Preston Ingram Becomes MBU Coach

Editor: The following is part of a press release of from mbuspartans.com.

(St. Louis, MO) – Associate Vice President & Director of Athletics Dr. Thomas Smith and Missouri Baptist University are pleased to announce the hiring of Preston Ingram as the 14^th head coach in MBU men’s basketball history.

Ingram inherits a Spartan men’s basketball program that’s coming off its best year ever in 2018-19 after finishing 28-5 overall with an American Midwest Conference regular-season title and a trip to the NAIA Division I Men’s Basketball National Tournament for the first time since 2004-05.

“This is a great day for Missouri Baptist Athletics,” Smith said. “Preston is held in the highest regard amongst his peers and will be an outstanding addition to the department and our community. We’re really looking forward to Coach Ingram coming in and contributing right away.”

Ingram’s 14-year collegiate coaching career has included successful stints as an assistant at NAIA’s Evangel (Mo.) and Avila (Mo.), as well as Pittsburg State (Kan.) and Angelo State (Texas), both NCAA Division II universities. In addition to his experience at the college level, Ingram is well-connected and has a proven track record as head coach of elite prep and AAU basketball programs.

“My wife, Shanna, and I are excited and blessed for the opportunity to be a part of the Missouri Baptist University family,” Ingram said. “The opportunities that the university provides the students to build their faith, academics and athletics is second to none. I want to thank President Dr. Keith Ross, Dr. Smith, and the entire search committee for their trust in me to lead the Spartan basketball program.”

The Springfield, Missouri native jumpstarted his college coaching career at his alma mater, Evangel University. Ingram had the opportunity to learn and coach alongside NAIA Hall of Famer Steve Jenkins, who ranks fourth all-time in wins among active NAIA coaches. In six years as an assistant, Ingram helped lead the Crusaders to five consecutive 20-win seasons and four NAIA National Tournament appearances.

Following Evangel, Ingram became an assistant coach at Avila University for three seasons.

During his time in Springfield and Kansas City, Ingram also built up his AAU coaching resume. In 1999, Ingram started coaching for the Springfield Rockets, a successful AAU program founded by mentor and former Avila head coach, Rodney Perry. Starting in 2007, Ingram began a six-year stint working for MOKAN Elite, one of the nation’s top AAU programs in the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League (EYBL). He coached and worked closely with eventual NBA players such as Willie Cauley-Stein, Anthony Tolliver, Semi Ojeleye and Willie Reed. Between the Springfield Rockets and MOKAN Elite, Ingram helped more than 55 players earn college basketball scholarships at all levels of the NCAA and NAIA.

In 2013, Ingram landed an assistant coaching position at Pittsburg State University and eventually was promoted in his fourth season (2016-17) to the top assistant role on Kevin Muff’s staff. Competing in one of the toughest D2 basketball conferences, Ingram helped the Gorillas grab their first-ever MIAA conference tournament championship in 2015.

Prior to his most recent stops at world-renowned IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., and Combine Academy in North Carolina, Ingram coached one season at another successful program in Angelo State University in San Angelo, Texas.

Through the years, Ingram has helped organize numerous individual and team camps, AAU basketball camps, Nike Pre-Draft Camp and Nike Elite 100 Camps. He was also heavily involved with Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) as a motivational speaker and mentor for at-risk kids through a program called UpRising.

As a player at Evangel, Ingram was a student-athlete on the historic 2001-02 NAIA Division II National Championship basketball team. That particular Evangel squad posted a 35-1 record while maintaining the No. 1 ranking in the polls the entire season. As a senior, he was a team captain and selected as the Crusaders’ Defensive Player of the Year in 2003-04.

Ingram graduated from Evangel in 2004 with a bachelor’s degree in Marketing & Management. He later obtained a Master of Science in Human, Health, Performance and Recreation from Pittsburg State in 2016. Preston and his wife, Shanna, have two children: Mya and Sebastian.