In just a few short years, the Ole Miss Men’s and Women’s Basketball teams have undergone major transformations under head coaches Yolett McPhee-McCuin (women’s) and Chris Beard (men’s). Despite a down year in 2025-26, Beard has re-energized the men’s program with immediate results and winning seasons, while McPhee-McCuin has elevated the women’s team into a consistent SEC contender and an annual competitor for the national title.
Their combined tenures have reshaped expectations in Oxford, creating one of the most compelling dual-coaching storylines in college basketball.
Women’s
McPhee-McCuin — affectionately referred to as “coach Yo” — was hired in April 2018 to rebuild an Ole Miss program that had hit rock bottom. From 2013-2018, former head coach Matt Insell’s best finish in the SEC was a tie for seventh in 2014-15. In his last season, the Lady Rebels finished 12-19 overall and 1-15 in the SEC, placing them at the very bottom of the conference.
McPhee-McCuin’s first three seasons were defined by strain and difficulty. Changes were not instantaneous; she was changing the culture of the program, and results were slow in coming.
Her Lady Rebels were 9-22 (3-13 SEC) in her first season and just 7–23 (0-16 SEC) in her second season. These struggles toughened Coach Yo.
“They (SEC teams) take no mercy on you, so I don’t remember anybody feeling bad by beating me by 60 and 50 points when I first started,” McPhee-McCuin said in a press conference at SEC Tipoff ‘26. “It gives me great pride now that our program is where it is, and we’re looking forward to continuing to grow.”
There was a glimmer of hope in her third season. Though the Lady Rebels still finished 11th in the SEC, they made noise in the Women’s National Invitational Tournament, finishing as the runner-up.
During the 2021-22 season, the Lady Rebels started to get it going. Ole Miss surged to 23-9, finishing 10–6 in the SEC. They earned their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2007.
The following year, the Rebels continued to thrive. They finished 25-9 and reached the Sweet Sixteen, highlighted by a vastly stunning upset of No. 1 seed Stanford in arguably one of the biggest wins in program history. This season cemented McPhee-McCuin as the right woman for the Ole Miss job and as one of the best coaches in women’s basketball.
The success kept going for the Lady Rebels. McPhee-McCuin led the Lady Rebels to the Second Round of the tournament in her next season, and last year, the Lady Rebels returned to the Sweet Sixteen.
Also notable is the individual success of players who McPhee-McCuin has coached. Three of McPhee-McCuin’s players have been drafted by WNBA teams: forward Shakira Austin, selected No. 3 by the Washington Mystics 2022; guard Marquesha Davis, selected No. 11 by the New York Liberty in 2024; and guard/forward Madison Scott, selected No. 14 in the second round by the Dallas Wings in 2025.
Now, in coach Yo’s eight season, the Lady Rebels are 18-4 overall. 5-2 in SEC play and ranked No. 17 in the country.
More importantly, McPhee-McCuin has had a significant impact on the city of Oxford. Before the winter storm hit, McPhee-McCuin went on the Stephen A Smith Show to set the record straight after he made remarks against the city.
After a winter storm left many without power, food and water, the McCuin family donated $5,000 to the Rebel Relief Disaster Fund. McPhee-McCuin and her foundation plan on doing even more.
McPhee-McCuin’s tenure has shown the country her prowess as a great basketball coach, but her actions for Oxford have made her influential in the city.
Chris Beard
Beard turned Texas Tech into a near powerhouse during his tenure between 2016 and 2021. In his second season, the Red Raiders finished 27-10 and advanced to the Elite Eight — their first 20-win season since 2006. A season later, the No. 3 seed Red Raiders fell to No. 1 seed Virginia in overtime of the National Championship.
In 2021, Beard took the head coach position at Texas, his alma mater. In his first season, the Longhorns advanced to the Round of 32. A season later, though, Texas fired Beard after his fiancee accused him of domestic violence. The Longhorns were 7-1 in the eight games before his firing.
Ole Miss hired Beard before the 2023-24 season. He took the helm from Kermit Davis, who, after leading the Rebels to an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2018-19, failed to post a season above 16 wins. He was fired with five games left in the regular season in 2022-23, which the Rebels finished 12-21 overall (3-15 SEC).
Beard’s impact was immediate. In 2023-24, the Rebels finished 20-12, including a 13-0 non-conference start. In his second year at Ole Miss, Beard led the Rebels to a 24-12 record — 10-8 in SEC play. The Rebels went on to make the NCAA Tournament and reached the Sweet Sixteen, defeating No. 11 seed North Carolina and No. 3 seed Iowa State before suffering a close loss to Michigan State.
Beard was named the Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year for his turnaround of the program.
This season the team has taken a step back. They are 11-10 overall and 3-5 in conference play. Things just have not gone their way this season.
“We’ve got six of our first nine in this league on the road,” Beard said in the Vanderbilt postgame press conference. “It’s quite a challenge. We’ve been able to win a couple road games to this point. Tonight we put ourselves right there.”
Players enjoy playing for Beard; in fact, he was the main attraction for several of this season’s transfers, including guard Hobert Grayson IV.
“I heard a lot of things about Coach Beard, and I just felt like … that’s a good thing to have as a coach, you know, who cares for you and wants the best things for you throughout your career,” Grayson said in a press conference on June 24.
