Photos by Kenny Lass

Ashley Langford wasn’t necessarily looking to move. As head women’s basketball coach at Stony Brook University in New York, she was elated with her team’s impressive 69-24 record over three seasons and all the accolades that accompanied it — including being named the Coastal Athletic Association’s Coach of the Year for the 2023-24 season. 

Langford was already preparing for the Seawolves 2024-25 season when Tulane University’s Lisa Stockton announced in March that she was retiring as the Green Wave’s women’s basketball coach after 30 acclaimed seasons. In Langford’s mind, this was no ordinary job opportunity but a chance to follow in the footsteps of her legendary college coach.  

A standout point guard for the Green Wave from 2005 to 2009, Langford amassed one honor after the other. As a senior, she was named Conference USA’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year in addition to being a three-time All-Conference selection. She was also a member of C-USA’s All-Freshman Team in 2006, earning Freshman All-America honors from the Women’s Basketball News Service. She scored 1,047 points during her collegiate career and was inducted into Tulane Athletics Hall of Fame in 2018. 

“This is my alma mater, and I feel really indebted to Tulane and Coach Stockton,” said Langford, who was introduced on April 9 as the Green Wave’s seventh head coach and first African American to lead the program. 

“Getting the job was a full-circle moment. To take over my head coach’s job is pretty neat. I don’t think there are too many people that get to do that. Stony Brook was great. I love Stony Brook, and it will always be a special place for me. That job prepared me for this moment.” 

Despite a talented pool of candidates, Langford outshined them all, Ben Weiner Director of Athletics Chair David Harris said at the April 9 press conference. “She was at the top of a very talented list of coaches that we were interested in talking to from the very beginning. 

“Her familiarity with what it takes to be successful here, and the success she has enjoyed as a student-athlete, assistant coach and head coach, is confirmation that she is the right choice. I look forward to working with her for many years to come as we seek to build a championship-caliber program.” 

Since returning to Tulane, Langford has been in awe of the changes to her old stomping grounds — from the construction of new buildings to upgrades in athletics to the overall passion that Tulane sports has brought to both the community and campus. She wasted no time preparing for the 2024-25 season, which meant hiring staff and coaches, getting to know the team’s six returning players and hitting the road and transfer portal to find new ones.  

“One of the things I look for is, ‘Do they make us better?’ I like players that play really hard. I look at character. Are they coachable? Are they good teammates? Do they fit my style and fit this institution? If you’re academically struggling or don’t go to class, you’re not going to be a good fit here. I want to know what I’m getting. Once a player commits here, it’s my job to make them successful.”  

Born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Langford was as active as any child could be. She danced. She swam. She tumbled. “My dad put me in everything,” she said. “My sister and I were in the pool since we were babies.”  

Langford was about 6 years old when she gave basketball a try, joining her neighbor and his friends at a makeshift court in the cul de sac where she lived. “I just started shooting with them,” she said. “I liked it a lot.” 

She enjoyed the sport so much that a couple of years later she joined her local 10-and-under Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) team. Eventually, she gave up her other extracurriculars to concentrate on shooting hoops. As a high school student, she played point guard on both varsity and AAU teams. 

Langford was good, so good that she attracted the attention of several NCAA Division I schools, including Tulane. In the end, it was Stockton’s basketball philosophy and Tulane’s reputation as an academic powerhouse that persuaded Langford to head south.  

Four years later, she earned her own reputation — as one of Tulane’s greatest players in program history. She graduated with bachelor’s degrees in marketing and management and left behind records that still stand today — as Tulane’s career leader in assists (722), assists per game (6.0) and minutes per game (34.4). 

It was during her senior year when Langford began contemplating the future. Would she turn pro or work towards her MBA? She knew she didn’t want to coach, but Stockton convinced her otherwise. “She noticed something in me and said, ‘You should think about coaching. I think you’d be good at it.’”  

She spent the next two years as a graduate assistant at Auburn University, where she divided her time between coaching and studying for her MBA. Langford discovered that she actually enjoyed coaching, that she could make an impact on players’ lives, both as people and athletes.  

Her path to Tulane included coaching stints at Bucknell University, University of Denver, Naval Academy, Old Dominion University, James Madison University and Stony Brook, where she was a head coach for the first time. Never did she imagine that she would one day be coaching at her alma mater.  

“Tulane has always held a special place in my heart and I’m excited to give back to the university that helped shape me. My experience at Tulane ignited a passion for basketball that has carried me to this moment.”