 25–8 and appeared in the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Tournament.[9]
From 2010 to 2013, McPhee-McCuin was an assistant coach at Clemson under Itoro Umoh-Coleman.
Jacksonville (2013–2018)
editMcPhee-McCuin's first head coaching job was at Jacksonville University from 2013 to 2018.[8] Inheriting a team with four straight losing seasons, McPhee-McCuin delivered a winning season by her third year in 2015–16, with a 22–11 record and NCAA Tournament appearance.[10][8] The next two seasons, Jacksonville appeared in the 2017 and 2018 WNIT.[8] In five seasons, McPhee-McCuin had a cumulative 94–63 record at Jacksonville.[11]
Ole Miss (2018–present)
editAfter firing Matt Insell in March 2018, the University of Mississippi hired McPhee-McCuin as head Ole Miss Rebels women's basketball coach on April 4, 2018.[12][13] This hire followed a 12–19 season in 2017–18, including only one win in Southeastern Conference games.[14]
Ole Miss had just 16 wins in McPhee-McCuin's first two seasons.[11] But after a much improved 2020–21 season that had Ole Miss with a no. 42 NCAA Evaluation Tool ranking, Ole Miss extended McPhee-McCuin through the 2024–25 season on March 10, 2021.[15] Ole Miss finished the season 15–12 and runners-up in the 2021 Women's National Invitation Tournament.[16]
In 2021–22, Ole Miss improved even further with a 23–9 record and an NCAA Tournament appearance, the first such appearance since 2007. Additionally, Shakira Austin was drafted 3rd overall by the Washington Mystics in the 2022 WNBA Draft.[8]
Then in 2022–23, Ole Miss made a second straight NCAA Tournament. On March 19, 2023, in the second round, Ole Miss as a no. 8 seed upset no. 1 Stanford 54–49, improving to 25–8 and advancing to the Sweet 16 round for the first time since 2007.[17][18] In 2023–24, Ole Miss won 12 SEC games for the first time in program history and earned a 3rd seed in the SEC Tournament. They received an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament, losing 71–56 to Notre Dame in the Second Round. In the 2024 WNBA Draft, Marquesha Davis was drafted 11th overall by the New York Liberty.
Personal life
editMcPhee-McCuin is married to Kelly McCuin. They have two children.[8]
Head coaching record
edit| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jacksonville Dolphins (Atlantic Sun Conference) (2013–2018) | |||||||||
| 2013–14 | Jacksonville | 13–17 | 10–8 | 5th | |||||
| 2014–15 | Jacksonville | 12–17 | 6–8 | T–4th | |||||
| 2015–16 | Jacksonville | 22–11 | 11–3 | 2nd | NCAA First Round | ||||
| 2016–17 | Jacksonville | 23–9 | 11–3 | 3rd | WNIT First Round | ||||
| 2017–18 | Jacksonville | 24–9 | 12–2 | 2nd | WNIT First Round | ||||
| Jacksonville: | 94–63 (.599) | 50–24 (.676) | |||||||
| Ole Miss Rebels (Southeastern Conference) (2018–present) | |||||||||
| 2018–19 | Ole Miss | 9–22 | 3–13 | T–12th | |||||
| 2019–20 | Ole Miss | 7–23 | 0–16 | 14th | |||||
| 2020–21 | Ole Miss | 15–12 | 4–10 | 11th | WNIT Runner-up | ||||
| 2021–22 | Ole Miss | 23–9 | 10–6 | T–4th | NCAA First Round | ||||
| 2022–23 | Ole Miss | 25–9 | 11–5 | 4th | NCAA Sweet Sixteen | ||||
| 2023–24 | Ole Miss | 24–9 | 12–4 | 3rd | NCAA Second Round | ||||
| 2024–25 | Ole Miss | 5–3 | |||||||
| Ole Miss: | 108–87 (.554) | 40–54 (.426) | |||||||
| Total: | 202–150 (.574) | ||||||||
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National champion
Postseason invitational champion
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References
edit- ^ Johnson, David (April 4, 2018). "Yolett McPhee-McCuin Named Women's Basketball Coach At Ole Miss". 247Sports. Retrieved April 13, 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f "Yolett McPhee". GoRhody.com. University of Rhode Island. Archived from the original on April 26, 2013. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
- ^ Brown, Oswald (August 7, 2019). "'Moon's' legacy as a legendary basketball coach being embellished by daughter Yolett". Bahamas Chronicle. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
- ^ a b Dorsett, Renaldo (September 24, 2021). "Bahamian coaches discuss pressing issues affecting local sports". The Tribune. Nassau. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
- ^ "They remember 'Little' Yolett in Grand Bahama". Nassau Guardian. April 23, 2013. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
- ^ "2003-04 Rhode Island Women's Basketball". March 30, 2004. Archived from the original on September 8, 2004. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
- ^ "Yolett McPhee-McCuin". University of Pittsburgh. Archived from the original on September 23, 2009. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Yolett McPhee-McCuin". University of Mississippi. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
- ^ "Women's Basketball 2008-09 Schedule". University of Pittsburgh. Archived from the original on August 18, 2009. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
- ^ "Jacksonville Women's Basketball: History". NCAA. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
- ^ a b "Yolett McPhee-McCuin". Retrieved March 19, 2023.
- ^ "Ole Miss Begins Search For New Women's Basketball Coach". University of Mississippi. March 2, 2018. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
- ^ "Yolett McPhee-McCuin Named Women's Basketball Head Coach". University of Mississippi. April 4, 2018. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
- ^ "2017 Women's Basketball Schedule". University of Mississippi. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
- ^ "Ole Miss Extends Contract of Yolett McPhee-McCuin". University of Mississippi. March 10, 2021. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
- ^ "2020-21 Women's Basketball Schedule". University of Mississippi. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
- ^ Eckert, David (March 19, 2023). "Ole Miss women's basketball upsets No. 1 Stanford, advances to March Madness Sweet 16". Clarion Ledger. Jackson, Mississippi. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
- ^ Eckert, David (March 20, 2023). "Time zones, defense and belief: How the Ole Miss women upset top-seeded Stanford". Clarion Ledger. Jackson, Mississippi. Retrieved March 20, 2023.