GREENVILLE , SC - MARCH 06 - Ole Miss's Cotie McMahon (32) during the 2026 SEC Women’s Basketball Tournament between the Ole Miss Rebels and the Vanderbilt Commodores at Bon Secours Arena in Greenville , SC on Friday, March 6, 2026. Photo by Addi Ray/SEC

Ole Miss Stands Alone As Mississippi’s Only NCAA Tournament Team

BY Taylor Hodges

In a year when college basketball in Mississippi never really found its footing, one program managed to rise above the mess.

Ole Miss is the only team in the state, men or women, that earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament.

That says plenty about the season everyone else had, but it also says something about the consistency Yolett McPhee-McCuin has built in Oxford.

Selection Sunday brought familiar news for the Rebels. For the fifth straight year, their name popped up on the bracket, this time as a No. 5 seed in the Sacramento region. They open play on Friday in Minneapolis against No. 12 Gonzaga. If they advance, they will see either No. 4 Minnesota or No. 13 Green Bay in the second round.

It is not a surprise they are here again.

Ole Miss put together a strong resume with a 23-11 record and eight SEC wins. They picked up three top-five victories, something no other team in program history had done, and reached the SEC Tournament semifinals for the fourth time in five seasons.

Five straight 20-win seasons have turned the Rebels into a steady national presence, even in a year when the rest of the state struggled to stay relevant.

“I don’t take that for granted. It’s hard to win. It’s hard to get to the NCAA Tournament. Not everyone gets to dance in March,” McPhee-McCuin said after Sunday’s bracket reveal. “I want this to become the normal expectation here. But I never take it for granted.”

Year eight under McPhee-McCuin has also been defined by player development, most notably Cotie McMahon. She arrived, took over, and never slowed down. Her SEC Newcomer of the Year award and First Team All-SEC selection were well earned.

“It’s win or go home. We don’t have time to really sit and think of all the, I wish I did this, shoulda, coulda, woulda,” McMahon said on Sunday. “We really have to live in the moment and realize that, you know, we either give our all, we’re packing our suitcase, and we’re going home, and we’re done for the season.”

This will be Ole Miss’ 22nd NCAA Tournament appearance, a history that includes 12 Sweet Sixteens and five Elite Eights. McPhee-McCuin is heading back to the tournament for the fifth time as a head coach, and she brings a team that has already shown it can handle big moments.

“I’m excited about the opportunity,” McPhee-McCuin said. “Our team will be ready to play someone outside the SEC, and I think our conference prepared us for that. Our schedule, playing on the road against ranked teams, being displaced at times — we’ve experienced a lot this year.”

In a season where Mississippi basketball mostly fell flat, Ole Miss kept its standard. And now the Rebels are the only ones packing for March.

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