Prentice Lewis Position: Head Coach | 10th Season Alma Mater: Long Beach State | 1995

Coach Lewis can be reached via email at p.lewis@tcu.edu or in her office at (817) 257-7360.

The TCU volleyball program just keeps getting better under the tutelage of head coach Prentice Lewis, who enters her 10th season at the helm. The continued success under Lewis garnered her a contract extension through 2012 following the 2007 campaign.

"We are very pleased with the extension," former TCU Athletics Director Danny Morrison said. "Prentice has done a great job in developing the program and there is a lot of momentum around TCU volleyball. We made excellent strides in 2007 and are excited about the direction of the program under Prentice's leadership."

After an incredible 2009 campaign, the 2010 season presented numerous challenges as two of the team's top players suffered season-ending injuries early in the campaign. The team persevered and finished the season with a 15-16 record.

Christy Hudson joined elite company at the end of the season as she became just the second player in school history to earn all-conference accolades for the third straight season. Irene Hester joined Hudson on the all-conference squad, giving the Frogs multiple representatives for the third straight year.

In 2009, Lewis and staff realized a dream when all of the hard work translated into the program's first-ever berth in the NCAA Tournament. It was a record-breaking year that saw the Frogs set many milestones, both as a team and individually. Lewis guided the Frogs to a school-record 27 victories, besting the old mark of 23 set in 2004. In addition to the win total, TCU was handed just seven defeats, the lowest mark in school history.

Individually, Lewis coached the program's first-ever All-Americans as Kourtney Edwards, Megan Munce and Christy Hudson all earned a honorable mention accolades from the AVCA. Four Frogs were tabbed as all-conference performers. Munce was named the league's Setter of the Year, while Edwards, Hudson and Katelyn Blackwood were all honored for their outstanding campaigns.

TCU finished second in the ultra-competitive Mountain West Conference with a school-record 13-3 mark. The Frogs made history on two occasions as they won for the first time at New Mexico and at BYU. In addition, the Frogs tallied five series sweeps in conference play.

December 3, 2009 will go down in history as the Frogs made their debut in the NCAA Tournament with a dominating 3-0 victory over Rice. Sadly, the season would come to an end as the Frogs faced the second-ranked Texas Longhorns in the second round. Texas went on to play in the National Title game.

2009 represented all the hard work that had gone into the previous seven seasons that began when Lewis was hired in the winter of 2002. She was named head volleyball coach at TCU on Feb. 5, 2002 after serving as an assistant coach at Florida for two seasons.

After a fairly successful first season, which featured a squad that finished 12-18, competed in its first conference tournament since 1998 and posted its first members on an all-Conference USA team (Dominika Szabo) and on a Verizon Academic squad (Stephanie Watson), Lewis' second year was even better.

The 2003 team ticked off its goals one by one as it reached for new heights. The group earned the school's best record ever with a 20-16 mark. The squad then forayed into the second round of the C-USA Tournament, a first for any TCU volleyball team, and it had a pair of players earn all-conference honors (Szabo and Anna Vaughn).

The 2003-04 off-season posed a series of personal challenges for Lewis. In early March, Lewis became disoriented while on a recruiting trip and was rushed to the hospital when she returned to Fort Worth. Four days later, she had surgery for what appeared to be a brain tumor. What the doctors found, though, was not a tumor, but an inflamed abscess pressing against her brain.

Never one to be sidelined for long, Lewis was back in the office two weeks after her surgery. Armed with a helmet to protect her head, she was coaching again just a short month after brain surgery. Doctors later implanted a plate to permanently protect her brain. The challenges have only strengthened Lewis' fierce drive to get TCU volleyball to the top of the pack.

The Frogs counted off their 100th program win in 2004 against Southern Miss, and Lewis tallied her 50th win in three seasons on Nov. 3 at Oklahoma.

TCU's record year, saw the Frogs set a school mark with 23 wins and a 10-3 conference record that helped the Frogs to a tie for second place in the league. Four players gained recognition on all-Conference USA teams, including the program's first-ever first-team mention in Szabo. Talaya Whitfield earned a spot on both the second team and all-freshman team, while Vaughn and Erin Ludeke placed on the third team. Vaughn also appeared on the CoSIDA Academic All-Regional VI team.

On Sept. 4, 2005, at the George Mason Tournament in Fairfax, Va., Lewis guided the Frogs to a 3-1 victory over Seton Hall for her 58th career win, which surpassed former head coach Sandy Troudt for the top spot on the TCU career wins list.

