Evangel University director of athletics Dr. Dennis McDonald announced the hiring of Preston Beverly as the next head women’s basketball coach on Friday.
“Preston is an outstanding example of a coach who possesses the character traits and skills we are known for at Evangel University,” said McDonald. “His first priority is the spiritual and academic growth of our student-athletes, but at the same time he is a true competitor who will work tirelessly to lead the women’s basketball team to championship level performance.”
Beverly brings a wealth of spiritual, academic, and basketball leadership to Evangel.
“It’s an honor to be called to service at Evangel University,” added Beverly. “Springfield is an amazing city, and the state of Missouri has an amazingly rich basketball history. I look forward to expanding on Evangel’s championship culture.”
Most recently, he spent the last two seasons as the head coach of 16U and 14U Nike Girls EYBL Team in New York. He also served as an assistant coach for the 17U team where he coached four high major players ranked in the ESPN Top 50. In 2019, Beverly served as an assistant coach at NCAA Division I Hofstra University with the women’s basketball team.
Other coaching stops include the head men’s basketball coach at NJCAA Richard Bland College of William & Mary, Lincoln College of New England, Nyack College, and Bowdoin College. Beverly also carries administrative experience at a prominent level serving as the Director of Athletics at Lincoln College and Assistant Athletic Director at Richard Bland College.
At Richard Bland, Beverly coached seven all-region athletes and guided the team to a final four appearance, two district championships, and a Region X Championship.
During his time at Lincoln, he built a program that averaged 20 wins per season and compiled a .727 winning percentage. He guided them to their first-ever NJCAA National Tournament and was named District Coach of the Year.
Beverly played collegiately at NCAA Division I Virginia Military Institute where he was one of the top defensive players in the Big South Conference. He played professionally in the inaugural National Professional Basketball League in 2007 for the Hudson Valley Hawks leading them to the NPBL championship where he was the team’s leading rebounder.
He hails from an athletically impressive family where his father, Randy, was an NFL defensive back for the New York Jets and Boston Patriots and secured multiple interceptions in the Super Bowl III victory for the Jets. His mother Sharon starred collegiately at Queens College and later played professionally in Europe. She enjoyed a successful 20-year career as a head women’s basketball coach at three different institutions, including 11 at Fairleigh Dickinson where she was inducted into the school’s athletic hall of fame. Most recently, she was named Acting Vice President of Athletics & Recreation at the University of Hartford.
Beverly graduated from VMI in 2006 with a degree in computer science and a minor in psychology and math, reaching the ranks of S-6 Lieutenant.
He and his wife Danielle have two children and are expecting their third child.
https://www.evangelathletics.com/sports/wbkb/2020-21/releases/20210718jn48ej
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