MANKATO — One of Mankato’s most prolific coaches is set to take his rightful place in the hall of fame.
To be exact, Joe Madson was named part of the Minnesota Basketball Coaches Association’s Hall of Fame Class of 2026.
Madson’s coaching career, now spanning 37 years, started as an assistant football and assistant girls basketball coach at Wadena-Deer Creek High School. In 1993, he returned to Mankato, and his alma mater Mankato East, as both a teacher and a coach.
Madson served as an assistant boys basketball coach for six seasons prior to being selected to lead the Cougars program in 2001. Over the course of the next 24 seasons, he led the Cougars to seven Big 9 Conference titles, as well as nine section championships and state tournament appearances. His 2005 and 2022 state tournament teams earned third place honors.
His 2024 and 2025 squads finished with back-to-back state tournament runner-up performances. Madson’s tenure also saw him rack up six Big 9 Conference and nine Section Coach of the Year honors while being named the 2024 Class AAA State Coach of the Year.
After all the honors and accolades and producing 25 athletes that played college basketball for two or more years, Madson retired from coaching basketball at the conclusion of the 2025 season. He’s a member of the 400 Wins Club with a career record of 450-227.
His success as a coach hasn’t solely come on the hardwood either.
Madson has also served 32 years as head softball coach at Mankato East, earning 14 Section COY and 2024 State Coach of the Year honors while leading the Cougars to 14 state tournament appearances, including 2023 and 2024 state championships, and 627 wins. He was a finalist for 2024 National Softball Coach of the Year.
Madson joins Bob Bjorklund (Fergus Falls), John “Pat” Dewey (Sandstone/East Central), Mark Kieffer (Rochester Mayo) and Dan Ninham (Cass Lake-Bena, Red Lake, Bemidji). The induction ceremonies will be held at the MBCA Hall of Fame Ceremony at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 24 at the Minneapolis Marriott Northwest Hotel in Brooklyn Park. Ticket information will be available on the MBCA website.