For the University of Mississippi head women’s basketball coach, helping others is an essential part of who Yolett McPhee-McCuin is.
Whether she’s training athletes on how to work together to win games on the basketball court or devoting countless hours to improving the lives of young people in communities large and small, McPhee-McCuin, better known as “Coach Yo,” incorporates service to others in all aspects of her life.
McPhee-McCuin’s philanthropic spirit was celebrated Aug. 29, when she was honored with the Emerging Young Philanthropist Award by the Ole Miss Women’s Council for Philanthropy (OMWC). The event, held in the ballroom of The Oliver Hotel of Oxford, was filled with Coach Yo’s fans, family members, UM students and Women’s Council members and supporters.
To be recognized for the work she does to assist others off the basketball court was enormously touching, McPhee-McCuin said.
“This award means so much to me, and I was so surprised when they told me I was being honored with the Emerging Young Philanthropist Award by the Ole Miss Women’s Council,” she said.
Coach Yo said the award was particularly meaningful because she participated in the OMWC’s ceremony last year when Tywanna Smith, the former UM student-athlete, professional women’s basketball player and philanthropist, was the recipient.
“I’m familiar with the incredibly impactful work that members of the Women’s Council do for our Ole Miss students as well as their efforts to promote a culture of service to others,” she said.
One of the founding principles of the Women’s Council is to nurture philanthropic behavior. Recognized as one of the nation’s most innovative and generous scholarship programs, the OMWC focuses on the primary pillars of scholarship, leadership, mentorship and philanthropy.
“What an honor it is to recognize Coach Yo with our Emerging Young Philanthropist Award,” said Betsy Collier Smith, an active Women’s Council member. “Her passion for mentoring and community service inspires us all.
“If you have heard Coach Yo speak before, you know she brings so much positivity and encouragement, and she motivates us all to be better. The spirit to serve others is the most important trait we want our Women’s Council scholars to learn while here at Ole Miss.
“Our hope is for our scholars to be like Coach Yo and live out these values, so they make a difference wherever they go in life,” Smith said. “Coach Yo, you are a light, and we are thankful for the many ways that you support this program and community.”
In presenting the award, the Women’s Council noted the 42-year-old Ole Miss coach’s positive impact with her nonprofit foundation, No Ceilings with Coach Yo.
“To me, #NoCeilings represents living your life without limits, regardless of whether that’s referring to what you do on a basketball court or what you do in your life every day,” McPhee-McCuin said.
Born in the Bahamas, McPhee-McCuin initially created her No Ceilings with Coach Yo Foundation in 2019 to assist with the relief efforts aimed at assisting the island country after her homeland was devastated by Hurricane Dorian.
Since then, her foundation has expanded its focus to include supporting women and young people through education and sports in the United States and the Bahamas. This support can come from free Back 2 School giveaways, basketball clinics and youth workshops.
For instance, this summer No Ceilings with Coach Yo held a series of free public events in Mississippi communities. At C.B. Webb, an income-based affordable housing complex in Oxford, McPhee-McCuin and her team put together a back-to-school drive at which they provided backpacks filled with school supplies, handed out snow cones and offered haircuts and face painting for youngsters.
She and her foundation also hosted a free basketball clinic at the Oxford Activity Center this summer.
“Coach Yo and her foundation provide outreach programs like these that not only impact our Oxford community, but many other communities around the state, country and world,” Smith said.
McPhee-McCuin said the importance of assisting others was instilled in her at a young age.
“I think I inherited my philanthropic spirit from my parents as I was growing up in the Bahamas,” she said. “My parents always gave to those who were less fortunate. This was something they were passionate about and this same desire to help others became a part of who I am.
“I hope that my philanthropic work serves as an example to others,” McPhee-McCuin said. “I believe that all of us can be of service to our communities. Serving others is not as much about how many financial resources you can give because no amount is too small or too big. It is more about the impact you can make, regardless of whether it is giving of your finances, your time or whatever skills and talents you might have.”
This fall, McPhee-McCuin begins her seventh season as head coach at Ole Miss. During her first six seasons, she was able to elevate the women’s basketball program back into the national spotlight. During the 2023-24 season, Coach Yo led the program to a record 12 SEC wins and the school’s third straight NCAA Tournament appearance.
This past basketball season also saw McPhee-McCuin picking up her 100th win as the team’s head coach, becoming only the second coach in program history to achieve that milestone. She also took the women’s basketball team to the Bahamas, where they claimed the 2023 Battle4Atlantis Championship.
McPhee-McCuin earned a bachelor’s in business management and administration from the University of Rhode Island in 2004 and a master’s in physical education from the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff in 2007.
She and her husband, Kelly, have two daughters, Yasmine and Yuri.
For more information about her nonprofit, visit No Ceilings with Coach Yo Foundation.
For more information about supporting the Ole Miss Women’s Council, contact Suzanne Helveston, OMWC program director, at shelveston@olemiss.edu or 662-915-2956 or visit here.
By Jonathan Scott/UM Development