Southern Miss women’s basketball head coach Joye Lee-McNelis today announced that she will retire as the program’s head coach at the end of the 2024-25 season.
The leader of the Lady Eagles for the last 21 seasons, McNelis, 62, is an institution in the game of women’s basketball. She has spent the last 34 seasons as a Division I head coach at Memphis (1991-04) and Southern Miss (2004-present). A 1997 inductee into the Southern Miss M-Club Hall of Fame, 2024 Pat Summitt Most Courageous Award winner and most recent into the Southern Miss Legends Club, McNelis is a true legend in Hattiesburg and in her sport.
A native of Leetown, Miss., McNelis first arrived in Hattiesburg 45 years ago as a college freshman from Hancock North Central High School. As a freshman, she became an integral part of the Lady Eagle program as an efficient shooter, helping the 1980-81 squad to Southern Miss’ first-ever postseason tournament appearance. A four-year letterwinner for Coach Kay James, McNelis finished her career with the second-most points in school history.
After two seasons at Texas State, McNelis returned to Hattiesburg to join the Lady Eagle staff for the 1986-87 season. As an assistant coach for Coach James, McNelis began a five-season career as one of the nation’s most-renowned students of the game. As the program’s primary recruiter, McNelis assembled some of the best classes in the country in Hattiesburg. Multiple classes were ranked in the top 10 nationally and included some of the greatest Lady Eagles in program history, including Tanya Bullock, Alexis Hall and Janice Felder – the most decorated player in program history.
After helping Southern Miss to three NCAA Tournaments and a 103-47 overall record in her five seasons, McNelis began her next chapter. On April 11, 1991, at just 28 years old, she accepted the head coaching position at Memphis State.
Following the Tigers’ first and only head coach of the modern era and all-time wins leader Mary Lou Johns, McNelis’ task of bringing the Lady Tigers back to national prominence was not easy. However, for the next 13 seasons McNelis did just that, amassing 229 wins and four berths in the NCAA Tournament.
On May 14, 2004, McNelis came home to Hattiesburg and accepted the job as the head coach of her Southern Miss Lady Eagles. Her homecoming was nearly 20 years in the making as she took over as the fourth head coach in program history.
Taking the reins immediately, she established the ‘Wings’ booster club to further support the Lady Eagle program. While her turnaround was slow, the Lady Eagles made strides in each of her first three seasons. In 2007-08, her fourth season back in Hattiesburg, saw Southern Miss win 21 games. Her next group in 2008-09 posted Southern Miss’ first back-to-back 20-win seasons since 1996. Future Lady Eagle Hall of Famer Pauline Love dominated Conference USA en route to three First Team All-C-USA selections.
McNelis continued her romp through Conference USA and was named the league’s 2014 Coach of the Year after a second-play finish and record-setting 27-7 campaign in 2013-14. From 2013-15, Southern Miss won 52 games and won 25-plus games in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 1990.
In helping Southern Miss make the transition to the Sun Belt Conference in 2022-23, McNelis led her Lady Eagles to the league’s regular season title and a semifinal finish in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament. The title was the program’s first since 1994 and McNelis’ first since 1998.
As time marched on, McNelis continued to rack up wins and won her 500th career game in the 2021-22 season-opener over William Carey. In 2022-23, she won her 300th game leading Southern Miss and her 550th game the next season. She continued to break through barriers, coaching her 1000th career game last season against Murray State in the WNIT.
After leading the Lady Eagles to a Super 16 finish in the 2024 Postseason WNIT, McNelis earned the Pat Summitt Most Courageous Award from the United State Basketball Writers Association. Earlier this season on Jan. 18, 2025, McNelis became the latest inductee into the Southern Miss Legends Club, joining her head coach Kay James and former All-American Janice Felder in the rafters of Reed Green Coliseum.
In 34 seasons as a Division I head coach, McNelis has made 14 postseason appearances, won two Coach of the Year titles, had 45 players named to all-conference lists, two players named player of the year and sent 13 former players to the professional ranks. She retires as one of 61 coaches in the history of women’s basketball to win over 550 games.
McNelis will be honored at Reed Green Coliseum on Friday night at halftime of the men’s basketball game against Troy.
A national search for McNelis’ successor will begin immediately.
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“I want to thank Joye and her family for their dedication to Southern Miss and to Lady Eagle basketball over the past 21 years. Coach McNelis has had a significant impact as a leader in our university community and throughout college basketball. Wins and losses have been just a piece of her legacy. I appreciate her attention to detail in leading her student-athletes and coaches in their daily lives and hope that she will continue to be a light around Southern Miss. I wish her well on the next chapter of her journey and thank her for the immense impact she had leading our program.”
– Jeremy McClain, Director of Athletics
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After more than 40 years in coaching, including the last 21 years at my beloved alma mater, it is time for me to step into the next chapter of my life. Coaching at Southern Miss has been more than just a profession—it has been a dream realized. From the time I was a young girl, basketball has shaped my life in immeasurable ways, and having the opportunity to lead this program has been one of my greatest honors. More than just the Xs and Os, this journey has been about building relationships, mentoring young women and watching them grow into confident, successful individuals both on and off the court. The impact that they have had on my life is just as profound as the impact I have hoped to have on theirs.
I am forever grateful to The University of Southern Mississippi’s administration, the athletic department, my coaching staff and all those who have supported me and this program over the years. To my players – both past and present – you have given me some of the most rewarding moments of my career, and I will always cherish the memories we have made together.
A special and heartfelt thank you goes to my husband Dennis and my children, Whitney and Conner, for the sacrifices they have made over the years in allowing me the opportunity to impact young women and others. Without their unwavering support and selflessness, I could not have done this for so many years. I am also incredibly grateful for the chance to have come home, where my parents Louis and Nell Lee were able to be a part of this journey with me. They were the ones who first put a basketball in my hands, and the memories of them being part of this program will remain some of my most treasured moments.
I also want to extend my sincere gratitude to the Wings members who have loved and supported our program from the moment I returned. Your dedication and belief in what we do have meant the world to me and to the young women who have worn the Southern Miss jersey.
Lastly, I want to thank God for blessing me with the opportunity to do what I love for so many years. As I step away from this role, I remain committed to the success of this program and am willing to assist in any way possible during this transition. Southern Miss will always be home, and I look forward to seeing the continued growth of this program in the years ahead.
With gratitude and respect,
Joye Lee-McNelis, Southern Miss Head Coach
https://southernmiss.com/news/2025/2/25/womens-basketball-joye-lee-mcnelis-announces-retirement
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