Ashley Blanch was introduced as the women's basketball coach at Franklin College in the summer of 2025. Though a first-time head coach, she brings a strong familiarity with the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference, having spent four seasons (2021-25) as an assistant coach at Hanover, two years as a graduate assistant at Anderson (2017-19) and four more as a player at Defiance (2013-17).
Blanch made an immediate impact in her first season with the Grizzlies in 2025-26, earning HCAC Coach of the Year honors after leading the team to its first 20-win season since 2013 and its first HCAC Tournament championship game in 14 years. Franklin had a pair of All-HCAC players in Jordan Coon (first team) and Payton Seay (honorable mention) and led the conference in seven different categories — points per game (73.8), field goal percentage (41.4%), 3-point percentage (33.7%), assists per game (15.79), turnover margin (5.39), assist/turnover ratio (1.07) and opponent 3-point percentage (26.2%). The Grizzlies also ranked 20th nationally in scoring offense and 3-point percentage, 26th in assist/turnover ratio, 32nd in assists per game and 37th in turnover margin.
Selected to the Women's Basketball Coaches Association's Thirty Under 30 list for the 2024-25 season, Blanch has built a reputation as a strong recruiter, signing 27 players during her four seasons at Hanover. She also ran all film sessions for the Panthers and helped coach teams that included an HCAC Player of the Year, an HCAC Newcomer of the Year and 18 all-conference honorees. Her off-court duties included organizing all team meals, travel and transportation, ordering team gear and keeping inventory and leading study tables for a group that maintained a team grade-point average over 3.5.
In between her stops at Anderson and Hanover, Blanch spent two seasons at Mansfield University in Pennsylvania. As the Mountaineers' recruiting coordinator, she brought in 15 new players in just two classes.
During her playing days, Blanch was a three-time team captain who led the HCAC in 3-point percentage (41.6%) as a senior. When she graduated, she was second on the Yellow Jackets' career list for 3-pointers made with 174. Blanch (then Ashley Williams) finished her career at Defiance with 659 points, 269 rebounds, 201 assists and 109 steals.
A native of Leipsic, Ohio, Blanch now resides in Franklin with her husband Dave and their son Brayden.
