Ashley Langford was named head coach of the Stony Brook University women’s basketball team on April 28, following a four-year term at James Madison that saw her help the Dukes win three Colonial Athletic Association regular-season titles as their associate head coach.
Director of athletics Shawn Heilbron made the announcement, with a formal press conference inside Island Federal Arena planned for next week.
“This is truly an exciting day as we welcome Ashley Langford to the Seawolves family as our new women’s basketball head coach,” Heilbron said. “Our program has reached historic levels of success over the past two seasons, and I have every confidence in Ashley to lead our women to even greater heights on and off the court. She is an extremely focused leader who brings high energy and high character to Stony Brook.”
“It’s super-exciting,” said Langford. “I’ve worked really hard to get to this point. I’m so glad that everything aligned and Stony Brook became an opportunity for me. It really fits with my values. I really believe in high academic standards, and President McInnis and Shawn Heilbron lead the way at Stony Brook. We’re going to compete on the court at a high level, too. Stony Brook aligns with me and the type of players I want to coach. When I got to campus, I was like, ‘This is it.’ I met people in the community and administration and the coaches, and it just felt right. I can’t wait to get started.”
Langford had a successful college playing career, finishing as Tulane’s record holder for assists, games started and minutes played. She was a graduate assistant at Auburn and served as an assistant coach at Old Dominion, Navy, Bucknell and Denver prior to coaching at James Madison, which had a 91-31 overall and 58-11 conference record during her tenure. She also recruited and coached 14 CAA all-conference selections, one Player of the Year, two Rookies of the Year, one two-time Defensive Player of the Year and the 28th overall pick in the 2020 WNBA draft.
The Seawolves earned their first berth in the NCAA women’s tournament this year and have won back-to-back America East postseason titles, posting a 66-17 overall record over the past three seasons. Stony Brook ranked fourth in the NCAA in scoring defense this past season at 52.0 ppg.
Langford succeeds Caroline McCombs, who recently was named head coach at George Washington University.
“I’m excited to continue the success, and just do it in my own way,” Langford said. “I have to be me. I have to be authentic. That’s what makes me good. I’m not the type who can come in here and try to be somebody else.”
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