Troy University Athletics
Hall of Fame
- Induction:
- 2025
When building a dynasty, only a certain breed of player can help bring a program into a league of its own. For the Trojans, it was the recruitment of Ashley Beverly Kelley. She was the gift delivered for Chanda Rigby to transform a team that opened at 7-25, 3-17 SBC in 2012-13 to the first (2015-16 – 20-13, 12-8 SBC) and second (2016-17 – 22-11, 12-6 SBC) Sun Belt Conference Championship in program history.
“I would describe ABK as a gift,” Troy women’s basketball head coach Chanda Rigby said. “She was here when I first got hired here at Troy as a freshman. I didn’t recruit her. I’ve coached for over 30 years, and never have I seen someone who worked as hard as she did from day one to when she went pro after graduation. It’s not even close. Coaches always say, ‘Oh, this kid works hard.’ I’ll put ABK against everyone in the nation with her work ethic.”
A player like Beverly Kelley wouldn’t be denied greatness. From sunrise to sundown, No. 4 put in the work within Trojan Arena from 2012-16. Work that would cement her in the record books as a two-time All-Sun Belt First Team member in 2014-15 and 2015-16.
“There was a time where we actually had to kick her out as coaches because she was working so hard and wouldn’t leave the gym,” Rigby said. “She’d show up at 5 a.m. and work out until class, go to class, come back, get a shower, eat, then come back and work until 10 p.m. It got to the point, before the SBC Tournament, that there was no way her legs would be rested enough to endure that. In typical ABK fashion, she instead took on long-distance bike riding since we wouldn’t let her in the gym. Somehow, someway, her vertical and quickness increased because of it.”
ABK’s work ethic brought the Trojans to a new level. It wasn’t an overnight process but rather a day-in, day-out work ethic that lit a fire within the program from the roots.
“The only other person who compares to her would be Jennifer Graf, who I coached in high school, and we both coached ABK,” Rigby said. “Those two players helped me understand that the first one is always the hardest when you go into a program that’s never won a championship. It doesn’t come from skill but rather the willingness of players to do the work outside of their requirements. And ABK did just that.”
If a player pours their heart and soul into the game, it’s easy to understand the heartbreak that comes with a loss. To get to the flip side with the pure joy and ecstasy of winning, Beverly Kelley placed an anchor in her faith. And that faith carried her through the moments that weighed her down to push Troy into its first-ever conference championship as the SBC Tournament Most Valuable Player.
"I’ve talked about her work ethic, but another unparalleled quality about ABK was her faith and heart. Every loss for her felt like the world had come crashing down, but she was so filled with faith that it propelled her forward. To me, the 2016 championship was won against South Alabama when ABK was being double-and triple-teamed on the press. She wanted to quit and get subbed out but persevered through it. She went through the fire and came out on the other side. She became the catalyst for a dynasty that was coming. And we saw it pay off with the first title. It was the pinnacle of the coaching experience. To see someone you coach wake up, even on her off day at dawn and work until dark, hoist that trophy, and get a bid into the NCAA Tournament for the first time ever. I mean, how much better can it get? You just have to believe there’s a God in heaven that loves her.”
When Trojan Nation thinks of ABK, it’s easy to identify her placement as the all-time leader in free throws made (396), steals (255) and field goals made (702 – D-I). One could also look at her 46-point performance against Georgia Southern on Feb. 19, 2015, or her 19.9 points per game in her senior season to end with the second-most points in a Troy career (1,973). However, the underlying identifier for ABK was the foundation she laid that would spark the Rigby dynasty into three conference championships.
Following her collegiate career, Beverly Kelley has enjoyed a successful professional career, which has played in leagues in Russia, Israel and France.
