North Carolina State University Athletics
Women's Basketball
- Title:
- Associate Head Coach
- Email:
- rdwest2@ncsu.edu
- Phone:
- (919) 515-3315
Nikki West returned to the NC State coaching staff as an assistant coach prior to the start of the 2020-21 campaign and was reassumed the role of associate head coach ahead of the 2022-23 season. West previously spent five seasons (2013-14 through 2017-18) on the Wolfpack staff, and she rejoined the Pack after spending the 2019-20 campaign as an assistant coach for the Charlotte 49ers. West has been a member of Coach Moore’s staffs for nearly 20 years.
In her 10 completed seasons with the Wolfpack, West has helped the program post a 257-96 overall record and a 131-53 record in the ACC. She’s been a large part of guiding NC State to postseason invitations each year, including nine NCAA Tournament appearances, five Sweet 16 berths (2018, 21, 22, 24, 25), two Elite Eight appearances (2022, 24) and the program’s second Final Four (2024). With her assistance, the Pack has put together 10 20+ win campaigns, eight top-four ACC finishes and seven top-25 national finishes.
Upon returning to the staff ahead of the 2020-21 campaign, West got back to work with the Wolfpack’s post players. She played a large role in the development of two-time ACC Tournament MVP, WNBA draftee and All-American center Elissa Cunane. That season, NC State repeated as ACC Tournament champion, went 22-3 (12-2 ACC) and finished the year with a Sweet 16 appearance and a No. 3 final ranking that tied the best in program history.
A season later in 2021-22, West helped guide the Pack to its third-straight ACC Tournament title and its first regular-season and tournament crown sweep since 1984-85. In addition to reaching the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight for the first time since 1998, the team won a program-record 32 games and finished the year ranked No. 3 in the Associated Press Top 25. She also was a part of the team’s quest through one of the toughest schedules in the nation in 2022-23, as the team finished 20-12 and earned an NCAA Tournament.
West played a big role in the team’s memorable 31-7 season that ended in the program’s first Final Four since 1998 and a No. 4 final AP ranking. The team tied a school record nine AP top 25 wins, with four of those being top five wins (No. 2 UConn, No. 3 Colorado, No. 5 Stanford and No. 4 Texas). West was also instrumental in the development of River Baldwin and Mimi Collins during their graduate seasons, which included both of their scoring averages doubling from a season before.
In 2024-25, the Pack earned its sixth Sweet 16 berth in the past seven tournaments with a 28-7 record and 16-2 mark in the ACC. NC State shared the ACC Regular Season title and earned the No. 1 seed at the ACC Tournament to make its fifth appearance in the title game in the past six years. The Pack finished the season with a No. 9 final ranking.
NC State finished 21-11 and 13-5 in ACC play to finish fourth and earn a double-bye in the ACC Tournament in 2025-26. West was instrumental in the Wolfpack having one of the most dominant frontcourts in the ACC, led by All-ACC First Team selection and Katrina McClain Power Forward of the Year finalist Khamil Pierre. NC State also earned its eighth NCAA Tournament Second Round in the past nine tournaments with a win over Tennessee in the first round.
In her first season at NC State (2013-14), West helped the Wolfpack to a 25-8 record, a fourth-place finish in the ACC standings and an NCAA Tournament appearance. After an 18-15 campaign in 2014-15 and a 20-11 season in 2015-16, she helped lead NC State to the NCAA Tournament Round of 32 in 2016-17 with an impressive 23-9 record (12-4 ACC). She also aided in authoring upsets of four top 15 teams throughout that season: No. 2 Notre Dame, No. 6 Florida State, No. 12 Duke and No. 9 Louisville.
During the 2017-18 campaign, West’s final season in her first stint with the Pack, NC State went 26-9 on the year and won two NCAA Tournament games in Raleigh before advancing to the Sweet 16 for the first time in 11 years.
West also worked closely with 2014 WNBA Draft picks Markeisha Gatling (first round) and Kody Burke (third round). During the 2013-14 season, she helped Gatling become the nation’s most accurate shooter at a .663 clip and saw the Wolfpack’s star center achieve an 81 percent increase in scoring output from the prior season (9.6 PPG to 17.4 PPG).
Prior to following Moore to NC State in April 2013, she served on his staff at Chattanooga for nine seasons. That included six years as an assistant coach before she was elevated to associate head coach for her final three seasons with the Lady Mocs.
At Chattanooga, West played a key role in the seven Southern Conference titles and five NCAA Tournament selections. The Lady Mocs earned 25 First Team All-SoCon honors, five SoCon Tournament MVPs and 23 All-Tournament selections dating back to her first season with the program (2004-05). The team posted an overall record of 220-68 (.763) with West on the sidelines.
No stranger to the ACC, the former Nikki Blassingame was an All-ACC performer at Clemson from 1996-99. She helped the Tigers make four NCAA Tournament appearances and played in 126 career games. Clemson won the program’s first ACC Tournament title in 1996 when West was a freshman. During her senior season, she earned ACC All-Tournament honors, as Clemson captured its second ACC Tournament championship in four seasons. That 1998-99 squad won a school-record 26 games, reached the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 and finished the season ranked 10th by the AP.
Also as a senior for the Tigers, she started all 31 games while averaging 10.4 points and 7.9 rebounds per game. West graduated in 2000 with a degree in early childhood education from Clemson. She was a three-year member of the athletic department’s Tiger Honor Roll.
West also previously coached for USC Upstate (2002-04), the Carolina Lady Flames AAU team (2002) and the junior varsity/varsity teams at Dorman High School (2000-02).
A native of Seneca, South Carolina, West led Seneca High School to the state championship her senior year.
In June 2011, she married Marcus West, who is an assistant coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
COACH MOORE'S TAKE:
“We’re blessed to have Nikki return to NC State. She brings a wealth of college coaching experience, as well as 16 years of working directly with me at the Division I level. She is very familiar with our system and the high-character, elite athletes we recruit to play for the Wolfpack. As a former ACC player herself, Nikki is able to relate to and mentor the young ladies she works with, both on the court and off, and she is instrumental in assisting them in having successful careers and lives.”
