A three-time SWAC coach of the year is coming to Madison County.

Alabama A&M has hired Donte’ Jackson as the program’s next head basketball coach, it was announced on Thursday at an on-campus press conference.

Jackson spent the last eight seasons at Grambling State, compiling a 129–122 overall record and an 88–53 record in SWAC play.

The former Grambling State coach takes over for Otis Hughley Jr., who resigned in March after three seasons as the program’s head coach; Alabama A&M went 10-22 last season.

He helped lead the program to its first NCAA tournament appearance in history in 2024, where his Tigers pulled off an 88-81 overtime win over Montana State in the First Four before falling to No. 1-seeded Purdue in the first round.

The Tigers also accepted a postseason invitation in the 2018-2019 season, where it fell to the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley in the first round of the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament.

Jackson claimed his first SWAC coach of the year honors in 2018 after leading the program to a regular-season league title before claiming the award in 2023 and 2024.

This marks Jackson’s second stint in the state of Alabama, spending three seasons at Stillman College in Tuscaloosa from 2014–2017. He helped lead the Tigers to a SIAC tournament title and a second-round appearance in the Division II tournament.

The Milwaukee, Wisc., native also spent four seasons as head coach of his alma mater Central State University, where his teams compiled a 68-42 record and three Independent Conference Association regular-season titles. He transferred to CSU from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where he played one season of Division I basketball.