From playing and receiving an education with a concentration in math and the sciences to teaching students about algebra and the game of basketball, Madison Ridout-Jones has seen her journey come full circle.
It's all due to her hard work and her overall excellence -- both on and off of the court.
A three-year starter for the Shawnee State women's basketball program who scored over 1,300 career points, led the Bears to 91 wins and, during her senior campaign, a No. 1 national ranking, Ridout-Jones certainly enjoyed a successful career.
Since that time, Ridout-Jones has only continued to blossom personally and professionally -- which she credits to the women's basketball program at Shawnee State and what she learned under her teammates and coaches.
"I am so proud to be an alum of the program," Ridout-Jones said. "The experiences that I've had and the relationships that I've made with my teammates are ones that I will never forget. I grew so much as a player and as a person during my time at Shawnee State. I'm so thankful to (Jeff) Nickel for giving me the opportunity to be a Bear."
Basketball in the bloodlines
From the start, Ridout-Jones' competitive drive, coupled with a natural feel for the game itself, made the 5-9 forward an ideal fit for the hardwood. She was prepared to pursue the rigors of college grind not long after beginning to pursue the game heavily.
"I've been playing basketball for as long as I can remember," Ridout-Jones said. "I really started taking it seriously in fifth grade when I started AAU. I knew that I wanted to pursue it past high school pretty early on. I've always loved basketball, and I'm a super competitive person, so I have put my heart and soul into the game."-
Ridout reps Jackson red with cousin
Joined by fellow teammate and cousin Lydia Poe (now Lydia Bartoe), the pair formed a feared and effective 1-2 punch across the Southeast District -- one that led Jackson to one of its most successful four-year runs in school history.
In addition to leading the Ironladies to at least 18 or more victories in every season and two Division II District Final appearances to boot over a four-year span, Ridout-Jones (then Ridout) earned three First-Team All-Southeast District, two Division II Special Mention All-Ohio, and one Division II Third-Team All-Ohio accolade en route to scoring 1,326 points -- the third most in the history of the Jackson High School girls basketball program. Poe, meanwhile, added in two Division II All-Southeast District accolades (first team as a junior and second team as a senior) and two Division II All-Ohio marks (special mention as a junior and honorable mention as a senior) to round out the effort.
"I loved playing for Jackson," Ridout-Jones said. "We truly had a family atmosphere and competed during every single practice and game. It's pretty cool that I get to help coach the varsity team with my high school coach, Matt Walburn."
Alongside her cousin, whom Ridout-Jones refers to this day as her "best friend," the pair initially made the decision to attend Kent State. However, desiring a change, the pair both felt that representing Shawnee State together, as local products, was the way to go.
"Lydia and I have always done everything together, so to be able to play college ball together was awesome," Ridout said. "We are cousins but grew up more like sisters. To play college ball together was a dream come true. When I decided to transfer from Kent State, I was a little nervous to join a new program and start over. However, (Jeff) Nickel and my teammates made it really easy to fit in. I knew that coming into the SSU women's basketball program, it had a long history of success, so I was really excited to be joining a winning program."
Faith in SSU pays off
While the decision wasn't easy, it proved to be greatly beneficial for Ridout-Jones and Poe-Bartoe.
Ridout-Jones, in particular, made a significant impact from the opening tip of her Shawnee State career, never missing a single game in three seasons and starting in each of those 104 affairs from 2015 to 2018.
In doing so, Ridout-Jones proved to be an invaluable cog, especially as Shawnee State's Swiss Army Knife for a program that went 91-13 with three Mid-South Conference Regular Season and Tournament Championships during that stretch.
As a person who averaged no less than 31.7 minutes per contest per season throughout her career, Ridout-Jones served as Shawnee State's ultimate Swiss Army Knife due to her dependability, her efficiency (13.3 points per game on 48.8 percent shooting to go along with 6.3 rebounds per game), her playmaking abilities (3.1 career assists to 2.1 turnovers) and her defense (1.4 steals per game).
Her play, especially as a senior during Shawnee State's outstanding 2017-18 run, proved to be exceptional. In her final season of competition, Ridout-Jones averaged 14.6 points, 7.3 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.8 steals per game on 49.7 percent shooting and a 75.8 percent mark from the free throw stripe to head up the Bears' run to the No. 1 spot in the NAIA Division I Women's Basketball Poll over the final three weeks of the regular season.
That milestone, plus the Bears' run to its third straight MSC Regular Season Championship and its fourth consecutive MSC Tournament Championship, rounded out a career that included two First-Team All-MSC accolades, one Second-Team All-MSC honor, one MSC Defensive Player of the Year award, and Second-Team NAIA All-American honors in back-to-back seasons to close out her college career.
"Being ranked No. 1 nationally was really awesome," Ridout-Jones said. "That was the result of all of us buying in, working hard every single day in practice, and trusting each other. The MSC is a really tough conference, so we had to bring it every night and go all in. It also goes to show the amount of talent that Coach Nickel and his staff had recruited into the program over that three-year span."
Furthering education and coming full circle
Along with her excellence on the basketball court, Ridout-Jones proved to be just as strong, if not stronger, in the classroom. With over 160 hours of academic credit on her back, Ridout-Jones graduated from Shawnee State in 2019 with a middle childhood education degree, mainly concentrated on math and sciences through grades four through nine. She accomplished this all while notching a 3.84 GPA in the field.
Her goal throughout that time? To mold young lives with her degree -- which makes it all the more fitting that Ridout-Jones ended up back at the very school system that she came up through herself.
"I'm very grateful that I was able to earn my degree while also playing the game that I loved," Ridout-Jones said. "I wanted to go into education so that I can make a positive impact on students and their lives. I am currently teaching eighth grade algebra at Jackson Middle School, so it is pretty cool that I get to work at my alma mater."
Married to former SSU men's basketball letterwinner Derick Jones and having the opportunity to not only teach in the classroom, but mold young minds through the game of basketball, Ridout-Jones considers herself lucky to have had the experiences that she has had throughout her life -- and credits the roundball for opening those doors.
"I am very blessed," Ridout-Jones said. "I thank God for giving me the ability to pursue my dreams and providing amazing opportunities along the way. I also thank my support system for having my back and always being there for me. Basketball has been very good to me, and I am forever grateful for the game."
For more information on the middle childhood education program at Shawnee State, visit https://www.shawnee.edu/areas-study/college-professional-studies/school-education/undergraduate/middle-childhood-education.
For more information on SSU Bears Athletics, visit www.ssubears.com or visit the Twitter and Facebook pages at https://twitter.com/SSUBears and https://www.facebook.com/SSUBears. For more information on how to join the SSU Bear Club or for sponsorship of specific SSU players or events, visit https://givetossu.com/bear-club and https://givetossu.com/sponsorthebears.
