McKenzie Graves adds to her family’s legacy with 49ers

CHARLOTTE ATHLETICS

Charlotte 49ers freshman McKenzie Graves, right, will follow her mother Nikki  as basketball players in the women’s program. McKenzie’s brother Nik played on the men’s team from 2022-25.

McKenzie Graves wants to leave her unique stamp on Charlotte women’s basketball.

Graves, a freshman guard, has a deep family history on campus. Her mom, Nikki was one of the best players to come through the 49ers’ program. She scored 1,183 points and finished top 10 all-time in steals. After college, she had tryouts for the WNBA’s Charlotte Sting and Detroit Shock. However, due to a WNBA lockout, Nikki decided to pursue a career in youth development. 

While McKenzie isn’t old enough to remember her mom’s playing days, their tight relationship landed her on Charlotte’s campus.

“Family is such a big thing for me,” McKenzie Graves said. “Hearing all the stories about my mom growing up, it was always ‘Oh, yeah, your mom could do this,’ and ‘I saw your mom do that,’ but I've never seen the film on her. It's good to hear the stories. She pushed me to work hard. My mom is like my best friend, so eventually, I kind of just wanted to end up where she started it.”

Graves' older brother Nik played for the Charlotte men’s basketball team from 2022-25 before transferring to Creighton for his senior season. While McKenzie said she knew that Nik planned on transferring before she committed, Nik still spoke fondly of his time at Charlotte, and helped sell her on it.

“[Nik] was always just encouraging me,” McKenzie said. “He talked about how much he loved it here, and honestly, I knew my brother wasn't gonna stay by the time I made my decision, so he didn't really have an influence on if I was going to commit or not, but this was just somewhere I kind of always wanted to be. Hearing how good his experience was here, it kind of just sold me a little bit more.”

McKenzie played her final season of high school basketball at NC Good Better Best Academy, a highly competitive player development program compared to the traditional high school basketball experience. She appeared in 16 games as a senior, averaging just under 10 points per game. One game in particular impressed Charlotte coach Tomekia Reed. 

“As we watched McKenzie play in high school, she was playing with some of the better players,” Reed said, “she was playing with great athletes, with a great coach, coaching staff, and we saw them play a top team here in Charlotte. 

“One thing that I noticed about McKenzie, she never backed down. She was a presence on the floor. She was a leader on the floor. Her work ethics were different. And moving forward into this new season, we knew that we needed players like that, not only players that were good, hard workers on the floor, but players who bought into who Charlotte is.”

McKenzie said she has always thrived on being coached hard. Reed can be a fiery and intense coach, and McKenzie said this is something she loves about Reed as a coach.

“I've just always been a player that really likes tough coaching,” McKenzie said. “When I first met coach [Reed], she was a tough coach, and I really liked that. The energy on the sideline, I've always liked a coach that's like going up and down the court. Her energy, her passion for the game, her enthusiasm on the court, is just something I really loved.”

Reed normally likes to put veteran leaders on the floor. While McKenzie is a freshman, Reed feels there is room for her to have a voice.

“When you watch McKenzie play, you don't even know she's a freshman,” Reed said. “And that's what I like. I like that maturity that she's showing. I like the confidence that she has, and so she'll be able to have a really good role with this program. Obviously, we want to get her feet wet. We want her to get an opportunity so that she can lead the next team to come in as a freshman. She'll have a voice, a voice to encourage, a voice to inspire, a voice to help instill that locker room pride in these players when a coaching staff is not around.”

McKenzie hopes to make an impact any way possible. She knows people may think she has big shoes to fill with her family history of 49ers but she’s interested in her own legacy.

“I just want to leave my mark,” she said. “Leave a mark with high energy, a good attitude. Of course, the family legacy is something I would love to leave, but my parents and my brother left their legacy here.

“It's time for me to leave my legacy.”

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