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. Her team at Jacksonville University won the 2016 ASUN Conference Tournament and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
Yolett Alessia McPhee was born April 30, 1982, in Freeport, Bahamas. 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. In the 2001âÂÂ02 season, McPhee-McCuin earned all-state honors and averaged 9.0 points and 6.9 assists, ranking third nationally in assists per game. She graduated from Miami-Dade with a 4.0 GPA in 2002.
From 2002 to 2004, McPhee-McCuin attended the University of Rhode Island and played at point guard for the Rhode Island Rams. She averaged 3.2 points, 1.1 rebounds, and 1.8 assists. In her senior season of 2003âÂÂ04, McPhee played in 29 games with 15 starts, averaging 2.7 points, 0.9 rebounds, and 2.0 assists. 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.
McPhee-McCuin began her basketball coaching career as an assistant at Frank Phillips College, a junior college in Borger, Texas, in the 2004âÂÂ05 season. Her first NCAA Division I coaching job was at ArkansasâÂÂPine Bluff, as an assistant coach from 2005 to 2007.
After one year as assistant coach at the University of Portland in 2007âÂÂ08, McPhee-McCuin was an assistant coach at Pittsburgh from 2008 to 2010 under Agnus Berenato. The 2008âÂÂ09 Pittsburgh Panthers finished the season 25âÂÂ8 and appeared in the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Tournament.
From 2010 to 2013, McPhee-McCuin was an assistant coach at Clemson under Itoro Umoh-Coleman.
McPhee-McCuin's first head coaching job was at Jacksonville University from 2013 to 2018. Inheriting a team with four straight losing seasons, McPhee-McCuin delivered a winning season by her third year in 2015âÂÂ16, with a 22âÂÂ11 record and NCAA Tournament appearance. The next two seasons, Jacksonville appeared in the 2017 and 2018 WNIT. In five seasons, McPhee-McCuin had a cumulative 94âÂÂ63 record at Jacksonville.
After 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. This hire followed a 12âÂÂ19 season in 2017âÂÂ18, including only one win in Southeastern Conference games.
Ole Miss had just 16 wins in McPhee-McCuin's first two seasons. But after a much improved 2020âÂÂ21 season that had Ole Miss with a no. 42 NCAA Evaluation Tool ranking, Ole Miss extended McPhee-McCuin through the 2024âÂÂ25 season on March 10, 2021. Ole Miss finished the season 15âÂÂ12 and runners-up in the 2021 Women's National Invitation Tournament.<reF></ref>
In 2021âÂÂ22, Ole Miss improved even further with a 23âÂÂ9 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.
Then in 2022âÂÂ23, 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 54âÂÂ49, improving to 25âÂÂ8 and advancing to the Sweet 16 round for the first time since 2007.<reF></ref> In 2023âÂÂ24, 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 71âÂÂ56 to Notre Dame in the Second Round. In the 2024 WNBA Draft, Marquesha Davis was drafted 11th overall by the New York Liberty.
In 2024âÂÂ25, Ole Miss began the season with a close 68âÂÂ66 defeat to #3 USC in Paris. They also lost to UConn 73âÂÂ60 and NC State 68âÂÂ61 and went 9âÂÂ3 in non-conference play. In SEC play, the Rebels won 10 SEC games, marking the 4th season in a row in which they have had double-digit SEC wins. They had notable wins over #8 Kentucky 66âÂÂ57 and #7 LSU 85âÂÂ77. In the SEC tournament, Ole Miss was a #7 seed and made it to the quarterfinals, losing 70âÂÂ63 to #1 Texas. In the NCAA Tournament, the Rebels were selected as a 5-seed in the Spokane 1 Regional, their highest since 1994. They defeated 12-seed Ball State 83âÂÂ65 in the First Round and 4-seed Baylor 69âÂÂ63 to advance to the Sweet 16, where they lost 76âÂÂ62 to UCLA, the #1 overall seed in the tournament. This was their second appearance in the Sweet 16 under Coach Yo.
McPhee-McCuin is married to Kelly McCuin. They have two children.