JACKSON - His name is synonymous with the winning tradition of Northwest women's basketball. Now, longtime coach Don Edwards will take his place among some of the most notable Northwest legends in this year's Mississippi Community College Sports Hall of Fame class.

This year's event will be held at 6 P.M. on Tuesday, April 27 at the Clyde Muse Center on the Rankin County campus of Hinds Community College. It will be the first in-person induction ceremony since 2019, after last year's reception was canceled due to COVID-19.

Edwards was chosen as this year's inductee nearly two years after his retirement from coaching, where he left as the Lady Rangers' all-time winningest coach, compiling a 468-335 (.583) record and a 230-164 (.584) mark in division play.

Edwards joined the Northwest staff in 1983 and served as assistant coach for men's and women's basketball for four seasons under the late Harry Adair before being promoted to women's head coach in 1987. Adair was also inducted into the Mississippi Community College Sports Hall of Fame in 2008.

During his tenure as head coach, Edwards led the Lady Rangers to 18 NJCAA Region XXIII and three NJCAA National Tournament Appearances as well as a pair of MACJC championships in 1995 and 1996. He posted 23 winning seasons overall and four seasons with 20 or more wins

Edwards was named NJCAA Region XXIII and District 16 Coach of the Year in 1990, 1996, 1998 and 2005, MACJC Coach of the Year in 1989 and 1990 and was MAC Women's Basketball Coach of the Year in 1990, 1995 and 1996.

A total of 61 players have signed or played at the four-year level during Edwards' head coaching tenure, most notably second-leading all-time scorer Nikita Taylor (Union University), Chatica Hathaway (Ole Miss/Univ. of the Cumberlands), Danada Smith (San Jose State) and recent Mississippi Community College Sports Hall of Fame inductee Shantell Atkins (LeMoyne-Owen). Several others have continued their careers at the Division I level at programs such as Mississippi State, Texas A&M, Auburn and Arkansas State.

In addition to his duties as women's basketball coach, Edwards also led the Northwest men's golf program for 23 years before the program was discontinued following the 2016-17 season. A two-time MACJC Golf Coach of the Year selection, Edwards kept the Northwest golf program competitive season after season, with at least one golfer competing in the NJCAA Division II National Tournament in 11 of the final 17 seasons and the program being nationally-ranked the final six seasons.

Edwards came to Northwest from the now-defunct West Panola Academy at Batesville, where he served as the boys' and girls' basketball coach, golf coach and athletic director for eight years. Named Coach of the Year a total of six times, he coached in two academy All-Star games.

His record as a high school coach was 246-56 with girls and 162-82 for boys. Edwards' girls' teams finished in the top four in the state for six years, capturing the championship three times. Before arriving at West Panola Academy, Edwards worked at Quitman County High School where he was athletic director, basketball and football coach and driver's education instructor.