Ashley Preston was appointed the seventh women’s volleyball head coach in Cal State Fullerton history on January 15, 2015. The 2020-21 academic year will mark her sixth season at the helm of the Cal State Fullerton women’s volleyball program.

Preston was named 2019 Co-Big West Coach of the Year, becoming just the second coach in program history to claim the honor. The 2019 squad had a huge turnaround season, finishing the year with a 12-15 overall record, going 4-12 in conference. The 12 total wins is the most for the program since 2012 while the four conference victories is the most since 2013. The team doubled their win total from the previous year and Preston guided the team to a Top 25 national ranking with 17.44 digs per set. 

Also in 2019, Julia Crawford had a phenomenal rookie campaign and was awarded a spot on the All-Big West First Team and Freshman Team. Her 368 kills and 398.5 total points are the most by a Titan since the 2014 season en route to becoming just the ninth Fullerton player to earn a First Team selection and the first since Kayla Neto in 2012.

Savahna Costello was a 2019 Big West Honorable Mention honoree. The 5'5" libero absolutely dominated the conference leaderboards averaging 5.31 digs per set; a number that ranked 13th in the entire NCAA. Her 531 total digs on the year is the sixth most in Titan single-season history as she posted double-digit digs in every match but two this season. Costello currently ranks sixth all-time in the program in total digs for her career with 1,197.

She has coached two Big West Conference honorees in Shimen Fayad and Madeline Schneider during her time with the Titans.

Preston came to Cal State Fullerton after serving as women’s volleyball head coach at Coppin State University for the past three years. In that short time, Preston became the all-time winningest coach in the program’s history. In each of her three years with the Eagles, the team advanced to the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament, advancing to the championship for the first time in program history in 2013.

“It’s a beautiful day in Southern California and a beautiful day for Cal State Fullerton,” said Cal State Fullerton Athletic Director Donovan. “We had an excellent candidate pool and ultimately we hired an individual that has been a head coach at two other colleges; Spelman College and most recently Coppin State. She has remarkable accomplishments in her young career. Bottom line, she’s one of the rising stars in women’s volleyball. She has great intellect, charisma and work ethic and she’s made a habit of setting school records.”

In her first season with the Titans, Fullerton went winless despite a few close calls, going five sets in four of the team's matches. 

In 2014, Preston led the Eagles to 14 victories, the second most single-season win total in program history. Five players were named to the All-MEAC volleyball team and 10 student-athletes were selected to the MEAC All-Academic Team, the most of any school in the conference.

Preston, the 10th head coach in Coppin State history, led the Eagles to a school-record 15 overall victories and eight conference wins in 2013. The Eagles won 10 straight home matches and recorded the program’s first playoff victory since 1992, eventually advancing to the MEAC championship match. 

In her first season at Coppin State in 2012, Preston led the Eagles to the MEAC tournament for the first time since 2006.

Prior to her stint at Coppin State, Preston landed her first head coaching job in 2011, leading Spelman College to nine victories, which established a school record for wins in a single season.

Preston got her start in coaching as an assistant coach at Morgan State University in 2008. She served in that capacity for two years under head coach Ramona Riley-Bozier. Preston moved on to become an assistant coach at Loyola University (Maryland) in 2010 under head coach Scott Pennewill.

Preston is a 2008 graduate of Morgan State University where she ranks as one of the top players in Morgan State history. She was a three-time First Team All-MEAC selection from 2004-06 and is the Bears all-time leader in digs with 2,066. She also owns the top three marks in Morgan State history for digs in a season. During her tenure the Bears advanced to the MEAC Tournament championship match in 2006.

Off the court Preston was equally impressive. A native of Las Vegas, Nev., Preston was a three-time recipient of the MEAC Commissioner’s All-Academic Award and garnered Arthur Ashe Scholar’s first team honors as a junior. Following her junior season Preston also earned the Elijah Rowe Award, which goes to the female student-athlete with the highest grade point average at Morgan State.

Preston graduated in May of 2008 with a bachelor’s degree in telecommunications and was honored that summer as Morgan State’s representative for the MEAC Woman of the Year Award. She earned a Master of Arts in Publications Design from the University of Baltimore in 2011.

Preston’s Head Coaching Record

Year    School                     Record
2019   Cal State Fullerton      12-15
2018   Cal State Fullerton       6-24
2017   Cal State Fullerton       5-24
2016   Cal State Fullerton       6-24
2015   Cal State Fullerton       0-28
2014   Coppin State              14-14
2013   Coppin State              15-16 
2012   Coppin State              11-14
2011   Spelman College         9-16