Preston Beverly, who starred as a bruising power forward at Virginia Military Institute (VMI) from 2002 to 2006 and then honed his college coaching credentials at such notable institutions as Bowdoin College and the State University of New York at New Paltz, has been named an Assistant Men’s Basketball Coach and Assistant Athletics Director at Richard Bland College. The announcement was made by Chuck Moore, Director of Athletics and Head Men’s Basketball Coach.
Beverly arrives at Richard Bland College from Lincoln College of New England, where he served as Director of Athletics and Head Men’s Basketball Coach from 2012 to 2015. While at Lincoln, Beverly built a program that averaged 20 wins per season and established a new school record for most wins (23) achieved in the 2014 season, a mark that included a school-record 13-game winning streak. He compiled an overall .727 winning percentage (.841 in conference). His teams earned the school’s first-ever national ranking in 2014 and posted victories over nationally-ranked teams at the Division II and Division III levels, Sullivan County Community College and Dean College respectively. In 2014, Beverly led Lincoln to its first-ever NJCAA National Tournament and was named the District 8 Coach of the Year.
“This is an exciting time for Statesmen Athletics with the addition of Preston Beverly, who adds a wealth of experience as both a player at the Division I level and bright young coach in our profession,” said Moore. “The experience he brings to our coaching staff and athletics department is invaluable and his enthusiasm will be contagious for all those around HIM as they pursue the mission of Richard Bland and of the Athletic Department. I could not feel more blessed to be able to attract a staff member with a high character, passion, and work ethic of Preston.”
Without an on-campus facility, Beverly built a juggernaut program. His 2014 team captured both the Region XXI regular season and tournament championships, first in school history. He coached an NJCAA All-America and an NJCAA National All-Star. Five of Beverly’s student-athletes earned All-Region honors, four were named Regional All-Stars and one was named to the NJCAA National All-Tournament Team. Five of his former student-athletes earned athletic scholarships from institutions at the Division I, Division III and NAIA levels.
With a concerted focus on academics, Beverly developed a student-athlete study hall at LCNE that improved retention and resulted in six student-athletes earning a 3.5 grade point average (GPA) or higher in its first year of implementation. A tireless recruiter who has a keen eye for recognizing and evaluating talent, Beverly established a national recruiting base that yielded student-athletes from Florida, Ohio, Tennessee, New Jersey, New York and Connecticut.
“I am very excited to join Coach Moore’s staff and look forward to working with him and the rest of the department,” said Beverly. “The athletics programs have made a Commitment To Excellence and it shows in all of its sports teams success on and off the court.”
As Director of Athletics at Lincoln, Beverly’s tenure lauded many accomplishments, most notably being a partnership with the Bristol Boy’s and Girl’s Club that resulted in a practice and game facility for LCNE. He developed corporate sponsorships, community relations initiatives such as Bread for Life and organized the college’s first-ever Athletics Banquet among many endeavors that increased the image and awareness of the institution.
Beverly boasts six years of assistant coaching experience at Nyack (NY) College, Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine and SUNY New Paltz. While at Bowdoin, an academically renown institution that competes in the highly-competitive New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC), Beverly helped the Polar Bears to a school record 22 wins in 2007-08, a mark that included a first-ever appearance in the NESCAC Tournament Championship game and an appearance in the NCAA Division III National Championships, where Bowdoin defeated Curry College in the first round.
A rugged power forward and two-year captain at VMI, the 6-foot-6, 225 pound Beverly ranked among the Big South Conference’s top defensive players and rebounders. Playing for the Keydets, Beverly enjoyed his finest seasons in 2004-05 when he averaged 5.4 points per game and 5.1 rebounds per game. In the 2002-03 season he shot a career-best .510 from the field. He graduated in 2006 with a degree in Computer Science and a minor in Psychology and Math, reaching the ranks of S-6 Lieutenant. Following his intercollegiate playing days, Beverly joined the inaugural National Professional Basketball League in 2007, playing for the Hudson Valley Hawks. He led the Hawks to the NPBL championship as the team’s leading rebounder and second leading scorer.
Beverly hails from an athletically impressive family. His father Randy was a NFL defensive back for the New York Jets (1967-69) and Boston Patriots (1970-71). He secured three critical interceptions to help the Jets capture the Super Bowl III Championship in 1968 with a 16-7 upset over the highly favored Baltimore Colts. His mother Sharon, starred collegiately at Queens College and later played professionally in Europe and with the New Jersey Gems of the Women’s Professional Basketball League. She is a prominent athletics administrator, currently serving as the Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs/Executive Director of Athletics at The College of New Jersey following a highly-successful tenure as the Director of Athletics & Physical Education at Vassar College from 2004-12.
Beverly and his wife Danielle reside in Chester VA.
http://rbcathletics.com/sports/mbkb/2015-16/releases/2015081367txqq
Photo Courtesy: RBC Athletics
