Southern Miss Athletics Mourns the Loss of Joye Lee-McNelis
6/25/2025 9:30:00 AM | Women's Basketball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Southern Miss mourns the passing of former Southern Miss women's basketball head coach Joye Lee-McNelis, who died Tuesday.
McNelis, 63, witnessed over 1,000 games of Lady Eagle Basketball as a student-athlete, assistant coach and later as head coach for 21 seasons. In her 34-year coaching career, she amassed over 550 career wins and retired as one of the game's greatest coaches.
A member of the Southern Miss Legends Club, the Southern Miss M-Club Hall of Fame, recipient of the 2024 Pat Summitt Most Courageous Award, the 2025 USA TODAY Mississippi Woman of the Year and, most recently, an inductee to the Memphis Sports Hall of Fame, McNelis was well decorated on and off the court. Over the last eight years, her battle with cancer showed her indominable spirit in the face of the adversity and served as an inspiration to countless individuals around the country under the #McNelisStrong banner.
McNelis was born to Mr. Louis Dempsey Lee, Sr., and Mrs. Nell Iris Lee Lee on June 2, 1962, in Leetown, Miss. She is preceded in death by her parents, her grandparents and many other aunts and uncles. She is survived by her brothers Louis Dempsey Lee, Jr., and Rico (Trudy) Alphus Lee; her husband Dennis McNelis; her daughter Whitney (Michael) McNelis Wilkinson; her son Connor Lee McNelis; and her two grandchildren Emma Grace Wilkinson and Caroline Lee Wilkinson. She was a dedicated member of Temple Baptist Church in Hattiesburg.
In lieu of flowers and in honor of her fight against lung cancer, the family asks for donations to her personal charity, the Forrest General Patient Navigation Fund. To donate, click HERE. Friends and family interested in sharing their memories of Coach McNelis, including photos, can email mcnelismemories@yahoo.com.
The McNelis family would also like to thank the countless health care professionals of the Forrest Health Cancer Center, Forrest General Hospital and the Asbury Hospice House.
Visitation will take place on Friday, June 27, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Temple Baptist Church (5220 Old Highway 11, Hattiesburg, MS 39402) in Hattiesburg. A funeral service will be held on Saturday, June 28, at 1:30 p.m. at Temple Baptist as well, followed by a graveside service at Lee's Chapel Baptist Church No. 2 (27015 Leetown Road, Picayune, MS 39466) with Moore Funeral Service of Hattiesburg overseeing both services.
McNelis' journey with Southern Miss women's basketball spanned nearly 45 years since she enrolled at The University of Southern Mississippi in 1980. A star athlete at Hancock North Central High School, she won two state titles and was regarded as the top guard in the state.
After months of recruiting battles fought by coaches from around the country, she decided to stay close to home and play for coach Kay James and the Lady Eagles. In four years, Joye Nell Lee scored more points than every other player in program history except for one – her mentor Nancy Faulk. After the scrappy freshman earned her way into the starting lineup Faulk, who had just graduated, gave McNelis her trademark No. 14 jersey.
The guard from Leetown, Miss., finished her four-year career with 1,512 points and won four letters with the Lady Eagles. Her contributions to the team as a freshman led Southern Miss to its first postseason tournament in the fledgling program's history, advancing to the second round of the AIAW Region III Tournament. McNelis and her Lady Eagles made the postseason tournament again in 1982 at the National Women's Invitational Tournament – the predecessor of the modern WNIT – in Amarillo, Texas.
As a senior, she led the Lady Eagles in scoring with 19.7 points per game as Southern Miss finished as the best scoring team in the nation. At the end of her career, the Lady Eagle record books had a sizeable portion dedicated to her name. To date, she still ranked amongst the top 10 in seven statistical categories, including ninth all-time scoring with 1,512 points, ninth in scoring average (14.0 ppg), field goals made and attempted, free throws made and attempted and free throw percentage. In her four seasons, Southern Miss posted a 73-28 overall record.
After earning her bachelor's degree in business distributive education in 1984, she accepted a job at Southwest Texas State for the 1984-85 season under new head coach Dennis McNelis. Dennis, a standout assistant at Clemson and Florida State, looked to Joye to bolster his new squad with her innate recruiting ability. Eventually marrying, Joye and Dennis moved back to Hattiesburg after two seasons in San Marcos for Joye to work under Coach James as an assistant coach.
Beginning in 1986, the now Joye Lee-McNelis helped Southern Miss and Lady Eagle Basketball reach new heights. A true student of the game, she helped the offensive-minded James find new ways to approach the basket in the rapidly changing world of women's college basketball. McNelis' biggest impacts on the program, though, began off the court. As Southern Miss' recruiting coordinator, she brought in multiple classes ranked in the top 10 nationally and signed some of the greatest players in Southern Miss history, including Tanya Bullock, Alexis Hall and 1994 Kodak All-American Janice Felder, the most-decorated Lady Eagle in program history.
