Coach Carly was also the 2024 MAAC and ECAC Coach of the Year.
You're only as good as the people around you, and I'm thankful to have the best group I could ask for.
— Head Coach Carly Thibault-DuDonis
After leading Fairfield University Women's Basketball to a historic 2023-24 season, Head Coach Carly Thibault-DuDonis was named the Kay Yow National Coach of the Year, an award presented by CollegeInsider.com. The distinction is awarded annually to the Division I women's head basketball coach who embodies a winning spirit while displaying great character, on and off the court.
"What a humbling moment to receive the Kay Yow Coach of the Year Award," Coach Carly said. "Coach Yow is a giant in our game and her legacy is still felt so strongly by her former players, coaches, and the entirety of the Women's Basketball community. This award is incredibly special because it not only recognizes the success of our team, but more importantly it honors Coach Yow and how she led and mentored young women. Thank you to Coach Yow's family and the rest of the voters, it is a true honor to be mentioned in the same breath as Coach Yow, as well as the incredible coaches who won this award before me. You're only as good as the people around you, and I'm thankful to have the best group I could ask for."
In just her second season at the helm, Coach Carly led the Stags to a program-record 31 wins as part of a 31-2 campaign, still standing as the second-highest winning percentage in the nation. That mark featured a conference-record 29 game winning streak and MAAC Championship, the fifth in program history.
Also in those 31 wins was a nation's best 20 wins against conference opponents in the regular season, posting a perfect 20-0 league mark. In total, the Stags maintained a 23-0 record against MAAC foes, culminating with three wins in the MAAC Championship in Atlantic City to capture the tournament title. The Stags also achieved the program's first-ever national ranking as they slotted No. 25 in the AP Top-25 poll and also received votes in the USA Today Coaches Poll. They finished the season ranked fourth in the College Insider Mid-Major Poll.
The Stags capped off their historic season with the MAAC Tournament and Regular Season Championship while punching their ticket to the 2024 NCAA Tournament. For the team's success, Coach Carly was a unanimous selection for the MAAC Coach of the Year Award.
Fairfield was among the nation's best on both the offensive and defensive ends. The squad finished in the top-10 in scoring defense allowing just 55.2 points per game on a .361 opponent field goal percentage, tying the second-lowest in program history.
On the offensive end, the Stags tallied 2,391 points on the season, the second-highest in program history and the most in more than 30 years. Fairfield also finished among the top-25 in the country with league-bests in assists per game (17.2) and field goal percentage (.462). Fairfield's high-powered offense was highlighted by a program record 292 made 3-pointers, the second-most in conference history.
The Kay Yow Coach of the Year Award was established in 2010 and is named for legendary women's head coach Kay Yow, who coached at NC State from 1975 to 2009 before succumbing to stage 4 breast cancer. Yow was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1987 but still continued to coach until the illness forced her to take a medical leave of absence in early 2009. Yow accumulated more than 700 wins as a head coach, and also led the United States women's basketball team to an Olympic gold medal in 1988.
"What a humbling moment to receive the Kay Yow Coach of the Year Award," Coach Carly said. "Coach Yow is a giant in our game and her legacy is still felt so strongly by her former players, coaches, and the entirety of the Women's Basketball community. This award is incredibly special because it not only recognizes the success of our team, but more importantly it honors Coach Yow and how she led and mentored young women. Thank you to Coach Yow's family and the rest of the voters, it is a true honor to be mentioned in the same breath as Coach Yow, as well as the incredible coaches who won this award before me. You're only as good as the people around you, and I'm thankful to have the best group I could ask for."
In just her second season at the helm, Coach Carly led the Stags to a program-record 31 wins as part of a 31-2 campaign, still standing as the second-highest winning percentage in the nation. That mark featured a conference-record 29 game winning streak and MAAC Championship, the fifth in program history.
Also in those 31 wins was a nation's best 20 wins against conference opponents in the regular season, posting a perfect 20-0 league mark. In total, the Stags maintained a 23-0 record against MAAC foes, culminating with three wins in the MAAC Championship in Atlantic City to capture the tournament title. The Stags also achieved the program's first-ever national ranking as they slotted No. 25 in the AP Top-25 poll and also received votes in the USA Today Coaches Poll. They finished the season ranked fourth in the College Insider Mid-Major Poll.
The Stags capped off their historic season with the MAAC Tournament and Regular Season Championship while punching their ticket to the 2024 NCAA Tournament. For the team's success, Coach Carly was a unanimous selection for the MAAC Coach of the Year Award.
Fairfield was among the nation's best on both the offensive and defensive ends. The squad finished in the top-10 in scoring defense allowing just 55.2 points per game on a .361 opponent field goal percentage, tying the second-lowest in program history.
On the offensive end, the Stags tallied 2,391 points on the season, the second-highest in program history and the most in more than 30 years. Fairfield also finished among the top-25 in the country with league-bests in assists per game (17.2) and field goal percentage (.462). Fairfield's high-powered offense was highlighted by a program record 292 made 3-pointers, the second-most in conference history.
The Kay Yow Coach of the Year Award was established in 2010 and is named for legendary women's head coach Kay Yow, who coached at NC State from 1975 to 2009 before succumbing to stage 4 breast cancer. Yow was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1987 but still continued to coach until the illness forced her to take a medical leave of absence in early 2009. Yow accumulated more than 700 wins as a head coach, and also led the United States women's basketball team to an Olympic gold medal in 1988.
