Kelly Madsen joined the program as an assistant coach on June 27, 2023.
| COACH MADSEN | |
|---|---|
| Hometown | Portsmouth, England |
| Alma Mater | South Alabama (2008, 11) |
| Family |
husband, Patrick |
| Birthday | February 16 |
| Collegiate Coaching Experience | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | School | Title |
| 2024 | Auburn | Associate Head Coach |
| 2023 | Auburn | Assistant Coach |
| 2019-22 | Syracuse | Assistant Coach |
| 2018 | Rice | Assistant Coach |
| 2012-17 | Stephen F. Austin | Assistant Coach |
| 2009-11 | Dubuque | Assistant Coach |
In just her second season with the program, Madsen elevated Auburn's attack to heights it had not seen in over two decades. Auburn accumulated a whopping 164 points on 54 goals and 56 assists, both numbers that ranked top-three in the league. Auburn's goal production ranked as the second-best in school history and the most since the Tigers put away 56 goals during the 2000 season. Madsen's dynamic attack struck for multiple goals in 13 of 21 matches and was shut out just once.
Madsen coached both attacking midfielder Anna Haddock (first team) and forward Olivia Woodson (second team) to All-SEC selections during the 2024 season. Haddock scored five goals and assisted 13 others to become the program's new career leader for assists with 44. Woodson led the Orange & Blue squad with 11 goals as the first Auburn woman in double-digit scoring figures since 2016. She also added three assists.
Thanks to new tactics implemented by Madsen, 17 players recorded a goal contribution in 2024. Eight players tied or beat their previous best for goals scored in a single season.
In year one on The Plains, Madsen was tasked with coaching the Auburn forwards and spearheading the offensive attack. In 2023, Auburn saw an increase in total goals scored, goals scored in SEC play and goals scored in road matches. Seven different Tiger forwards created goal-scoring plays over the course of the year and laced shots on frame at an astounding 0.475 clip, the best team average since the 2012 season.
Prior to Syracuse, Madsen coached at Rice, where she assisted all areas of the program and served as the recruiting coordinator. She joined Rice from Stephen F. Austin University, where she spent seven seasons.
Off the field, Madsen organized the team travel and equipment, served as the program's academic coordinator and was the director of camp operations. Madsen's work helped SFA retain its status as the top women's soccer program in the Southland Conference. In her seven seasons with the Ladyjacks, the team won five regular season conference titles and played in the SLC Tournament final a total of six times.
Madsen’s coaching career began at the University of Dubuque (Iowa) as she served as an assistant coach from 2009-11. She helped lead the Spartans to their first Iowa Conference Tournament title and first NCAA Tournament appearance in 2009.
A native of Pensacola, Fla., she starred as a midfielder for the University of South Alabama from 2004-08. Madsen was a First-Team All-Sun Belt honoree and was selected to the Sun Belt All-Tournament Team. Over the course of her collegiate career, she scored 22 goals and assisted on 20 others. After graduation, she played professionally in England for Portsmouth Women's Football Club and in the W-League for the London Gryphons (London, Ontario).
Madsen currently holds her NSCAA National Diploma and NSCAA Level III GK Diploma. She obtained both a bachelor's and master’s degree in communications. She is married to Patrick Madsen, the brother of Tigers' fellow associate head coach Ben Madsen. The couple has three dogs, Rooney, Fergie and Ted.