As an assistant, McNelis helped Southern Miss to three NCAA Tournaments, two Metro Conference Tournament Titles and a regular season championship. The Lady Eagles finished 103-47 for a 68.7 win percentage.
In 1991, administrators at Memphis State saw something in Joye Lee-McNelis that perhaps not even she had yet. On April 11, 1991, the 28-year-old from Leetown was now a head coach at the Division I level.
McNelis was charged with nothing short of the impossible – rebuild the Lady Tiger program into something the program had not been: a consistent winner. While tough at first, McNelis came into her own as a program builder with the Lady Tigers. Her efforts began from the ground up, quite literally as McNelis had her first squad assist in repainting the Elma Roane Fieldhouse before starting practice in the fall.
As the Lady Tigers' head coach for 13 seasons, she amassed a 229-156 overall record and led Memphis to four consecutive NCAA Tournaments. She is still the last Memphis coach to take the program to the NCAA Tournament with her 1995 team advancing to the second round.
On multiple occasions, larger programs attempted to lure McNelis away from Memphis for double and sometimes triple her salary. She turned down offers from South Carolina, Texas A&M and Florida State, amongst others, knowing that her next job would take her home to Southern Miss.
On May 14, 2004, McNelis did just that and came home to accept the job as head coach of the Lady Eagles.
A 1997 inductee into the Southern Miss M-Club Hall of Fame, McNelis was starting at square one at Reed Green Coliseum. Immediately, she began laying the foundation for the program's future success by setting up a booster club, the 'Wings,' which became the Lady Eagles' biggest supporters.
Her early teams struggled to find their footing, but by her third season, a short-handed group of Lady Eagles posted a 15-15 record. Amber Eugene, Kendra Reed and Lauren Pittman all earned All-Conference USA selections and set up the 2007-08 squad for greatness.
Southern Miss posted back-to-back 20-win seasons in the next two years, winning 21 in 2007-08 and 20 in 2008-09. It was the first time Southern Miss won 20 games in back-to-back years since the 1994-95 and 1995-96 seasons. Future Hall of Famer Pauline Love earned the first of three-straight First Team All-Conference USA honors and helped Southern Miss advance in the postseason for the first time since 1999-2000.
McNelis was named 2014 Conference USA Coach of the Year after the Lady Eagles won 10-straight down the stretch to finish second in the Conference USA standings. The 2013-14 squad tied the program's all-time single-season wins with a 27-7 record and advanced to the Conference USA Tournament championship game against Middle Tennessee before qualifying for the WNIT.
Southern Miss claimed multiple All-Conference USA honors with Jamierra Faulkner earning her third consecutive First Team honors as well as the league's Defensive Player of the Year. Tamara Jones was named Newcomer of the Year and Brittanny Dinkins earned a spot on the All-Freshman squad.
The 2014-15 group won another 25 games and advanced to the WNIT Great 8 – the farthest any Lady Eagle team has advanced in postseason play. The year also marked the first time Southern Miss posted back-to-back seasons with 25-plus wins since 1988-89 and 1989-90.
By the 2019-20 season, McNelis had coached her 500th game as Southern Miss' head coach. In the 2021-22 season opener against William Carey, McNelis notched her 500th career win.
In her first year in the Sun Belt Conference, the Lady Eagles broke through for the program's first conference title since 1993-94. It was McNelis' first conference title since her 1997-98 Conference USA claim at Memphis and her fourth overall. The 2022-23 squad also topped 20 wins for the first time since 2016-17 and its 13 conference wins tied the program's high-water mark.
McNelis picked up her 300th win as Lady Eagle head coach against ULM, making Southern Miss one of six Division I programs with two head coaches boasting over 300 wins. Her 2023-24 squad made another appearance in the Postseason WNIT, advancing to the Super 16 to claim back-to-back 20-wins seasons once again.
Perhaps her most prestigious award, she was named the recipient of the 2024 Pat Summitt Most Courageous Award by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association. The award meant even more to McNelis, who had become friends with Summitt while coaching at Memphis.
On January 18, 2025, she became the 22nd member of the illustrious Southern Miss Legends Club, which represents the highest honor for any Southern Miss student-athlete and coach. She joined her former coach and lifelong mentor Kay James and her former player Janice Felder, whose banners hers now hangs next to.
On February 25, 2025, McNelis announced her intentions to retire following the end of the season. Days later, USA TODAY tabbed her as the publication's Woman of the Year for the state of Mississippi. Her story of fighting in the face of adversity and inspiring so many others in their fights earned her the honor of representing her home state.
