WSSU hires Corey Thompson to lead basketball program

WINSTON-SALEM STATE ATHLETICS

Corey Thompson, who helped Winston-Salem State to four NCAA basketball tournament berths as a player, returns to campus as the Rams' new head coach.

For the first time, a Winston-Salem State graduate will lead Rams basketball.

Corey Thompson, who earned a pair of CIAA titles and four NCAA Division II playoff berths as a player, was hired Tuesday as head coach. He succeeds Cleo Hill Jr., who left for Division I Maryland Eastern Shore.

“Returning home to WSSU fills me with great pride and honor,” said Thompson, a 2022 graduate who was boys’ head coach at St. Paul High School. “I am dedicated to upholding and protecting the legacy built by the incredible teams of the past and present. Having once walked the same paths as the young men I now have the privilege to lead, I am committed to motivating and supporting them just as I was supported over 22 years ago. I eagerly anticipate collaborating with the administration, students, alumni, faculty, staff, and community. Dreams do come true.”

Before St. Paul, where his teams won four straight conference titles and advanced to eight consecutive state tournaments, Thompson was associate head coach at Fayetteville State from 2011-16, and UNC Pembroke in the same capacity from 2006-11. He was a volunteer assistant at WSSU from 2004-05 after starting his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Slipper Rock from 2002-04.

As a player, Thompson, a center, was a four-year letter-winner and voted the Rams’ most improved player in 1999. After winning back-to-back CIAA titles, those teams were inducted into WSSU’s athletics hall of fame in 2012.

“I consider it a privilege to hire the first WSSU men’s basketball alum to lead our Rams men’s basketball team,” Rams athletics director Etienne Thomas said in a statement.  “Corey Thompson brings a complete body of work with him from his lived experiences as a student-athlete, assistant coach, head coach, husband, father, educator, and Hall of Fame champion and I look forward to his leadership and partnership as we continue to protect the legacy.”

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