Thomas-Swinson is LSU women’s asstistant hoops coach

BATON ROUGE – Charlene Thomas-Swinson has accepted an assistant coach position on the LSU women’s basketball staff, according to an LSU Athletics news release.
Head coach Nikki Caldwell made the announcement of the hire Wednesday.
Thomas-Swinson comes to LSU with over 20 years of coaching experience on all levels of the game which includes head coaching stops at St. John’s and Tulsa. She spent seven seasons in the SEC as an assistant coach at Auburn and Florida. Thomas-Swinson also served as an assistant coach for the USA Women’s Basketball National Team in 1999 and was an assistant coach for the WNBA’s Orlando Miracle from 1999-2002.
“I’m extremely thrilled and very excited to have someone of Charlene’s caliber join the LSU women’s basketball family,” Caldwell said. “She brings a wealth of coaching experience and knowledge in all facets of the game to our staff. Charlene is a great person with a positive approach and has an excellent track record of developing players. She is an excellent recruiter, and there’s no doubt that she will help us succeed at the highest level.”
Thomas-Swinson began her collegiate coaching career with a three-year stint at Columbia Union College in Maryland before she returned to her alma mater, Auburn, in 1992 under WBCA Hall of Fame Coach Joe Ciampi. The Tigers racked up 85 victories and reached the NCAA Tournament three times. Auburn made the NCAA Sweet 16 in 1993 and the NCAA Elite Eight in 1996.
Thomas-Swinson took over as the head coach at St. John’s for three years from 1996-99. She landed three Top 30 recruiting class sparked by the nation’s No. 15 rated class in 1999 before she left St. John’s to join 1999 WBCA Coach of the Year Carolyn Peck with the WNBA’s Orlando Miracle for three seasons. During that time, Thomas-Swinson also was an assistant coach for USA Basketball for two years where she coached with the 1998 USA Women’s Select Team and the 1999 USA Women’s National Team.
Thomas-Swinson returned to the college game and the SEC at Florida under Peck. The Gators earned a spot in the 2004 NCAA Tournament, and she was instrumental in Florida landing a Top 10 recruiting class in 2005.
Thomas-Swinson moved back into the head coaching ranks at Tulsa from 2005-11. She guided the Golden Hurricane to a 26-6 mark during her first season en route to the 2006 Conference USA regular season and tournament titles. Tulsa knocked off No. 5 seed North Carolina State in the NCAA Tournament First Round before dropping a hard-fought four-point decision against DePaul.
Thomas-Swinson, the 2006 C-USA Coach of the Year, played a major role in the development of Jillian Robbins, a two-time Associated Press and WBCA All-America Honorable Mention pick. She concluded her career as the school’s record holder for points (2,108), rebounds (1,313), field goals (747), free throws (602, steals (347), blocks (251) and double-doubles (66).
Thomas-Swinson was a four-year letter winner and was a three-year captain at Auburn from 1983-87. She won 99 career games, and Auburn secured its first-ever SEC regular season championship during her senior season. The Tigers also won the 1987 SEC Tournament title.
Auburn made a trio of NCAA Tournament appearances during Thomas-Swinson’s playing career highlighted by a NCAA Sweet 16 trip in 1986 and a NCAA Elite Eight run in 1987. She currently ranks ninth in Auburn’s record book with 761 career rebounds. She also is eight with a .536 career field goal percentage.
Thomas-Swinson earned her bachelor’s degree in business management from Auburn in 1992. She is married to Aaron A. Swinson, who is an assistant coach at the University of Cincinnati. The couple has a son, Charles and a daughter, Jada.