Ron Prettyman, interim athletic director at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College (SMWC), announced today the hiring of head coaches for the women’s and men’s volleyball programs. Ashley Harris will be the new head coach of SMWC women’s volleyball and Ian Harris will become the inaugural head coach of SMWC men’s volleyball. The coaching duo come to SMWC from Kentucky.
Ashley Harris comes to SMWC from Berea College where she was the head volleyball coach since 2019. She leaves Berea as the winningest volleyball coach in the program’s time as an NCAA school. Prior to Berea College, she was the head volleyball coach at Tennessee Wesleyan University (TWU). In her five seasons there, became the winningest volleyball coach in its history. Ashley’s teams set numerous school records in her five seasons and in 2018 finished fourth in the nation among NAIA schools with 317 blocks. In 2017, she was named one of the prestigious “30 Under 30” coaches by the American Volleyball Coaches Association. Prior to TWU she was an assistant coach at Maryville College in Tennessee.
Ian Harris becomes the first men’s volleyball coach in SMWC school history. He also comes from Berea College where he was the associate head coach and recruiting coordinator for the women’s volleyball program and worked alongside his wife, Ashley. He worked with her at TWU for the 2017 and 2018 seasons and prior to that Ian was the recruiting coordinator and defensive line coach for the Maryville football program from 2012 to 2016. Before going to Maryville, he worked as the director of player personnel for arena football teams: Green Bay Blizzard, Columbus Lions and Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz. He was the assistant to the recruiting coordinator for the football team at Marshall University in West Virginia as an undergraduate from 2003 to 2006.
They will be a great asset to the College as we navigate our first year in NAIA and the recruitment of our first men’s volleyball team that will begin play in spring 2023.”
Brennan Randolph, vice president for enrollment management and institutional technology
Brennan Randolph, vice president for enrollment management and institutional technology who oversees athletics, expressed his excitement about the announcement. “We are pleased to have Ashley and Ian become part of the intercollegiate athletics department. They will be a great asset to the College as we navigate our first year in NAIA and the recruitment of our first men’s volleyball team that will begin play in spring 2023.”
Prettyman echoed Randolph’s enthusiasm. “We are thrilled to have them both as a part of the Pomeroy athletics program. They bring great credentials and a tradition of winning to our volleyball programs and will be a great addition to our coaching team.”
Ashley said about her new position, “The opportunity for me and my family to be a part of the SMWC family, and this new era of the athletic department, was one that I could not pass up. I am grateful and blessed for the ability to lead this program in its journey into the NAIA. I can’t wait to get started and create history here at The Woods.”
Ian is also eager to get started. “I am incredibly humbled, grateful and excited for this opportunity. This program will be built around men of high character, both moral and athletic, who will be shining representatives of what The Woods is all about as an institution. We will build a family that works together, loves each other and accomplishes greatness together.”
The pair begins their new positions immediately. They will be relocating to the Wabash Valley in the near future with their daughter.
Those interested in playing volleyball on the men’s or women’s team can fill out this form.