West Texas A&M introduced Josh Prock as its new Lady Buffs basketball coach Tuesday. Prock has spent the past eight seasons as the Eastern New Mexico Women’s basketball coach. [Jesse Rice/ For Press Pass Sports]
West Texas A&M formally introduced Josh Prock as its next Lady Buff women’s basketball coach at a press conference in front of the WT faithful Tuesday afternoon at Buffaloes Stadium.
Prock takes over for Kristen Mattio, who accepted the same position at Division I Northern Colorado in early May after winning 154 games in six seasons in Canyon.
Prock, the sixth head coach in Lady Buffs program history, is no stranger to the Lone Star Conference, spending eight years as the head coach at Eastern New Mexico.
Prock, 43, led the Greyhounds to their only three NCAA Division II Tournament appearances in program history amassing a 77-41 record in the last four years.
“This is really exciting for myself and my family,” Prock said. “When this job came open, I knew it was one I wanted. WT holds itself to a high standard, and the championships speak for themselves. To be a part of this tradition, and have such great fan support is a big reason I wanted to come here. I’m humbled and honored to be here.”
Over the past month WT athletic director Michael McBroom said he conducted 15-20 in-depth phone interviews, and brought five coaching candidates in for on-campus interviews. At the end of his search, McBroom felt Prock’s body of work was the fit what the Lady Buffs program was needing.
“Josh is the perfect combination for us,” McBroom said. “He has local ties, he has a proven winning record, and the culture inside his program just makes him a complete package. With a few more of the resources we have here I think he’ll make some big things happen.”
A packed house of WT faithful were in attendance to welcome Prock to campus Tuesday. [Jesse Rice/ For Press Pass Sports]
One of Prock’s biggest questions will be how will he recruit locally? Minus four-year starter and two-time LSC Player of the Year Lexy Hightower, an Amarillo High graduate that recently transferred to Texas Tech, the Lady Buffs haven’t recruited the Texas Panhandle heavily, while down I-27, Lubbock Christian University has won three NCAA Division II women’s national titles since 2016 with a strong influence of Amarillo-area talent.
“Recruiting locally has to be one of our top priorities,” Prock said. “We want to put a wall around this area, and protect our turf. Coach (Steve) Gomez is someone I respect to the highest degree, and I can’t wait to coach against him. But recruiting Texas Panhandle girls is one of our top priorities here, and we’re already starting to reach out to the local talent.”
Prock started his head coaching career at Howard Payne from 2008-2013.