Bio

Now beginning her 28th year as head coach of the Shelton State Community College Lady Buccaneers, Madonna Thompson boasts an overall record of 749-154 (83%). She has led the program to twenty-five consecutive 20-win seasons, with twelve of those eclipsing the 30-win mark. Thompson's Lady Bucs won the AJCCC Division II Conference Championship in 2000 and 2002 and finished runner-up in 2003 and 2004. The 2000 team advanced to the NJCAA Final Four, finishing fourth in the nation. After restructuring the conference, the Lady Bucs went on to win the ACCC Division I Conference Championship in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024 and finished runner-up in 2005 and 2025. The 2016, 2017, and 2018 teams were in the Final Four with all three teams finishing third. Last season, the 2025 team posted a record of 31-5, was ranked as high as #6 in the nation, and finished runner-up in the ACCC Championship, and played for the first NJCAA National Championship in both school and conference history.

Coach Thompson has not only won numerous Coach of the Year awards but is the two-time recipient of the Alberta Lee Cox Sportsmanship Award (2009 and 2013) and has sent 114 players to 4-year institutions at every level to continue their education and playing careers. During her tenure at Shelton State, she has produced 14 NJCAA All-Americans, been recognized with the ACCC Player of the Year eight times, has collected 16 ACCC Tournament MVP awards, one NJCAA National Tournament MVP, and coached the 2017-2018 Spalding NJCAA Division I Player of the Year.

The 2025-2026 season will feature 14 of Coach Thompson's former Lady Bucs competing at the following institutions:  Texas Tech University, Old Dominion University, Jacksonville State University (3), University of Louisiana Monroe, Austin Peay State University, Northwestern State University, Alabama State University (2), University of Missouri-Kansas City, Lincoln Memorial University, Miles College, Tuskegee University, and Point University. Coach Thompson is also proud to have a former manager serving in the same role at the University of Alabama. 

A native of Collinwood, Tennessee, Coach Thompson had her Collinwood High School jersey retired. Thompson was a 2025 inductee into the Shelton State Athletic Hall of Fame. She was a four-year starter for Coach Rick Moody at The University of Alabama from 1992-1995 and was a member of the 1994 NCAA Final Four team. Coach Thompson graduated from the University of Alabama with a Bachelor of Arts in Communicative Disorders/Psychology in 1995 and a Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology in 1997.