Gordy Presnell

Gordy Presnell (born July 20, 1960) is the women's basketball coach for Boise State University since 2005. Before joining Boise State, Presnell coached boys basketball teams for Lapwai High School and Kendrick High School during the 1980s. After joining Seattle Pacific University as a graduate assistant in 1986, Presnell became their women's basketball coach in 1987. With Seattle Pacific, Presnell's team won three Pacific West Conference events and reached the final of the 2005 NCAA Division II women's basketball tournament. Upon leaving the team in 2005, Presnell had 396 wins and 127 losses.

Presnell became the head coach of the women's basketball team at Boise State University in 2005. From 2007 to 2020, Presnell's team won the WAC women's basketball tournament once and the Mountain West Conference women's basketball tournament five times. In between this time period, Presnell and his team reached the second round of the 2008 Women's National Invitation Tournament and the 2014 Women's Basketball Invitational. With the two schools, Presnell received nine conference Coach of the Year awards from the 1990s to 2019. For Division II schools, Presnell won the WBCA National Coach of the Year Award in 2003 and 2004. As a women's basketball coach, Presnell won his 700th game in 2021.

Presnell was born in Lapwai, Idaho on July 20, 1960. He started his basketball experience as a child while living at the Nez Perce Reservation. During his studies at Northwest Nazarene University, Presnell continued to play basketball throughout the early 1980s. He also briefly attended the University of Idaho in 1986. In the late 1980s, Presnell completed his education at Seattle Pacific University.

Early career

In the mid-1980s, Presnell was an assistant coach with Lapwai High School and Kendrick High School when they won Idaho championships in boys basketball. During this time period, Lapwai was the A-3 division winner in 1984 and Kendrick was the A-4 division winner in 1985. As the boys basketball coach for Kendrick, Presnell and his team were fifth at the A-4 division of the 1986 Idaho championships.

Seattle Pacific

In 1986, Presnell worked for Seattle Pacific in men's basketball as a graduate assistant. Starting in 1987, Presnell was the women's basketball coach for Seattle Pacific when they competed in the NAIA. While working as a coach for Seattle Pacific, Presnell also stocked ice cream trucks until 1989.

In 1991, Presnell's team began playing in the NCAA Division II. During the early 1990s, Seattle Pacific played in the Continental Divide Conference before joining the Pacific West Conference upon its creation in 1992. While in the Pacific West, Presnell's team won the conference in 1997 and 1998. Seattle Pacific won an additional Pacific West title in women's basketball during 2001.

That year, Seattle Pacific was scheduled to move into the newly established Great Northwest Athletic Conference. While part of the GNAC, Presnell and Seattle Pacific reached the final of the 2005 NCAA Division II women's basketball tournament in March 2005. Upon leaving the team in June 2005, Presnell had accumulated 396 wins and 127 losses, won six conference championships and reached the postseason 14 times with Seattle Pacific.

Boise State

Presnell became the coach of the women's basketball team at Boise State University in 2005. While with Boise State, Presnell and the team were the 2007 WAC women's basketball tournament champions. In 2011, the school joined the Mountain West Conference. Between 2015 and 2020, Presnell and his team won the Mountain West Conference women's basketball tournament five times. At the NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament, Presnell and his team reached the first round in 2007.

In the early 2010s, Presnell considered taking a sabbatical to look after his ill mother. From 2015 to 2019, Presnell and Boise State appeared in four more NCAA Tournaments. Presnell's team had received a spot in the 2020 edition before the COVID-19 pandemic stopped the NCAA event from happening. During this time period, Boise State reached the second round of the 2008 Women's National Invitation Tournament and the 2014 Women's Basketball Invitational. By 2023, Presnell had 334 wins and 227 losses with Boise State and entered the 2023-24 season with the 10th most wins among active Division I women's basketball head coaches.

In women's basketball, Presnell was Coach of the Year three times for Seattle Pacific as a member of the Pacific West Conference during the 1990s. He received an additional Coach of the Year award from the PWC in 2001. In the GNAC, Presnell was named Coach of the Year consecutively from 2003 to 2005.

During this time period, he won the WBCA National Coach of the Year Award in 2003 and 2004 for Division II schools. While at Boise State, Presnell received the 2007 Coach of the Year award with the Western Athletic Conference. He also was named Coach of the Year for the Mountain West Conference in 2019.

Overall, Presnell won his 600th women's basketball game in 2016. In 2021, he won his 700th game. Presnell has two kids and is married.