Inductees

It’s common these days to hear a successful person from a rural country upbringing say they “got it from the dirt.”

For Melissa McFerrin, that’s exactly what happened.

Growing up in smalltown Cassville during an era when girls and women’s athletics took a backseat to the guys, McFerrin pushed boundaries and carved her own path to glory. Strong-willed and naturally talented, she didn’t need the finer things to succeed.

“I spent a lot of time on a dirt court – even in the winter with my gloves and hat on,” McFerrin said.

There were no dreams of one day being in the WNBA, simply because the league didn’t exist. In time, that’s exactly where she wound up.

McFerrin starred at Cassville High School and then the University of Missouri before carrying the torch as a college and pro coach, and her success is why the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame proudly inducted her with the Class of 2025.

Sports weren’t really an option for girls until high school. College basketball was the pinnacle for women in that era, and overseas opportunities presented challenges. Undeterred, she dribbled through the dust alongside her older brother and his friends for the love of the game.

A multi-sport athlete who also competed in softball and track, her junior high physical education teacher, high school coach and “second mom,” Becky Henningson, was one of her first and greatest influences.

“Becky would take me to basketball camps, Olympic tryouts and gave me so many opportunities,” McFerrin said. “She created opportunities and made sure I got there to take advantage of them.”

McFerrin became a two-time all-state selection at Cassville in 1978 and 1979. After her junior year, she landed a tryout at Mizzou, recruited by assistant Dave Ketterman, and wound up choosing the Tigers over Kansas, Oklahoma and Arkansas.

Playing for legendary Mizzou coach Joann Rutherford (MSHOF, 2017), McFerrin was a four-year letterwinner and starting point guard from the fall of 1979 to March 1983. She helped Mizzou to the 1982 NCAA Sweet Sixteen and then the 1983 Big Eight Tournament championship and an NCAA Tournament berth.

McFerrin earned All-Big Eight honorable mention and scholar-athlete honors. Her family never missed a home game, making the four-hour trek from Cassville.

Rutherford said McFerrin was the rare player who didn’t struggle adjusting from high school to college.

“She was an excellent student,” Rutherford said. “She was a joy to coach. She was an excellent player; team leader, team captain. She was the first one in the gym and the last one to leave. Everyone looked up to her.”

McFerrin thought she’d become a journalist, lawyer or high school coach until Ketterman helped her land a graduate assistant job at Wayland Baptist University in Texas (1983-1984).

She parlayed that into assistant jobs at Central Michigan (1984-1990) and Ohio State (1990-1997) before joining the start-up WNBA as an assistant with the New York Liberty (1997-1999) and Washington Mystics (1999-2000). She later returned to college as an assistant at Minnesota (2002-2004).

She got her first head coaching job at American University (2005-2008), winning the Patriot League regular-season championship and earning Coach of the Year in 2008 before taking over at Memphis, where she served from 2008 until her retirement in 2021.

“I moved seven times in twelve years but, again, I was so challenged by recruiting, coaching and being at the highest level of the game,” McFerrin said. “I was genuinely addicted to the joy of preparation and love of competition.”

Her journey has taken her from the Missouri to the Holy Land and across the U.S.

Along the way, she coached All-Americans and Hall of Famers Katie Smith and Lindsey Whalen and WNBA No. 1 pick Janelle McCarville. She was an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator of the first women’s Final Four in Ohio State history in 1993 – with the No. 1 recruiting class – as the Buckeyes also won the Big Ten in the midst of a 118-90 record. She later helped lead Minnesota to the Final Four in 2004. She coached in front of sold-out crowds at Madison Square Garden and was part of the first WNBA Finals.

Talent, hard work, drive and the game of basketball afforded her such opportunities. She welcomed the dust, chose the hard work and earned the rewards.

“I always said that she was the type of kid that would be successful in whatever she wanted to do in life,” Rutherford said, “and she did it.”