Jackson State women's basketball coaching candidates: 6 options to replace Tomekia Reed

Tomekia Reed left Jackson State women’s basketball Thursday to coach the Charlotte 49ers.

Athletic director Ashely Robinson faces the task of finding a coach who can continue the success the Tigers enjoyed under Reed, who went 125-54 in six seasons and led the program to the NCAA Tournament three times.

Here are candidates to monitor throughout Jackson State's search.

Dawn Thornton

Current job: Alabama A&M head coach

Thornton checks a lot of boxes for Jackson State: She is a Jackson native who played at Callaway High and Jackson State . She has ample experience coaching in the Southwestern Athletic Conference with nine seasons at Prairie View and five at Arkansas-Pine Bluff. She's also shown a knack at pulling upsets, including this past season when UAPB upset Arkansas.

And then there's this:

“Jackson State has always been my dream job,” Thornton told the Clarion Ledger in December 2023. “I bleed blue and white. Who would not want to come back to their alma mater and coach? A place where you won a championship at, a place where you are from and where your family is from.”

Thornton was hired at Alabama A&M on April 6, and leaving so soon for a SWAC rival might be a hurdle depending on her contract, but such a quick coaching move wouldn't be unprecedented.

Tangela Banks

Current job: Mississippi Delta Community College head coach

Banks also has ties to Jackson State, where she was an All-SWAC selection and team MVP in track and field and earned her bachelor's and master's degrees.

A high school track and basketball standout at Yazoo City, she began coaching her coaching career at the high school level. She won two state championships at Forest Hills and another at Murrah.

She just completed her second season of coaching at Mississippi Delta, where she has a 32-22 record.

Pauline Love

Current job: Alabama assistant coach

Love was an NJCAA All-American at Jones County and a three-time All-Conference USA selection at Southern Miss, where she averaged 16.1 point per game and 11.1 rebounds per game.

Love was hired at Alabama on April 19 after seven seasons at Arkansas, where she developed a reputation as an outstanding recruiter. She also has served as an assistant at Southern Miss and McNeese State.

As with Thornton, Love would be moving extremely soon after accepting a job, but she would be moving from an assistant position to a head coaching job.

Hope Adams

Current job: Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College head coach

Adams just completed her seventh season at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. She led the Bulldogs to the NJCAA Region 23 semifinals last year.

Adams has experience coaching in the high school ranks and was an assistant coach at Oxford early in her career. She helped the Chargers advance to the state quarterfinals in 2016. Adams has experience recruiting the state of Mississippi.

TOMEKIA REED TO LEAVE FOR CHARLOTTE Tomekia Reed leaves Jackson State women's basketball to coach at Charlotte

Murriel Page

Current job: Mississippi State assistant coach

Page is a native of Bay Springs and joined Mississippi State head coach Sam Purcell's staff in April 2022. Page also has served as an assistant coach at Georgia Tech, Central Michigan and Florida.

She played 11 seasons in the WNBA with the Washington Mystics and the Los Angels Sparks. Page was part of the Mystics' inaugural Hall of Fame class.

Page was a two-time All-SEC first-team player and two-time All-American at Florida.

Nate Kilbert

Current job: Alcorn State head coach

Kilbert, head coach at Alcorn since 2020, knows the SWAC through and through. He also has coached at Mississippi Valley State for 12 seasons and at Arkansas-Pine Bluf for seven seasons. He earned SWAC Coach of the Year honors in 2012 and 2013 and was inducted into the MVSU Sports Hall of Fame in 2009.

Kilbert's wife, Alyse Wells-Kilbert, is the associate vice president and senior woman administrator at Jackson State.

J.T. Keith is the HBCU Sports editor for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at JKeith@gannett.com or reach him on Twitter @JTKEITH1.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Jackson State basketball coaching candidates to replace Tomekia Reed