New NC State women’s basketball commit Madison Cox of Flower Mound (Texas) High was destined to love sports.
The 6-foot-2 Cox has a video of her dribbling a basketball at 3 years old. Her father, Dennis Cox, played basketball at Central Methodist College in Fayette, Mo., and her mother, Brenda Cox, played hoops at Southern Methodist.
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Older sister Lauren Cox played basketball at Baylor, and was the No. 3 overall pick in the WNBA Draft to the Indiana Fever in 2020. He averaged 12.0 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game for the Bears under coach Kim Mulkey.
Cox’s older sister Whitney Cox is sophomore on the Lubbock Christian women’s basketball team, and Kaylee Cox is a sophomore volleyball player at Missouri. Madison Cox played prep volleyball up until this past fall.
“We are all really sporty and it gets really competitive,” Cox said. “I played all the sports, but basketball really stuck with me. I fell in love in it.
“My dad has always been so supportive of us and try and go to every game if possible. He’s been amazing.”
Madison Cox ended up picking NC State over Missouri, with Vanderbilt and LSU, where Mulkey is now, as her other official visits. She hopes to study marketing or business.
“I want to stay around sports for as long as I can,” Cox said. "I'm just super excited to play for Coach [Wes] Moore and try and hopefully win a national championship."
Cox officially visited all four schools, including NC State on Sept. 23-25, when Connecticut played NCSU in football. ESPN’s HoopGurlz ranks her No. 71 overall in the class of 2023.
“It was so fun just being around the girls,” said Cox, who had Florida State transfer River Baldwin as a host. “I was able to see a short practice and see the football atmosphere. I saw the campus again and I learned how I would fit in their system.
“I’ll be a four-three position, hit trail threes and do pick and roll action. I can run the floor and they think I can push the ball if I get a rebound.”
NC State was able to watch Cox extensively this summer, due in part to her playing on the ProSkills traveling team with fellow Wolfpack commit Laci Steele of Edmond (Okla.) North High in the Nike Elite Youth Basketball. The two have known each other for nearly three years, but Cox didn’t view it as they were a package deal.
“It definitely is a plus but I didn’t want to base my decision off of someone else,” Cox said. “When it is the right fit, it is the right fit. I’m really excited to play with her and the other recruits going there. We have a really good class. Our freshman and sophomore year should be special for us.”
Cox was able to meet point guard commit Zoe Brooks and center commit Mallory Collier at the Wootten Camp in Dallas, Texas, earlier this month. Steele was also at the event.
“Zoe did work me a little bit after [the camp],” Cox said. “Laci has been since she committed.”
Cox had also unofficially visited NC State last February, but the recruiting relationship took some time to take hold. Assistant coaches Nikki West and Ashley Williams recruited the combo forward.
“After the summer, it got more serious,” Cox said. “I kind of had that previous relationship [due to the unofficial]. It had fallen off a little bit in March, April. After the summer, it got back up and I really had enjoyed being on campus last February.”
Cox figures she probably saw about 12 colleges unofficially during the recruiting process. Sometimes, it was while following around her older sisters.
“I really tried to take as many unofficials as I could so I could compare,” Cox said. “It was just there winning program [at NC State]. That was always a plus. I liked how coach Wes Moore ran and coached his program. I also liked the location of Raleigh. That was important to me. I just loved it.”
Flower Mound went 22-10 overall last year.
“I have to play all positions at my high school,” Cox said. “I’m excited to get better at every spot.”
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