In all that she did, Joye Lee-McNelis gave her all. Most importantly, she inspired hundreds of young athletes to aspire for more. May she rest in peace, knowing her battle is done.
McNelis, 63, witnessed over 1,000 games of Lady Eagle Basketball as a student-athlete, assistant coach and later as head coach for 21 seasons. In her 34-year coaching career, she amassed over 550 career wins and retired as one of the game's greatest coaches.
A member of the Southern Miss Legends Club, the Southern Miss M-Club Hall of Fame, recipient of the 2024 Pat Summitt Most Courageous Award, the 2025 USA TODAY Mississippi Woman of the Year and, most recently, an inductee to the Memphis Sports Hall of Fame, McNelis was well decorated on and off the court. Over the last eight years, her battle with cancer showed her indominable spirit in the face of the adversity and served as an inspiration to countless individuals around the country under the #McNelisStrong banner.
McNelis was born to Mr. Louis Dempsey Lee, Sr., and Mrs. Nell Iris Lee Lee on June 2, 1962, in Leetown, Miss. She is preceded in death by her parents, her grandparents and many other aunts and uncles. She is survived by her brothers Louis Dempsey Lee, Jr., and Rico (Trudy) Alphus Lee; her husband Dennis McNelis; her daughter Whitney (Michael) McNelis Wilkinson; her son Connor Lee McNelis; and her two grandchildren Emma Grace Wilkinson and Caroline Lee Wilkinson. She was a dedicated member of Temple Baptist Church in Hattiesburg.
In lieu of flowers and in honor of her fight against lung cancer, the family asks for donations to her personal charity, the Forrest General Patient Navigation Fund. To donate, click HERE. Friends and family interested in sharing their memories of Coach McNelis, including photos, can email mcnelismemories@yahoo.com.
The McNelis family would also like to thank the countless health care professionals of the Forrest Health Cancer Center, Forrest General Hospital and the Asbury Hospice House.
Visitation will take place on Friday, June 27, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Temple Baptist Church (5220 Old Highway 11, Hattiesburg, MS 39402) in Hattiesburg. A funeral service will be held on Saturday, June 28, at 1:30 p.m. at Temple Baptist as well, followed by a graveside service at Lee's Chapel Baptist Church No. 2 (27015 Leetown Road, Picayune, MS 39466) with Moore Funeral Service of Hattiesburg overseeing both services.
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McNelis' journey with Southern Miss women's basketball spanned nearly 45 years since she enrolled at The University of Southern Mississippi in 1980. A star athlete at Hancock North Central High School, she won two state titles and was regarded as the top guard in the state.
After months of recruiting battles fought by coaches from around the country, she decided to stay close to home and play for coach Kay James and the Lady Eagles. In four years, Joye Nell Lee scored more points than every other player in program history except for one – her mentor Nancy Faulk. After the scrappy freshman earned her way into the starting lineup Faulk, who had just graduated, gave McNelis her trademark No. 14 jersey.
The guard from Leetown, Miss., finished her four-year career with 1,512 points and won four letters with the Lady Eagles. Her contributions to the team as a freshman led Southern Miss to its first postseason tournament in the fledgling program's history, advancing to the second round of the AIAW Region III Tournament. McNelis and her Lady Eagles made the postseason tournament again in 1982 at the National Women's Invitational Tournament – the predecessor of the modern WNIT – in Amarillo, Texas.
As a senior, she led the Lady Eagles in scoring with 19.7 points per game as Southern Miss finished as the best scoring team in the nation. At the end of her career, the Lady Eagle record books had a sizeable portion dedicated to her name. To date, she still ranked amongst the top 10 in seven statistical categories, including ninth all-time scoring with 1,512 points, ninth in scoring average (14.0 ppg), field goals made and attempted, free throws made and attempted and free throw percentage. In her four seasons, Southern Miss posted a 73-28 overall record.
After earning her bachelor's degree in business distributive education in 1984, she accepted a job at Southwest Texas State for the 1984-85 season under new head coach Dennis McNelis. Dennis, a standout assistant at Clemson and Florida State, looked to Joye to bolster his new squad with her innate recruiting ability. Eventually marrying, Joye and Dennis moved back to Hattiesburg after two seasons in San Marcos for Joye to work under Coach James as an assistant coach.
Beginning in 1986, the now Joye Lee-McNelis helped Southern Miss and Lady Eagle Basketball reach new heights. A true student of the game, she helped the offensive-minded James find new ways to approach the basket in the rapidly changing world of women's college basketball. McNelis' biggest impacts on the program, though, began off the court. As Southern Miss' recruiting coordinator, she brought in multiple classes ranked in the top 10 nationally and signed some of the greatest players in Southern Miss history, including Tanya Bullock, Alexis Hall and 1994 Kodak All-American Janice Felder, the most-decorated Lady Eagle in program history.
