On Sept. 20, ETSU’s head softball coach, Cheryl Milligan, announced that Ashley Cook would serve as the Buccaneers’ new assistant coach. Cook has over 10 years of coaching experience and is a native of Port Republic, Md.

Photo of Ashley Cook. (Contributed/ETSU Athletics)

As a player, Cook spent two seasons at Bowie State with a career batting average of .400 and 11 home runs. She also helped her team to a pair of CIAA Championships. In her 2009 season, she hit .443 with nine home runs and 46 RBI.

Her first head coaching position was at her alma mater. In her first five seasons with Bowie State, the Bulldogs won 56 games. In 2017, she led the Bulldogs to a 14-2 conference record, a share of the Northern Division Championship, and a CIAA Championship appearance. This made her the 2017 Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association Coach of the Year.

In 2018, Cook was the head coach at Pine Manor College and also the school’s Assistant Athletic Director, Co-Sports Information Director and Senior Woman’s Administrator.

Cook went on to be the head coach at Juniata College, and in one season with the team, she managed to increase the team’s win total by four games and led two players to earn All-Landmark Conference accolades. The most impressive feat is Cook’s management of the team’s offense. The team saw an increase in batting average, and the home runs doubled.

In October 2019, she was named the head coach at Coppin State and spent her last four seasons there. This past season, Cook doubled the win total from the previous year and had the most wins in a season since 2013. She led the Eagles to the Eastern Athletic Conference Championship in 2023, which was her first-ever MEAC Championship game appearance.

“I want to thank Coach Milligan and everyone at ETSU for this opportunity,” said Cook. “I have known Cheryl for many years, and I am thrilled to be working alongside her. I can’t wait to get on the field and start working with the team.”