Lewis went on to guide TCU to 16 wins and its third-best finish in program history during the 2005 season, its first in the Mountain West Conference. The Frogs and Lewis recorded the school's first MWC win on October 7 with a 3-1 victory over Air Force.

Her 2006 squad stormed out to a then-school-record 10-1 start to open the season and went on to post a 17-15 record. The winning record marked the third winning season in school history, all of which have come under the direction of Coach Lewis.

On top of the 17 victories, the Frogs improved their conference win total to five and picked up their first Mountain West Conference road victory on Oct. 7 at Air Force. TCU finished the season in a three-way tie for sixth place and earned the sixth seed in the post-season tournament.

In addition, the Frogs played the toughest schedule in school history as they faced five top-20 opponents on the year.

Her 2007 squad showed her determination as they persevered through injuries and a tough schedule to finish with a 22-12 record, narrowly missing postseason play for the first time in school history. The 22 wins were the second-most behind the 2004 squad that won 23.

Continuing a trend that can be seen throughout Lewis' tenure at TCU, the Frogs exceeded expectations as they cruised to a 9-7 record and a tie for fourth place in the Mountain West. Along the way, the Frogs picked up three road victories, including an historic 3-2 come-from-behind win at Utah on October 6.

To close out the regular season, the Frogs picked up the biggest win in school history as they defeated No. 15 Colorado State, 3-2. LeMeita Smith garnered All-MWC honors, the first Frog to do so in the Mountain West.

As each season passes, Lewis finds herself on the cusp of another milestone and 2007 was no different. On September 15, Lewis guided the Frogs to a 3-0 victory over Alcorn State, giving her win No. 100 in her coaching career.

On the heels of a successful 2007 campaign, Lewis guided her 2008 squad to the fourth 20-win season under her guidance. The Frogs finished another record-breaking year with a 20-12 mark and a fourth-place finish in the ultra-tough Mountain West Conference with a 9-7 record. The successful campaign saw the team record two victories over nationally-ranked opponents (No. 21 BYU and No. 13 Colorado State).

It was another record-breaking start to the season that set the Frogs on course for its fourth winning season in the last five years and its third 20-win campaign. TCU opened up with a 15-2 record that included three straight tournament crowns and included victories over UT-Arlington, Texas Tech, New Orleans, New Mexico and North Carolina.

For the first time since joining the league, the Frogs had two representatives on the all-conference team in Hudson and Nirelle Hampton.

The winning pedigree was instilled early in Lewis' career as she has accumulated much success as both a player and a coach. She spent the 2000 and 2001 seasons on the Gators' staff, serving as the team offensive coordinator, assisting in all areas of recruiting, serving as the staff liaison to the Office of Student Life and coordinating summer camps. Florida posted a 28-2 record in 2001 while advancing to its 11th consecutive Sweet 16. Florida placed a record five athletes on the all-SEC first team squad and the AVCA All-South Region team.

Lewis, who played under the name Prentice Perkins as a collegian, helped Long Beach State to four Big West Conference Championships. She is perhaps best known for her contribution as one of the nation's marquee defensive players on the 49ers' 1993 National Championship squad. That season she led the Big West Conference in service aces. She went on to become the only defensive specialist selected to the U.S. Junior Olympic Festival that year.

Lewis received her bachelor's degree in arts and history in December of 1995 and received the Big West Scholar Athlete of the Year award in 1994. During her final semester at LBSU, she coached the Newport Harbor High School junior varsity team to the Santa Barbara High School J.V. Championship. She returned to her alma mater and earned her California Teaching Certification in 1996.

Upon graduation, Lewis was an assistant at UC Irvine for three years. She was responsible for recruiting, scouting, travel arrangements, scheduling, summer clinics coordination and fundraising. Additionally, she taught physical education at UC Irvine for three years.

She accepted a position as the defensive coordinator and assistant coach for the Oregon Ducks in 1999 and spent one season in Eugene before being named an assistant coach at Florida in January 2000. In addition to her coaching experiences, Lewis has been an instructor at several volleyball camps and clinics over the years.

While Lewis spent time in the area prior to arriving as head coach of the Frogs, she has now settled in the Metroplex. "Jeff and I have really made Fort Worth home," said Lewis. "It's a great place to live and a great place to recruit with so many excellent athletes in the area."

Prentice married Jeff Lewis on July 29, 2000. Prentice and Jeff welcomed a daughter, Landry Madison, in February of 2011.