Ronny Fisher is in his eighth season as Presbyterian College’s head women’s basketball coach. He is the sixth person to take the reigns in the program’s 35-year history.
In 2014-15, Fisher guided a roster with seven newcomers to a 16-15 winning record that included an incredible 10-3 home marker. PC finished with the nation’s fifth-ranked defense (52.0 points allowed) and the eighth-best field goal percentage defense in the country. The team also held foes to 27.2 percent behind the three-point line, the 11th-best marker in the country.
PC won a Big South Conference Championship first round game for the second straight season and set a new program record for most points scored in a game, scoring 120 against Allen on November 18. He also helped freshman Cortney Storey earn Big South Conference Freshman of the Year honors as well as a spot on the League’s All-Freshman team, along with forward Keyonna Allen earning Big South Second Team honors for the first time in her career.
The coach also achieved a personal milestone as well in 2014-15. Fisher moved into sole possession of second place in PC history on January 27 with his 74th career victory and earned his 79th in the first round of the Big South Conference Championship.
The sixth year of Fisher's tenure saw the 2013-14 Blue Hose win eight of its last 11 Big South Conference games—a stretch that included victories over three of the league’s top four teams—and earned its first ever win in the Big South Conference Championship tournament. Despite graduating six seniors the year before, Fisher's PC squad ranked second in the NCAA in scoring defense, holding opponents to 53.5 points per game—a marker exceeded only by national champion Connecticut. PC also ranked seventh in personal fouls per game and 35th in field goal percentage defense, limiting foes to a 36.9 shooting percentage.
Fisher’s fifth year at the helm resulted in a record season as the Blue Hose finished the season with a 19-12 record and a 14-4 marker in the Big South, finishing in a tie for second place in the league. The record marked the team’s highest win total in Division I and highest finish since joining the Big South in 2007-08. Fisher earned Big South Conference Coach of the Year honors while guiding two players to the Scholar-Athlete of the Year award and All-Big South Conference Second Team laurels.
The season ended with trip to the Women’s Basketball Invitational to face Lamar in Port Arthur, Texas, the team’s first postseason game since taking on Virginia State in the NCAA Division II Tournament in 2002. PC boasted the league’s best field goal percentage (43.2 overall, 46.1 percent conference-only) in the conference. The Blue Hose also led in three-point field goal percentage (38.7 overall, 41.9 percent conference-only) and ranked second in field goal percentage defense (35.2 percent) and rebounding defense (32.5 rebounds allowed) in conference-only statistics.
The historic season surpassed another strong season from 2011-12. The Blue Hose finished the year with a 14-15 record and an 8-10 record in the Big South Conference, marking the most wins since 2005-06 and the then-most Big South wins ever in a single season.
In addition to the team’s 14 wins, the Blue Hose jumped 69 spots in the Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) from 2010-11 and led the Big South in scoring defense, averaging only 56.2 points allowed per contest. The Blue Hose also ranked second in rebounding defense (35.3 percent) and third in field goal percentage defense (38.1 percent). PC won six of its last nine games, including putting together the longest winning streak in its D-I history and its longest road winning streak as well.
In 2010-2011, Fisher led the Blue Hose to program-best marks since joining Division I and the Big South Conference. The team's 9-20 overall tally and 5-11 record in league play marked the team's best campaign since 2005-2006. Fisher's guidance also helped Karlee Taylor earn a Big South Conference All-Freshman Team selection.
The Blue Hose set a number of benchmarks in 2010-2011. PC held an opponent to less than 40 points for only the seventh time since 1990 when the Blue Hose broke a 48-game road losing streak with a 51-38 win over South Carolina State. PC's five Big South Conference wins also marked the highest win total since joining the Big South in 2008-2009. The Blue Hose played competitively against several non-conference foes including Virginia Tech, Ohio and Clemson.
