Bulldog legend Victoria Vivians to join Mississippi State staff as assistant coach

One of the most decorated athletes in Mississippi State and the state of Mississippi’s basketball history is returning home.

The University announced on Monday that women’s hoops legend Victoria Vivians will be joining Sam Purcell’s coaching staff as the Director of Scouting. Vivians is currently in the middle of her WNBA season with the Seattle Storm, but will join the Bulldogs immediately following her season in October.

Vivians is one of a growing trend of professional basketball players that are multitasking as assistant coaches on college staffs. Former Kentucky great Rhyne Howard is a member of the Florida coaching staff. Vivians has planned to join the coaching ranks at the conclusion of her playing career and is getting a jumpstart.

“It is dream come true to join coach Purcell and the staff at Mississippi State,” Vivians said in a release. “This place is special and has always been home to me. The support for women’s basketball in this community is unrivaled and it means the world to me to be able to represent this program, university and the state of Mississippi.”

Vivians was more than just an MSU hoops legend

Starkville and MSU holds a special place in Vivians’ heart. She was the first national recruit to commit to former coach Vic Schaefer as he built the Bulldogs into a national power. Vivians chose State in 2013 after being recruited by most of the country.

At Scott Central, Vivians became one of the great scorers in high school basketball. Vivians was a two-time All-American and the No. 24 player nationally by ESPN. Over the course of her great career in Forest, Vivians scored an incredible 5,745 points and finished second in high school basketball history nationally. Counting her eighth grade season, she was the nation’s all-time leading scorer.

As a senior, Vivians averaged 46.2 points per game and she was a two-time Class 2A state champion and two-time Gatorade Player of the Year.

The accolades didn’t stop in high school. Vivians would score 2,527 points as a four-year starter for the Bulldogs. She had 17.1 points per game over the course of her career with 5.3 rebounds. She was a first-team All-American as a senior and a four-time All-SEC member with two first-team honors.

Vivians finished second in MSU history in scoring and she helped take the Bulldogs to heights the program had never reached. Over the course of her four-year career, Vivians went to the NCAA Tournament all four seasons, went to the SEC Tournament Championship three times, played in three Sweet 16s and two National Championship games and won the school’s first SEC Championship in a women’s sport.

“I loved my time playing in Maroon and White in front of the best fans in the country and now I am thankful to coach Purcell for the opportunity to be a part of a program that I love and pour into our student-athletes both on and off the court. What Coach Purcell has accomplished in his first two seasons has been impressive to follow. I can’t wait to learn from this staff every day and be a resource for the next generation of Bulldogs. Hail State!”

After her incredible career at MSU, Vivians was drafted eighth overall in the 2018 WNBA Draft by the Indiana Fever. Vivians spent the last five years playing for the Fever with one season interrupted due to a knee injury.

She played in 144 games with 78 starts and averaged 7.5 points and 3.2 rebounds a game. Vivians is now with the Storm and has played in 14 games this year with 4.0 points and 3.3 rebounds per game.

“This is a home run hire to bring Victoria Vivians back home to be a part of our staff at Mississippi State,” Purcell said. “It has always been a priority of mine to surround our student-athletes with additions that will equip them to be successful on and off the court.

“Victoria has shined throughout her entire career and is still excelling at the highest level in our sport. There is no doubt that she will be a great resource and mentor to our student-athletes. I can’t wait for her to arrive and watch her continue to have an impact every day.”

Vivians joins a revamped coaching staff as Purcell has a completely new group of assistant coaches. Cori Irvin became the new head coach at Chicago State, Associate Head coach Gabe Lazo joined the staff at Tennessee and Murriel Page and the Bulldog staff parted ways.

Purcell replaced those coaches with Georgia Southern head coach Anita Howard, former Louisville and Tennessee assistant Samantha Williams and new Associate Head Coach Fred Castro who was the head coach at Eastern Michigan.