Entering his fourth season at the helm of the Campbell women’s basketball program, head coach Ronny Fisher took his 2018-19 squad to unprecedented heights.
Fisher led his squad to the program’s first and second ever postseason victories. The Camels are no stranger to postseason play under Fisher’s leadership as Campbell’s trip to the Women’s Basketball Invitational (WBI) marked the second appearance in three years for the Camels.
Campbell notched its first postseason win in program history in the opening round of the WBI on the road at Coastal Carolina, 58-54. The Camels went on to claim their second win in the tournament back at home with a 70-62 win over Tennessee Tech before advancing to the semifinals.
The Camels’ appearance in the semifinals of the WBI also marked the first time a Big South team has ever appeared in the semifinal round of the tournament.
Campbell’s success in the postseason under Fisher led to the Camels matching a program high in wins with 23 as a part of a 23-13 overall record and a 10-8 mark in league play. The 23 wins marked the program’s ninth 20 win season and the second in three years under Fisher.
Campbell’s run to its second postseason appearance in three years started with a run in the Big South Conference Tournament. The Camels drew the No. 6 seed entering the league tournament but reeled off three straight wins over Longwood (54-49) in Buies Creek as well as a pair of wins in High Point, N.C. over Hampton (85-63) and Charleston Southern (55-44) to advance to the title game against eventual champion Radford.
Fisher’s most recent team was led by All-Big South Honorable Mention honoree Hayley Barber and All-Freshman team member Shy Tuelle.
Under Fisher’s guidance, Campbell posted new statistical program-bests in four separate categories including most field goals made (747) and attempted (2,044) to pair with a program best mark in rebounds (1,431) and blocked shots (215).
Amidst all of the team accolades in the 2018-19 season, Fisher amassed a career milestone of his own during the 2018-19 campaign by notching his 150th career win on March 2, 2019, with a 76-67 victory over Winthrop.
Under Fisher, the Camels have posted a 59-38 overall record. Fisher’s 94 Big South wins serve as the highest among active Big South coaches which ranks sixth all-time and his 156 total victories sit seventh all-time in league history.
Fisher’s squad continued their strong play on the defensive end this past season by posting the 18th best scoring defense in the nation by allowing just 56.3 points per game to mark the third straight season the Camels have ranked among the nation’s leader in points allowed. Campbell also finished eighth in the nation in three-point field goal defense by holding opponents to just 26.5% shooting from behind the arc. Over the Camels’ 23 games the defense was able to hold its opponents to shooting under 50% in 22 contests.
Fisher’s squad’s prowess on the defensive end this past season added to the success in recent seasons. In 2016-17, the Camels claimed the program’s first-ever NCAA statistical championship by holding opponents to a Division I-low 49.6 points-per-game. The 2017-18 squad again fielded an elite defense, allowing 51.9 points-per-game, which ranked third in all of NCAA Division I.
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 the eighth 20-win campaign in program history and their 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.
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. Senior Brianna Cribb was named to the all-academic team.
In Fisher’s second season, Campbell earned a first-round bye in the Big South tournament.
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.
Fisher, who led Presbyterian College to success over eight seasons, was announced as the Camels’ head coach on April 5, 2016.
Prior to his tenure in Buies Creek, Fisher led Big South rival Presbyterian College, 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 post-season bid to the Women’s Basketball Invitational, the program’s first postseason appearance since joining the Big South in 2007.
Fisher took over as PC head women’s coach in 2008 after serving as an 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.
Among the many milestones achieved by the PC women’s team during Fisher’s tenure were a record four Big South all-conference selections this past season, including the Big South Conference freshman of the year for the second straight year. PC finished the 2015-16 season with an 18-13 record (13-7 Big South) and advanced to the semifinals of the conference tournament, losing to eventual champion UNC Asheville. Fisher’s most recent PC team swept the season series with Liberty and Winthrop for the first time in school history.
After Campbell re-joined the Big South Conference in 2011-12, Fisher led the Blue Hose to six victories in 10 meetings with the Camels, including a sweep of the season series during the 2015-16 campaign.
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 an 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 Angier, N.C. where they attend Trinity Baptist Church.
