Ashley Crawford is in her eighth season on the Lady Mavs coaching staff in 2020-21. Crawford, who was promoted to Associate Head Coach in May 2019, has been a key contributor in helping the Lady Mavs achieve the largest turnaround in school history and in all of Division I.
Crawford has a heavy influence on the recruiting process at UT Arlington. She is responsible for all aspects of recruiting within the Lady Mav program, including organizing visits and knowing and meeting with top players locally and nationally. For her efforts on the recruiting trail, UTA has signed solid reruits during Crawford's time in Arlington. The Lady Mavericks were named the top recruiting class in the conference for the 2013-14 season by Dan Olsen Collegiate Girls Basketball Report (54th in Division I).
The Lady Mavs wrapped up the 2019-20 season with a 21-11 overall record (14-4 SBC), securing the 11th overall for the Lady Mavs. UTA earned the No. 3 seed in the SBC Tourney and went on to defeat Texas State in the first round before falling to South Alabama in the Quarterfinals. Gerlich and the Lady Mavs were hopeful for a postseason tournament berth, but those hopes were derailed by the COVID-19 pandemic, which canceled the 2020 Sun Belt Women's Basketball Championship, the 2020 NCAA Tournament and the 2020 Postseason WNIT and WBI.
Crawford helped lead UTA to arguably the most successful season in program history in 2018-19. The Lady Mavs secured the program's first Sun Belt Regular Season championship, made their sixth postseason tournament appearance (WNIT), which was the second WNIT berth under Gerlich, and won a postseason (excluding conference tournaments) game for the first time in program history with their WNIT First Round triumph over Stephen F. Austin (60-54; Mar. 21). UTA also finished the season with 24 wins, which tied for the most in a single season with the 2006-07 squad (24-9 overall, Head Coach Donna Capps).
Helping the Lady Mavericks reach the Sun Belt Tournament Semifinals for the first time in 2017 and earning a berth in the Women's NIT (their first postseason appearance since 2009), Crawford was named the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches DI Assistant Coach of the Year in 2017.
Prior to UTA, she was a coach at Lamar where she helped develop some of the top guards in the Southland Conference. She helped her players rack up five all-conference selections and two conference and conference tournament MVP’s. Among those guards was Kalis Loyd, who became the all time leading scorer at Lamar, was top three in all time rebounding and steals and top 10 in assists. Crawford played an important role on the 2009-2010 Lamar squad that posted a 26-8 record en route to winning the Southland Conference championship and a berth in the NCAA Tournament.
Before coaching, the Mesquite native played for the Lady Cardinals where she overcame a serious knee injury to post two solid seasons. In her final campaign, she started 26 of Lamar’s 34 games, averaging 6.3 points per game while often accepting the role of shutting down the opposition’s top scorer.
In the classroom, Crawford earned a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology and completed her master’s degree in kinesiology in 2010. She posted a perfect 4.0 GPA in her master’s program during her final season on the court, earning her first-team District 6 All-Academic honors.
Crawford attended Horn High School, where she earned all-region honors as a senior. She averaged seven points per game at Trinity Valley Community College, where she set the school single-game assist record with 19. She attended UT Arlington for one season before transferring to Lamar.
Prior to her college days, Crawford was a member of one of the top summer basketball programs in the nation. As a member of the DFW Elite, she was starting back court on the founding team.
