Eric Thibault Siblings: All About Carly Thibault-DuDonis
Basketball coach Eric Thibault PHOTO/Essentially Sports
Eric Thibault, born on August 22, 1987, is an American professional basketball coach currently serving as the associate head coach for the Minnesota Lynx of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA).
A native of East Lyme, Connecticut, Eric comes from a family deeply entrenched in the world of basketball.
His father, Mike Thibault, is a legendary figure in the sport, known for being the winningest coach in WNBA history.
Eric’s upbringing was steeped in basketball culture, which paved the way for his own successful coaching career.
Before joining the Lynx in November 2024, Eric spent over a decade with the Washington Mystics, where he held various roles, including assistant coach, associate head coach and head coach.
Siblings
Eric has one sibling, his younger sister Carly Thibault-DuDonis, who has also carved out her own path in the basketball world.
Born in 1989, Carly is currently the head coach of the Fairfield Stags women’s basketball team, a position she has held since 2022.
Like Eric, Carly grew up immersed in basketball, often accompanying her father and brother to games and practices.
The Thibault household was a hub of hoops discussion, with the sport serving as a bonding force for the family.
Carly attended Monmouth University, where she played basketball before transitioning into coaching.
She married Blake DuDonis, an assistant coach at Fairfield, further intertwining her personal and professional life with the sport.
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Career
Thibault’s career in basketball began at the University of Missouri, where he pursued an undergraduate degree in English.
During his time there, he joined the Missouri Tigers women’s basketball team as a member of the all-male practice squad, gaining early exposure to the game’s strategic side.
After three years, he stepped into a graduate assistant role with the Tigers.
However, when the coaching staff was let go after one season, Eric moved to St. John’s University, where he served as a graduate assistant under Kim Barnes Arico.
His first full-time assistant coaching position came with the VCU Rams women’s basketball team, marking the beginning of his professional journey.
In 2013, Eric joined his father’s staff at the Washington Mystics as an assistant coach, a move that reunited the family professionally.
Over the next decade, he climbed the ranks, becoming associate head coach in 2019 and eventually head coach in November 2022 after Mike stepped away from coaching to focus on his role as general manager.
During his tenure as head coach, Eric led the Mystics to a 33-47 record over two seasons, including a playoff appearance in 2023 despite numerous injuries.
In October 2024, the Mystics and both Eric and Mike mutually agreed to part ways, signaling a shift in the organization’s direction.
Shortly thereafter, on November 30, 2024, Eric was named associate head coach of the Minnesota Lynx, joining a championship-caliber team under head coach Cheryl Reeve.
Accolades
Thibault’s most notable accolade came in 2019 when he was part of the Washington Mystics’ coaching staff that won the WNBA Championship, marking the franchise’s first title.
As an assistant and later associate head coach under his father, Eric played a key role in the team’s success, contributing to a season that saw the Mystics finish with a 26-8 record and dominate the playoffs.
While he has not yet earned individual awards such as WNBA Coach of the Year, Eric’s contributions to the 2019 championship remain a cornerstone of his resume.