Aprile Preller ’19 and Russell Springmann ’90
Not content to walk away from the court after their playing careers came to an end, two Salisbury basketball program alums who entered the coaching realm upon graduation recently completed their first seasons as head coaches at NCAA programs.
Russell Springmann ’90 was given the reins at Division I Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, OK, last March after serving on the staff at ORU for five years. With the boss’ old Salisbury State teammate Bill Lewit ’91 down the bench as an assistant, the Golden Eagles won 12 games under Springmann’s watch, putting scares into a trio of Big 12 teams (Texas A&M, Kansas State, Texas Tech) and advancing to the Summit League Tournament quarterfinals.
Springmann’s promotion came as the culmination of over two decades climbing the coaching ladder. Before arriving in Tulsa, he served as an assistant at Texas for 14 years, helping to recruit two eventual National Players of the Year in T.J. Ford and Kevin Durant. During his time on staff at ORU, the Golden Eagles made two NCAA Tournament appearances as Summit League champions, including a Cinderella run to the Sweet 16 in 2021.
Aprile Preller ’19 didn’t have to go far to find her own first head coaching gig: she returned to Salisbury last June to take over as the 16th head women’s basketball coach in Sea Gull history. In the first season of the Preller era, SU won nine games, advanced to the Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference (C2C) semifinals, and produced an All-C2C First Team honoree and C2C Scholar-Athlete of the Year in Alex Bull.
Preller built up to her homecoming by establishing herself as a young coach to watch at Marymount University. She served on-staff for four years under two head coaches, including a four-month stint as interim head coach in 2021, helping the Saints earn three Atlantic East championships and two NCAA Tournament berths.
Using the coaching foundations that began developing while still wearing maroon-and-gold uniforms, Springmann and Preller have played an outsized role in advancing Salisbury’s influence throughout college basketball, establishing their respective programs as up-and-comers in the hoops world.