In 2009-10, Fisher's squad defied expectations by posting three Big South victories with triumphs over Coastal Carolina, UNC Asheville and Winthrop. The team improved upon its win total from the previous year and even took regular season Big South regular season Champion Gardner-Webb to overtime. He had five student-athletes selected to the BIg South Presidential honor roll including three starters. Mariah Pietrowski won the Big South Freshman of the Year award and the Blue Hose were given the league's Sportsmanship Award.
Fisher guided the 2008-09 team to a victory over Big South Conference tournament runner-up Gardner-Webb, marking the first league win in Division I play. The team posted its first Division I home win against Colgate on Nov. 24, 2008, by a 62-50 score. The squad doubled its win total from the previous season while also posting a strong 2.95 GPA in the classroom. Fisher's 2008-09 team will go down in the school's record book as the first Blue Hose program to garner the Big South Sportsmanship Award.
Fisher took the PC women's coaching position after working with PC's men's basketball program for 11 years. He was the associate head coach for the 2007-08 season under head men's coach Gregg Nibert, after serving as the assistant coach from 1990-1993 and 2000-2007.
The men's team tallied 142 wins when Fisher rejoined the staff in 2000. With his assistance PC earned two trips to the NCAA Division II tournament (2003, 2006). The 2002-2003 squad registered a program-tying 27 wins and were runners-up for the Food Lion/SAC Tournament title. The Blue Hose earned a bid to the national tournament where they defeated Columbus State (71-59) and Shaw University (77-58) to advance to the "Sweet Sixteen," the farthest the program had ever gone in the postseason.
Fisher was with the team when it returned to the NCAA Division II tournament three years later. After going 25-10 and finishing second in the Food Lion/SAC Tournament, PC beat Armstrong Atlantic, 73-67, in the first round of the NCAA Division II tournament before losing to Ga. College & State University in the second round.
The Fairview, N.C., native aided Nibert as the program began its transition to Division I in 2007. The team recorded its first win at the Division I level over Radford (62-60) on Dec. 1, 2007 in the friendly confines of the Templeton Center. The Blue Hose finished a perfect 5-0 on their home court.
During Fisher's first term with the Blue Hose, he worked with the team as they advanced to the NAIA National Tournament in 1993. PC racked up a school-record 27-5 season and earned a win over Mars Hill (71-56) in the NAIA District 26 Playoffs en route to the national tournament. The team lost to Georgetown (Ky.), 92-79, but went down as the first team in school history to travel to the tournament.
Fisher handled numerous responsibilities under Nibert, including acting as both the academic and recruiting coordinator. On the hardwood, he worked with all the players but played a special role coaching post players. He has been able to draw on those experiences as he continues the transition from assistant to head coach.
Between stints at Presbyterian, Fisher held positions at North Greenville University and Conway H.S. He worked under Crusaders' coach David Conrady for two seasons (1998-2000). The staff worked to build a solid program that upset NAIA's second-ranked Georgetown College in Fisher's final year at North Greenville.
Fisher assumed the head coaching position of the boy's basketball team at Conway H.S. in Conway, S.C. in 1993. At 25 years of age, he was the youngest class 4-A high school head coach in the state. In his first year, he led a team that had won two games in 1992-93 to 17 wins and the Tigers' first trip to the quarterfinals of the state tournament. He compiled a 47-52 record in four years at Conway.
Fisher got his start in college basketball while serving as a student assistant coach under former Presbyterian Coach Butch Estes at Furman University. He earned a B.A. in physical education in 1990.
He graduated from A.C. Reynolds H.S. in Fairview, N.C., where he was a multi-sport athlete who played baseball, basketball and golf. His father Bob and brother, Rob still reside in the area.
Fisher is married to the former Julie Dickert, of Taylors, S.C. Julie is a former basketball player at Charleston Southern University who played for the Bucs from 1990-93. They reside in Clinton with their son, Harrison, daughter Sydney and son Jake. They are active members of Cornerstone Baptist Church.
