A three-time conference Coach of the Year honoree, Ronny Fisher enters his ninth season at the helm of the Campbell University women’s basketball program ahead of the 2024-25 season. In 16 seasons, Fisher holds a career record of 249-234 including a 152-90 record with Campbell.
In eight seasons under Fisher, Campbell has won 152 games for an average of 19 wins per season. Before Campbell departed for the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) in the summer of 2023, Fisher was at the time the longest-tenured Big South coach with 14 seasons under his belt and led all active coaches in the conference with 232 total and 146 Big South wins. Campbell won the 2019-20 and 2021-22 Big South regular season titles and finished as Big South tournament runner-up in 2019, 2021 and 2022.
Fisher has also led Campbell to its first-ever WNIT berth in 2022 along with two other postseason appearances in the WBI (2017 & 2019). He helped the Camels claim their first ever postseason win in the 2019 WBI, reaching the semifinals of the tournament and marking the first time a Big South program has reached the title prelim game.
Fisher surpassed 200 career wins with a 66-53 victory over Gardner-Webb on Jan. 1, 2022, becoming the fifth head coach in Big South history to reach the milestone. Fisher picked up his 100th win at Campbell earlier during the 2021-22 season following a 67-46 win at South Carolina State on Dec. 1, 2021.
A major part of Fisher’s winning formula is defense. Under his tutelage, the Fighting Camels have earned a reputation as one of the stingiest squads in the nation, consistently ranking at the top in several defensive statistical categories each season.
The Camels led the nation in scoring defense in 2016-17, holding foes to 49.6 points per game. Campbell is the only program in the nation to rank in the top-25 in scoring defense in each of the past eight seasons.
Campbell has also ranked in the top-30 nationally in field goal percentage defense in six of the past eight seasons as well as in the top-30 in 3-point field goal percentage defense in six of the past seven seasons.
Over the past eight seasons, the Camels have held 41 foes to 40 points or less and 103 opponents to 50 points or less.
In 2023-24, Campbell made the jump from the Big South Conference to the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA). Campbell finished the season at 17-14 overall and 9-9 in CAA play, earning a first round bye for the conference tournament. Christabel Ezumah received all-conference nods for the season straight season, earning spots on the All-CAA Third Team and All-Defensive Team after averaging 12.4 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.8 blocks. Brittany Staves received the Dean Ehlers Leadership Award while Shy Tuelle was named the CAA Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Campbell once again anchored a tough defense ranking No. 8 nationally and leading the CAA in scoring defense, holding foes to 55.1 points per game, along with ranking No. 31 in the nation limiting teams to shoot 37.1 percent from the field and No. 10 in the country holding teams to shoot 26.5 percent from three. CU remained disciplined while playing excellent on the defensive end, ranking No. 23 in the country and leading the CAA with 13.8 fouls per game called against the team.
Campbell finished the 2022-23 season with a 16-15 overall record including a 10-8 mark in Big South play. The Camels reached the semifinals of the Big South tournament for the fourth straight season. Christabel Ezumah was named to the All-Big South first team after averaging 10.6 points, 9.2 boards and 1.9 blocks per game. Brittany Staves averaged 9.3 points and 4.7 boards, earning an All-Big South honorable mention selection. Staves was also named as the conference's Scholar-Athlete of the Year. The Camels ranked No. 8 nationally in scoring defense, holding foes to 52.5 points per game as well as No. 8 in field goal percentage defense, limiting teams to shoot 35.1 percent from the floor.
The 2021-22 campaign saw Fisher lead the Camels to a 23-8 record overall and a 15-3 mark in the Big South. Campbell claimed its second Big South regular season title in three seasons and earned the top-seed for the Big South Championship. After a runner-up finish in the conference tournament, Fisher and the Camels met Liberty in the program's first-ever WNIT appearence.
Taya Bolden was named to the All-Big South first team while Luana Serranho garnered conference second team honors. Bolden was also named Big South Scholar-Athlete of the Year, marking the second-straight season a Campbell player has earned the award.
