In the mid-1980s, Presnell was an assistant coach with Lapwai High School and Kendrick High School when they won Idaho championships in boys basketball.[4] During this time period, Lapwai was the A-3 division winner in 1984 and Kendrick was the A-4 division winner in 1985.[5][6] As the boys basketball coach for Kendrick, Presnell and his team were fifth at the A-4 division of the 1986 Idaho championships.[3][7]
Seattle Pacific
In 1986, Presnell worked for Seattle Pacific in men's basketball as a graduate assistant.[3] Starting in 1987, Presnell was the women's basketball coach for Seattle Pacific when they competed in the NAIA.[8] While working as a coach for Seattle Pacific, Presnell also stocked ice cream trucks until 1989.[3]
In 1991, Presnell's team began playing in the NCAA Division II.[8] During the early 1990s, Seattle Pacific played in the Continental Divide Conference before joining the Pacific West Conference upon its creation in 1992.[9] While in the Pacific West, Presnell's team won the conference in 1997 and 1998.[10] Seattle Pacific won an additional Pacific West title in women's basketball during 2001.[11]
That year, Seattle Pacific was scheduled to move into the newly established Great Northwest Athletic Conference.[12] While part of the GNAC, Presnell and Seattle Pacific reached the final of the 2005 NCAA Division II women's basketball tournament in March 2005.[13][14] Upon leaving the team in June 2005, Presnell had accumulated 396 wins and 127 losses, won six conference championships and reached the postseason 14 times with Seattle Pacific.[15]
In the early 2010s, Presnell considered taking a sabbatical to look after his ill mother.[22] From 2015 to 2019, Presnell and Boise State appeared in four more NCAA Tournaments.[23][24] Presnell's team had received a spot in the 2020 edition before the COVID-19 pandemic stopped the NCAA event from happening.[25] During this time period, Boise State reached the second round of the 2008 Women's National Invitation Tournament and the 2014 Women's Basketball Invitational.[26][27] By 2023, Presnell had 334 wins and 227 losses with Boise State and entered the 2023-24 season with the 10th most wins among active Division I women's basketball head coaches.[28]
Head coaching record
Sources:
Pacific West Basketball championships record book,[29] NCAA Coaching records,[30] NCAA DII, Mountain West standings, Boise State Schedule[31],Western Athletic Conference record book[32]
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
Conference regular season champion
Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
Division regular season champion
Division regular season and conference tournament champion
Conference tournament champion
Awards
In women's basketball, Presnell was Coach of the Year three times for Seattle Pacific as a member of the Pacific West Conference during the 1990s.[33][10] He received an additional Coach of the Year award from the PWC in 2001.[34] In the GNAC, Presnell was named Coach of the Year consecutively from 2003 to 2005.[35]