Valley Basketball's Felicia Thomas Earns Coach of the Year

MCCAA Western Conference Honors Women's Head Coach after No. 1 Finish

KALAMAZOO, Mich. - Felicia N. Thomas, head women's basketball coach at Kalamazoo Valley Community College, has been named Coach of the Year for the Western Conference of the Michigan Community College Athletic Association (MCCAA).

She led her players to a No. 1 finish during the recently concluded 2022-23 season, thus earning them the distinction of being Western conference champions. The women's team ended with an overall record of 17-10, and 10-2 in the conference.

The Lady Cougars also had the honor of competing in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region 12 District C Tournament semifinals during the weekend of March 10. Ultimately, however, they fell to Delta College in the final game by the score of 59-43.

"I'm very proud of Coach Thomas' accomplishments in her time as head coach of the Lady Cougars," said Athletic Director Russ Panico. "From dealing with the challenges of the 2020-21 season being canceled due to COVID, which then created recruiting limitations for the 2021-22 season, to finishing the 2022-23 season with only eight players, Coach Thomas has remained committed to women's basketball program and I look forward to seeing the team she builds for the 2023-24 season."

Coach Thomas chalks it up to a team effort. "I'm proud of the team," she said. "Being at Valley for six years and having accomplished the things we did this year - Conference Champs and four players being awarded different things in the conference - is confirmation that we're headed in the right direction with the program. This is not the ending point for us. We want to continue to build on the things we accomplished this year."

Thomas just completed her third year as head coach of the Kalamazoo Valley Community College's women's basketball team. The Kalamazoo native started her coaching career at Valley as an assistant coach in fall 2017. She was promoted to the head coach spot in fall 2020. She arrived with a wealth of experience as a decorated player at Kalamazoo Central High School and later at Wayne State University. Also a scholar, Thomas made the Athletic Director's Honor Roll (GPA 3.5+) while at Wayne State, where she studied graphic design.

The 2008 K-Central graduate earned three varsity letters in basketball while in high school. She was voted 2007-08 Southwest Michigan Athletic Conference Player of the Year after averaging 17 points, seven rebounds, four assists and four steals per game. She was selected to the All-State Class A Fourth Team and selected to the Kalamazoo Gazette's All-Area team. She served as a basketball team captain. In addition, she lettered in track and volleyball and was her class president.