Campbell led the Big South and ranked 51st nationally making 7.4 threes per game during the 2021-22 season. The Camels also ranked 42nd nationally and led the Big South with 15.3 assists per game
During the 2020-21 season, Fisher led the Camels to a 16-7 overall including an 11-4 mark in Big South play. The Camels finished as runners-up in the Big South Championship.
Shy Tuelle was named to the All-Big South first team and Taya Bolden received second team honors. The Camels also ranked No. 5 nationally in scoring defense (52.3 ppg), No. 14 in FG% defense (35.0%) and No. 23 in three-point FG% defense (26.8%).
Lauren McNamara-Clement was also named as the program’s first-ever Big South Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
In the 2019-20 season, Fisher was named Big South Coach of the Year after helping lead the Camels to a Big South regular season championship. Fisher’s squad won 21 games and tied the program record with 16 conference wins before the season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
During the 2018-19 campaign, Fisher’s squad finished 23-13 overall and 10-8 in conference play. The team posted new program season best marks in most field goals made and attempted, most rebounds, and most blocked shots in a season.
In Fisher’s second season in 2017-18, Campbell earned a first-round bye in the Big South tournament. Campbell finished 15-15, again fielding an elite defense, allowing 51.9 ppg, which ranked third in all of NCAA Division I.
Price and Rouse were selected to the Big South second and honorable mention teams, respectively, with forwards Kyra Davis and Ashlyn Hampton garnering all-freshman honors.
Only the fourth head coach in program history, Fisher made an immediate impact in his first season at Campbell in 2016-17, piloting the Camels to their eighth 20-win campaign in program history and first in four years. The eight-win improvement from the 2015-16 season was enough to propel Campbell to a berth in the Big South Tournament and the opportunity to host a first-round game in the WBI.
The Camels also claimed the program’s first-ever NCAA statistical championship by holding opponents to a Division I-low 49.6 ppg. Campbell was the only program to finish below the 50-point threshold in 2016-17 after holding 10 opponents to 40 points or fewer.
For his efforts, Fisher was named the 2016-17 Big South Coach of the Year. Junior MaKala Rouse was named the league’s defensive player of the year and picked up an all-conference honorable mention selection while junior Summer Price earned all-conference second team honors.
Prior to his tenure in Buies Creek, Fisher served as head coach at Big South rival Presbyterian College for eight seasons (2008-16), earning winning seasons in three of his last four years with the Blue Hose.
He was named Big South Coach of the Year in 2012-13 as he led his team to a 19-12 record and a 14-4 mark in the conference. That team earned a postseason bid to the Women’s Basketball Invitational, the program’s first postseason appearance since joining the Big South in 2007.
Among the many milestones achieved by the PC women’s team during Fisher’s eight-year tenure were a record four Big South all-conference selections in 2015-16, including the Big South Conference freshman of the year for the second straight year.
Fisher took over as PC head women’s coach in 2008 after serving as assistant coach for the men’s team for 11 seasons. He was the associate head coach for former PC men’s coach Gregg Nibert and helped lead the Blue Hose team in its transition from NCAA Division II to Division I.
A native of Fairview, N.C., Fisher is a 1990 graduate of Furman University, where he served as a student assistant coach under Butch Estes. After earning his B.A. in physical education in 1990, he worked as assistant men’s coach at Presbyterian from 1990-93 and again from 2000-07 before being promoted to associate head coach in 2007-08.
He also served as assistant coach at North Greenville University and as head coach at Conway (S.C.) High School, where his team reached the quarterfinals of the state tournament.
Fisher is married to the former Julie Dickert of Taylors, S.C. She is a former basketball player at Charleston Southern University. The Fishers are parents of two sons, Harrison and Jake, and a daughter, Sydney. They reside in Buies Creek, N.C. where they attend Trinity Baptist Church.
