Building a Program Through Lasting Relationships

The Coach

Alex Richey

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The 2019-20 season was a record-breaking one for the Stormy Petrels under the leadership of Alex Richey. With a 29-1 record, including 27 straight wins to end the season due to the COVID-19 shutdown of the NCAA tournament, Oglethorpe set a multitude of records including the most wins in program history and equaled the most wins in Division III for any team in the country. A perfect record of 17-0 in SAA play equated to the programs second regular-season and second conference-tournament championship in the last three years. The conference title automatically qualified the program for its third straight trip to the NCAA tournament and would eventually lead to their first Sweet 16 appearance since 2009 after wins in the opening two rounds over William Peace and Randolph-Macon. Individually, junior Savannah LeGate was named 1st Team All-SAA and 2nd Team All-South Region as well as eclipsing the 1,000-point plateau. Junior Taylor Smith was named 2nd Team All-SAA and was also honored as a WBCA Honorable Mention All-American. Sophomore Nikki Reed garnered 2nd Team All-SAA accolades as well as earning SAA Defensive Player of the Year honors. Amy Vazquez was also honored as SAA Newcomer of the Year, the third such time a Stormy Petrel has earned that honor in Richey’s 6 seasons at the helm (Lauren Ransom, LeGate). In the year's final poll of the shortened season, Oglethorpe was ranked 6th and 8th in the WBCA Coaches Poll and the D3Hoops.com national poll, respectively. For his efforts on the record setting year, Richey was named SAA Coach of the Year for the second time in 3 years, was named South Region Coach of the Year by D3Hoops, and was also a finalist for the U.S. Marine Corps-WBCA National Coach of the Year.

The 2018-19 season saw the Oglethorpe women's basketball team finish with a 23-7 record, including a second straight trip to the NCAA Tournament. They advanced to the second round with a victory over Chicago in Lexington, Kentucky, in March, marking the program's first NCAA Tournament win since 2009. Senior forward Lauren Ransom was named SAA Player of the Year and was an honorable mention all-American for her stellar play throughout the season and sophomore Savannah LeGate was named second-team All-SAA, while Bailey Charles finished her career with her fourth consecutive honorable mention All-SAA accolade. For their efforts throughout the year, the program was ranked No. 23 in the nation by the WBCA Coaches Poll in the final poll of the season.

The 2017-18 season was a banner year for the Oglethorpe women’s basketball program which finished the season with a record of 21-8. The Stormy Petrels won both the SAA regular season title and the SAA championship, clinching the first team conference championship in any women’s sport for Oglethorpe University in its SAA history. The team's berth in the NCAA tournament was the program's first since the 2008-09 season, where they fell to eventual national semifinalst Thomas More in the opening round. Six Stormy Petrel athletes received all-conference accolades, led by Savannah LeGate, who was named SAA Player of the Year, SAA Newcomer of the Year and First Team All-SAA. She also was recognized by D3hoops.com as the national Rookie of the Year. Taylor Dodson, Sydney Long, Bailey Charles, Jada Triplett and Lauren Ransom all received All-SAA Honorable Mention for their efforts throughout the season. For his contributions to the program in 2017-18, Coach Richey was named SAA Coach of the Year for the first time in his career.

The 2016-17 season was another step forward for the women’s basketball program with a record of 15-12 in Coach Richey’s third season. With an extremely youthful team that included zero graduating seniors, the team gained much valuable experience and continued to improve throughout the season, ending with an SAA semifinals appearance for the second year in a row. Lauren Ransom was named First Team All-SAA and SAA Defensive Player of the Year. Sophomore transfer Jada Triplett was named Second Team All-SAA and Bailey Charles received her second All-SAA nod in two years.

The 2015-16 season saw an increase in wins in Coach Richey’s second season from 11 to 13, and the program's first SAA Tournament victory. The high expectations of the season got off to a rocky start, as the previous season’s First Team All-Conference selection Ciaira Hughes went down with a season-ending knee injury that forced the Stormy Petrels to significantly change their strategy throughout the season. Senior Emily Buck capped off a great career by scoring her 1,000th point and was named Honorable Mention All-SAA along with freshman guard Bailey Charles. Freshman Lauren Ransom stepped up in a big way throughout the season with a loss of Hughes in the frontcourt, and earned a Second Team All-SAA selection. The Stormy Petrels' season would come to an end in the semifinals of the SAA Tournament after winning their first conference tournament game as a member of the SAA in the quarterfinals.

Coach Richey’s inaugural season in 2014-15 was a great success in the changing of the culture of the program, which was exemplified by a significant increase in the win column in the team’s first season under his leadership. After two consecutive seasons of just five wins, the Stormy Petrels won 11 games and moved from seventh place in 2013-14 to fifth place. Sophomore Ciaira Hughes had a breakout year for Oglethorpe and was named All-SAA First Team. Junior Emily Buck led the NCAA in free throw percentage at 92 percent, and was named All-SAA Second Team, while junior transfer Kristen Kennebrew appeared on the Honorable Mention All-SAA list.

A native of the Metro Atlanta area, Alex Richey has been involved in the game of basketball for his entire life. A product of Centennial High School in Roswell, where he was a two-time AAAAA All-State basketball player, Richey continued his playing career at Oglethorpe under the guidance of current men's basketball head coach Philip Ponder, where he was named All-SCAC as a junior and was an All-SCAC Honorable Mention selection in his senior season. Currently, Alex ranks among the school leaders in three-pointers made and attempted, and is also a member of the 1,000-point club, totaling 1,147 career points.

Richey graduated from Oglethorpe University in 2011 with a degree in business administration and immediately gained employment in the private sector. After roughly a year away from OU, Richey realized that his passion was working with young people and coaching basketball. This greatly simplified his decision when Coach Ponder asked for him to join his coaching staff in the fall of 2012. While working for Coach Ponder, Alex also spent a year working for Oglethorpe Vice President of Enrollment and Financial Aid Lucy Leusch, which was valuable in his development to recruit student-athletes to the Division III level.

His work on the court was also valuable. During his 2-year tenure under Coach Ponder, the men’s program compiled a 38-17 overall record, reached the D3hoops.com Top 25 rankings for the first time in program history, and came up a single point short of a conference tournament championship in the 2014 season. Richey looks to bring his unmatched enthusiasm and energy to the women’s program at his alma mater in order to develop a winning culture both on and off the basketball court.

During his time as the head coach of the women’s basketball program at Oglethorpe, Coach Richey was recognized by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) in 2016 on its inaugural 30 Coaches Under 30. He has also made two appearances on the Coaches Corner podcast on Hoopsville with Dave McHugh in both the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons.

Currently, Richey serves on the Top 25 polling committee with the WBCA and is the WBCA conference captain for the SAA. In each of the past two summers, Richey has been invited to coach abroad in Spain in 2017 and Italy in 2018 with Beyond Sports Tours, a company that sponsors foreign trips for Division II, Division III and NAIA athletes.

Coach Richey and his wife Ashton were married in 2016 and reside in Roswell.