Presnell Enters His Fifth Season as Head Coach at Boise State.

Boise State Tenure...
Five years ago Gordy Presnell returned to his home state to become the sixth head coach in Boise State University’s women’s basketball program history. He brought with him a mild and laid back demeanor, 18 years of head coaching experience and a long record of success. Upon his arrival on campus, Presnell made an immediate impact on the struggling Broncos.

He inherited a program that had not experienced a winning season in the previous seven years and struggled to record double-digit wins. He immediately earned the trust and respect of everyone involved with the program. He slowly rebuilt the team’s identity instilling a sense of confidence and purpose.     

In the first four years under his direction, the Broncos have not experienced a losing season and have gone 79-47 (.627) overall. After going 15-15 in his first year (2005-06) the Broncos have recorded three consecutive winning seasons, including a school record of 24 wins in both the 2006-07 (24-9) and 2007-08 (24-8) campaigns. Presnell’s teams have gone 41-23 (.641) in WAC games and an impressive 45-12 (.789) at home in Boise, including a perfect 14-0 in 2007-08.

Combined with his upbeat coaching personality and knowledge of the game, Presnell has led the Bronco program through a renaissance becoming winners on and off the court. His teams are routinely ranked among the top scoring and rebounding teams in the WAC and have set numerous school records along the way. In four years, his team has set the school’s season rebounding record three times and the scoring record twice. They have gone from league underdogs to perennial title contenders.

Program honors during his tenure at Boise State include: winning two back-to-back WAC regular-season crowns in 2007 and 2008, and the 2007 WAC Tournament title; one NCAA Tournament appearance in 2007 and one WNIT second-round appearance in 2008; four postseason All-WAC honors, the program had none prior to his arrival; three WAC All-Freshmen Team and one WAC All-Defensive Team honors; five Preseason All-WAC Team and two WAC Preseason Player of the Year honors; and a combined 18 Academic All-WAC honors by 10 individuals.

In 2007, Presnell led the team to new heights with a 24-9 overall record, they won the league regular-season crown and WAC Tournament title advancing to the program’s first postseason national tournament since the 1998 WNIT. For his coaching performance he was named the Western Athletic Conference and WBCA Division I Regional Coach of the Year.

Prior to Boise State...
Prior to taking over at Boise State, Presnell coached for 18 successful years at Seattle Pacific University in Washington. At SPU, he inherited a program that had not recorded a winning season in the previous nine years. He built the Falcons into a NCAA Division II national power, accumulating an overall record of 396 victories with 127 defeats (.757). Along the way his teams amassed an average of 22 wins per season while claiming seven conference championships, including four of his last five seasons. In addition, his teams were an impressive 221-29 (.884) at home in Broughman Pavilion, including five unbeaten home seasons.

On the national scene under Presnell, the Falcons advanced to nine-straight (1997-2005) and 10 of 11 NCAA Division II tournaments while he was in Seattle. Overall, Seattle Pacific made postseason appearances in 13 of his 18 years, 10 NCAA and three NAIA. Presnell’s teams reached three NCAA Division II Elite Eights and advanced to the 2005 national title game.

At the time of his departure from Seattle Pacific in the summer of 2005, Presnell was ranked tied for 10th-place nationally among NCAA Divison II coaches for win percentage at 75.7 percent and 21st for total victories.

Coaching Highlights...
In 22 years as a collegiate head coach Presnell has never experienced a losing season. In fact, he has only had one year at .500, his first at Boise State going 15-15. His teams have won a combined nine regular-season titles, seven at SPU and two at Boise State. In addition, he has guided 15 of his 22 squads into postseason national tournaments. 

During his career he has been named conference coach of the year eight times, WBCA Regional Coach of the Year five times (four at NCAA Division II level and one at Division I), and the WBCA NCAA Division II National Coach of the Year twice. His coach of the year honors now total 15 in 22 years.

Personal...
Presnell, a Lapwai, Idaho, native graduated from Northwest Nazarene University in Nampa, Idaho, in 1983 with a B.A. in physical education. He continued his studies in physical education at Seattle Pacific University, where he earned a master’s degree in 1989. He and his wife, former SPU gymnast Susan Nolte, live in Meridian, Idaho. They have two children a daughter, Jacquelyn (19), who is a freshman at Northwest Nazarene University, and a son, Ryder (15).