Vanderbilt associate head coach and throws coach Ashley Kovacs, a four-time All-American and 2010 Division 1 shot put runner-up at Kentucky who has mentored multiple NCAA champions at Ohio State along with coaching her husband and global medalist Joe Kovacs, joins DyeStat editor Erik Boal to discuss being part of the new coaching staff for the Commodores that also includes program head Althea Thomas, along with assistants Justin Byron and Michael Porter, as well as director of operations Mary Angell ahead of the Commodore Classic on Jan. 14-15. Ashley Kovacs revisits her experiences coaching at Murray State, Western Kentucky and Ohio State prior to arriving in Nashville, and her motivation to make an immediate impact in the Southeastern Conference, where she was an 11-time all-conference honoree during her collegiate career. She shares the significance of five-time All-American Divine Oladipo transferring from Ohio State to complete her collegiate career as a graduate student-athlete at Vanderbilt, and how meaningful it was for Kovacs to train her throughout the fall, which led to significant development for this year. Kovacs also explains the impact of former Clemson standout Veronica Fraley transferring to Vanderbilt and her potential during the next two years, as well as how impactful it was to be able to receive commitments from Sarah Marvin, the reigning NSAF Outdoor Nationals presented by Nike shot put champion from Byron High in Michigan, in addition to current senior Giavonna Meeks, an elite all-around thrower from Northfield High in Colorado. Kovacs expresses gratitude for her experiences at Ohio State, and celebrates how much collegiate women's throwing has improved in recent years, especially in the Big Ten Conference, where she guided Sade Olatoye to the 2019 Division 1 indoor weight throw title and mentored Adelaide Aquilla to sweep the NCAA indoor and outdoor shot put championships last year. Kovacs also shares how influential Ashland coach and four-time Olympian Jud Logan was in her competition and coaching career following his death Jan. 3 as a result of COVID-related pneumonia after he had previously overcome leukemia. She also reflects on the past year for Joe Kovacs, a two-time World shot put champion and two-time Olympic silver medalist, including in Tokyo. And she revisits how meaningful it was to have coached three of the six American Olympic shot put qualifiers at some point during her career, including Jessica Ramsey, who Kovacs worked with at Western Kentucky in 2013 and 2014.