McCombs, Prestridge join Auburn women's basketball staff

AUBURN, Ala. – Two former Auburn women’s basketball staff members will be making their return to the Plains as Caroline McCombs and AK Prestridge will be joining coach Larry Vickers’ staff, it was announced today.

McCombs will return for her second stint as an assistant coach, and Prestridge will serve as the team’s director of basketball operations.

“The family atmosphere here at Auburn is different, and it’s special,” Vickers said. “It was important to bring in staff members who had experience here and know what the Auburn Family is all about. Caroline has head coaching experience and has been on several staffs across the country, and I’m very honored to have her join my staff. AK was highly recommended from many people in our industry, and I know she is excited to be back home.”

 

 

McCombs has been a head coach for the last 11 seasons, including the last four seasons as head coach at George Washington. Prior to that, she spent seven years as the head coach at Stony Brook, where she led the Seawolves to the first NCAA Tournament appearance in program history in 2021. 

The 2020 America East Coach of the Year, she won 130 games in seven seasons at Stony Brook, including a 28-3 mark and a likely postseason berth in 2020 before the postseason was canceled by the pandemic. 

“It’s very exciting to be coming back to Auburn,” McCombs said. “It’s a place where you always feel like family, and to be part of such a tradition-rich program again is a blessing. I’m looking forward to working with Coach LV, who is someone I’ve always respected in the coaching profession, and I can’t wait to get started back here at Auburn. War Eagle!”

She left Stony Brook as the program’s winningest Division I coach and the second-winningest overall, having coached 19 all-conference selections.

McCombs was on the Tigers’ staff from 2012-14, leading Auburn to a pair of WNIT berths. She has 15 years of experience as a Division I assistant coach, assisting with four different programs and earning five NCAA Tournament appearances. 

She was an assistant at Northwestern from 2010-12, helping lead the program to a WNIT berth and producing the program’s first WNBA Draft pick in Amy Jaeschke.

Prior to Northwestern, McCombs spent five seasons as an assistant at Pittsburgh from 2005-10, aiding the program to five straight postseason appearances that included three NCAA Tournaments and a pair of Sweet 16 berths. With the Panthers, she coached Shavonte Zellous, who earned All-America honors and was a 2009 WNBA Draft pick.

McCombs began her coaching career at Valparaiso, where she was on staff from 1999-2005 and helped lead the program to two conference titles and two NCAA Tournament bids. McCombs is a 1998 graduate of Youngstown State.

Prestridge, an Auburn native, is coming home to the Plains to serve as the Tigers’ director of basketball operations. She spent the last two seasons as director of operations at SMU and the two seasons before that in the same role at Cincinnati.

“I am very excited to be back in Auburn and to join Coach LV’s staff,” Prestridge said. “He has an exciting vision for the program, and I am extremely grateful to be a part of it. Thank you to Coach LV and the administration for allowing me the opportunity to return home. War Eagle!”

Prestridge spent six seasons with the Auburn women’s basketball program from 2015-21, working as a student manager and later as a graduate assistant. She graduated from Auburn in 2019 with a degree in business management, and she earned her master’s degree in 2021.