As an assistant, McNelis helped Southern Miss to three NCAA Tournaments, two Metro Conference Tournament Titles and a regular season championship. The Lady Eagles finished 103-47 for a 68.7 win percentage.
In 1991, administrators at Memphis State saw something in Joye Lee-McNelis that perhaps not even she had yet. On April 11, 1991, the 28-year-old from Leetown was now a head coach at the Division I level.
McNelis was charged with nothing short of the impossible – rebuild the Lady Tiger program into something the program had not been: a consistent winner. While tough at first, McNelis came into her own as a program builder with the Lady Tigers. Her efforts began from the ground up, quite literally as McNelis had her first squad assist in repainting the Elma Roane Fieldhouse before starting practice in the fall.
As the Lady Tigers' head coach for 13 seasons, she amassed a 229-156 overall record and led Memphis to four consecutive NCAA Tournaments. She is still the last Memphis coach to take the program to the NCAA Tournament with her 1995 team advancing to the second round.
On multiple occasions, larger programs attempted to lure McNelis away from Memphis for double and sometimes triple her salary. She turned down offers from South Carolina, Texas A&M and Florida State, amongst others, knowing that her next job would take her home to Southern Miss.
On May 14, 2004, McNelis did just that and came home to accept the job as head coach of the Lady Eagles.
A 1997 inductee into the Southern Miss M-Club Hall of Fame, McNelis was starting at square one at Reed Green Coliseum. Immediately, she began laying the foundation for the program's future success by setting up a booster club, the 'Wings,' which became the Lady Eagles' biggest supporters.
Her early teams struggled to find their footing, but by her third season, a short-handed group of Lady Eagles posted a 15-15 record. Amber Eugene, Kendra Reed and Lauren Pittman all earned All-Conference USA selections and set up the 2007-08 squad for greatness.
Southern Miss posted back-to-back 20-win seasons in the next two years, winning 21 in 2007-08 and 20 in 2008-09. It was the first time Southern Miss won 20 games in back-to-back years since the 1994-95 and 1995-96 seasons. Future Hall of Famer Pauline Love earned the first of three-straight First Team All-Conference USA honors and helped Southern Miss advance in the postseason for the first time since 1999-2000.
McNelis was named 2014 Conference USA Coach of the Year after the Lady Eagles won 10-straight down the stretch to finish second in the Conference USA standings. The 2013-14 squad tied the program's all-time single-season wins with a 27-7 record and advanced to the Conference USA Tournament championship game against Middle Tennessee before qualifying for the WNIT.
Southern Miss claimed multiple All-Conference USA honors with Jamierra Faulkner earning her third consecutive First Team honors as well as the league's Defensive Player of the Year. Tamara Jones was named Newcomer of the Year and Brittanny Dinkins earned a spot on the All-Freshman squad.
The 2014-15 group won another 25 games and advanced to the WNIT Great 8 – the farthest any Lady Eagle team has advanced in postseason play. The year also marked the first time Southern Miss posted back-to-back seasons with 25-plus wins since 1988-89 and 1989-90.
By the 2019-20 season, McNelis had coached her 500th game as Southern Miss' head coach. In the 2021-22 season opener against William Carey, McNelis notched her 500th career win.
In her first year in the Sun Belt Conference, the Lady Eagles broke through for the program's first conference title since 1993-94. It was McNelis' first conference title since her 1997-98 Conference USA claim at Memphis and her fourth overall. The 2022-23 squad also topped 20 wins for the first time since 2016-17 and its 13 conference wins tied the program's high-water mark.
McNelis picked up her 300th win as Lady Eagle head coach against ULM, making Southern Miss one of six Division I programs with two head coaches boasting over 300 wins. Her 2023-24 squad made another appearance in the Postseason WNIT, advancing to the Super 16 to claim back-to-back 20-wins seasons once again.
Perhaps her most prestigious award, she was named the recipient of the 2024 Pat Summitt Most Courageous Award by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association. The award meant even more to McNelis, who had become friends with Summitt while coaching at Memphis.
On January 18, 2025, she became the 22nd member of the illustrious Southern Miss Legends Club, which represents the highest honor for any Southern Miss student-athlete and coach. She joined her former coach and lifelong mentor Kay James and her former player Janice Felder, whose banners hers now hangs next to.
On February 25, 2025, McNelis announced her intentions to retire following the end of the season. Days later, USA TODAY tabbed her as the publication's Woman of the Year for the state of Mississippi. Her story of fighting in the face of adversity and inspiring so many others in their fights earned her the honor of representing her home state.
In all that she did, Joye Lee-McNelis gave her all. Most importantly, she inspired hundreds of young athletes to aspire for more. May she rest in peace, knowing her battle is done.
– #McNelisStrong –
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