Oglethorpe University

Alex Richey Profile

First Season as Head Coach: 2014-15
Tenure: 2023-24 is his 10th season
Total W-L at Oglethorpe: 142-89
Total W-L Overall: 142-89
Times Named Conf. Coach of the Year: 2
Alma Mater: Oglethorpe, 2011

Alex Richey is the assistant athletic director for compliance and the head women’s basketball coach at Oglethorpe. Richey’s inaugural year as the head women’s basketball coach was the 2014-15 season, and he has since been named Southern Athletic Association coach of the year twice. Richey also was recognized by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) in its inaugural 30 Coaches Under 30 in 2016. 

In addition to his roles at Oglethorpe, Richey also currently serves on the top 25 polling committee with the WBCA and is the NCAA South Regional Advisory Committee member for the Southern Athletic Association.

Program Success

The Petrels produced a combined 39-41 record over Richey’s first three seasons before ushering in an era of basketball that may for a long time go unmatched.

This era started with a 21-win season in 2017-18, culminating with both the SAA regular season and tournament titles. It marked the first time Oglethorpe won the SAA in the short history of the league and the first time since 2009 the team had produced a title. It also qualified the Petrels for the NCAA tournament, their first trip to the big dance since 2009.

Richey earned SAA coach of the year in that 2018 season, but he and the Petrels were hardly satisfied. They followed in 2019 with a 23-win season and a second-round NCAA appearance before dominating the 2020 slate with a 29-1 record which included an undefeated streak of 14 SAA games. It was little surprise that the Petrels won the regular season and tournament once again, this time marking the second time in three years they won both the regular season and conference tournament.

Sadly, Oglethorpe’s historic 2019-20 season came to an end at the hands of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Petrels were riding a 27-game winning streak and had advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 when the NCAA announced the season would go unfinished. 

Richey’s program extended its winning streak to 34 games, ranking 16th all-time in Division III history, the following season and bounced back by again winning the conference. It was the third SAA title for Oglethorpe in the four-year span beginning in 2017-18.

In total, this four-year era included a record of 80-18 overall and 43-7 in the SAA. The team won three regular-season titles and two tournament titles while qualifying for the NCAA tournament three times. This included matching the program record in advancing to the third round (Sweet 16).

Richey’s team achieved a national ranking as high as No. 4, a program record, and the program's in-season 27-game winning streak and overall 34-game winning streak many consider to be unbreakable.

Last Season

Richey’s team bounced back from a slow start to the season to finish above .500 at 13-12. Like so many of his seasons, the finish was a good one. The Petrels won six of their last eight games including four straight near the end of January.

Richey’s recruiting class for this season featured the SAA newcomer of the year in Keimarya Rivera, and the Petrels also had two others acknowledged, with Malia Melton and Olivia Tucker making the All-SAA team.

Notable Past Seasons

2020-21: The COVID-19 shortened 2020-21 season did its best to slow down the momentum of the Petrels with three shutdowns over an 80-day period due to contact tracing. However, the team persevered to win the SAA regular season for the third time in four years. The Petrels were ranked in the D3 Hoops top 25 all season with a peak of No. 4, which is the highest ranking in program history. 

Savannah LeGate was named All-SAA first team and all-America third team by D3 Hoops. Sydni Donovan was named All-SAA second team and Sarah Plemons was an honorable mention. 

This season also saw Richey surpass legendary coach Ron Sattele as the winningest coach in program history with a resounding victory at Hendrix on February 5, 2021.

2019-20: Richey led the Petrels to a 29-1 record. This included 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 program’s second regular-season and second conference tournament championship. 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. 

In the year's final poll, Oglethorpe was ranked No. 6 and No. 8 in the WBCA coaches poll and the D3 Hoops national poll, respectively. Richey was named SAA coach of the year for the second time in three years and South Region coach of the year by D3 Hoops. Richey also was a finalist for the U.S. Marine Corps-WBCA National Coach of the Year.

2018-19: The 2018-19 season saw Oglethorpe finish with a 23-7 record and a second straight trip to the NCAA Tournament. The Petrels advanced to the second round with a victory over Chicago, marking the program's first NCAA tournament win since 2009.

Senior forward Lauren Ransom was named SAA player of the year and was an all-America honorable mention for her stellar play throughout the season.

2017-18: Richey’s program made the turn from good to great by finishing 21-8 with both the SAA regular season title and SAA tournament title. This was the first team conference championship in any women’s sport for Oglethorpe in its SAA history.

Six Oglethorpe athletes received all-conference accolades, led by Savannah LeGate, who was named SAA player of the year, SAA newcomer of the year and All-SAA first team. She also was recognized by D3 Hoops as the national rookie of the year.

For his contributions to the program in 2017-18, Richey was named SAA coach of the year for the first time in his career.

Education | Personal

Richey is a native of the metro Atlanta area and has been involved in the game of basketball 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. 

Richey graduated from Oglethorpe in 2011 with a degree in business administration. While at Oglethorpe, Richey led the team in scoring in 2009-10, and he was named All-SCAC as a junior and senior. Currently, Richey ranks among the school leaders in 3-pointers made and is also a member of the 1,000-point club and 200-assist club (1,097 points, 213 assists).

Richey and his wife, Ashton, were married in 2016, and they currently reside in Marietta with their sons, Miles and Brooks.

Timeline

May 9, 2014- Hired as head women's basketball coach
November 15, 2014- First win as head coach
February 23, 2018- Named SAA Coach of the Year
February 25, 2018- First SAA Championship win
March 1, 2019- First NCAA tournament win
January 19, 2020- 100th win as head coach
March 1, 2020- Second SAA Championship win
March 2, 2020- Named SAA Coach of the Year for the second time
March 17, 2020- Named South Region Coach of the Year
March 19, 2020- National Coach of the Year finalist
February 5, 2021- Surpassed winningest coach in program history
March 9, 2021- Third SAA Championship win

* - Season cut short due to pandemic.