2025-26 WBCA Division I Coach of the Year Finalist
Two-time Kathy Delaney-Smith Mid-Major Coach of the Year Finalist
2023-24 MAAC Coach of the Year
2023-24 Maggie Dixon All-Met Coach of the Year
2023-24 ECAC Coach of the Year
2023-24 Kay Yow National Coach of the Year
In her four years as Head Coach of the Stags, Carly Thibault-DuDonis has built the Fairfield University Women’s Basketball program one of the premiere programs, not just in the mid-major realm but across the entire national Division I landscape.
During her historic tenure, the Stags have boasted three-straight MAAC Championships and NCAA Tournament appearances for the first time in program history. Fairfield has also received votes in the Associated Press (AP) Top-25 poll in three-straight seasons, receiving a No. 25 overall ranking during the 2023-24 and 2025-26 campaigns.
Fairfield has also posted a 87-12 overall record during their last three MAAC Championship seasons, marking the fifth-best winning percentage in the country over that span. In MAAC play, Fairfield has tallied a 67-2 record which included a 42-game winning streak against conference opponents.
Fairfield has also won a national-leading 53 road games during that span.
In her four seasons, “Coach Carly” has amassed a .791 winning percentage which ranks seventh among active Division I head coaches. Those victories include wins over 15 different conferences including the program’s first-ever win against a SEC school. The Stags have also posted victories against the: ACC, Big East, Big Ten, American Athletic Conference, and the Atlantic-10.
She has also mentored 11 All-MAAC selections including five All-MAAC First Team selections. Fairfield has also been represented with four major awards which includes two conference Players of the Year, a Sixth Player of the Year, and a Rookie of the Year.
Three student-athletes scored their 1,000th career points during Coach Carly’s tenure as the Stags were one of five teams in the country to boast three players who netted all of their 1,000 points with the same program.
During the historic 2023-24 season, Coach Carly guided the Stags to a program-record 31 wins which featured a 29-game winning streak, the second-longest in the country behind only No.1 South Carolina. Those victories included a perfect 23-0 record against MAAC opponents culminating in capturing the MAAC Championship trophy and automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.
The success of the Stags was noticed around the nation as Fairfield earned their first-ever national ranking in the AP Top-25 poll as well as receiving votes in the USA Today Coaches Poll. They finished the year in the top-five nationally in the College Insider Mid-Major Poll.
Her historic success was recognized among her peers as she was unanimously selected the MAAC Coach of the Year as well as picking up accolades around the region and nationally. She was voted the All-Met Coach of the Year and the ECAC Coach of the Year as well as being picked the Kay Yow National Coach of the Year by College Insider, an award presented annually to the Division I women's head basketball coach who embodies a winning spirit while displaying great character, on and off the court.
She was also one of five finalists for the inaugural Kathy Delaney-Smith Mid-Major Coach of the Year after leading the Stags to a 16-win improvement from the prior season, ranking in the top-15 all-time in NCAA Division I history.
In four seasons at Minnesota, Thibault-DuDonis brought three nationally-ranked recruiting classes to Williams Arena – including the first two five-star recruits in program history. On the court, she was integral in the development of All-Big Ten First Teamer and WNBA draft pick Kenisha Bell as well as All-Big Ten Second Team guards Sara Scalia and Destiny Pitts.
Her first foray into the Power 5 world brought Thibault-DuDonis to Mississippi State University, where the Bulldogs made back-to-back appearances in the NCAA National Championship Game and brought the first-ever SEC Regular Season Championship to Starkville. During her tenure on Vic Schaefer’s coaching staff, Thibault-DuDonis was the recruiting coordinator that secured the top two classes in MSU history.
Prior to her time at Mississippi State, Thibault-DuDonis was on Head Coach Tory Verdi’s coaching staff at Eastern Michigan University from 2014-2016, during which time the Eagles made a pair of WNIT appearances as well as a trip to the 2015 Mid-American Conference Championship Game.
She began her collegiate career at Florida State University as Director of Recruiting Operations for Head Coach Sue Semrau in the 2013-14 season. In that role, she signed both the 11th-ranked high school recruit and the top-ranked junior college recruit in the nation to join the Seminoles. She also served as an Interim Assistant Coach for several months during that campaign.
A standout at East Lyme High School in Connecticut, Thibault-DuDonis played collegiately at Monmouth University. She earned All-Northeast Conference Third Team honors and was named the NEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year as a senior and helped the Hawks to a WNIT berth in her sophomore season. Thibault-DuDonis was the valedictorian of the Class of 2013 at Monmouth, graduating with a 4.0 GPA as a Psychology major with a double minor in Spanish and Health Studies.
Thibault-DuDonis married her husband Blake DuDonis in the summer of 2017. Her father Mike Thibault was a three-time WNBA Coach of the Year previously coaching the Connecticut Sun and Washington Mystics while also being an assistant coach in the NBA for the Los Angeles Lakers, Chicago Bulls and Milwaukee Bucks. Her brother Eric, is the current Associate Head Coach for the Minnesota Lynx
