Women of Wonder – 50 Years of Title IX: Ashten Prechtel living the dream with Stanford basketball
Ashten Prechtel is a 6-foot-5 forward who can drill a three. She is also Colorado's all-time rebounding champion.
"When I was little, I would force my dad to rebound for me every single day volleyball practice, after basketball practice," said the Stanford basketball star.
Ashten was a McDonald’s All-American for Discovery Canyon High School in 2019, averaging over 23 points, seven boards and five blocks per game her senior year. She was a 5-star recruit who finished her career as Colorado’s career rebounding leader (1336) and rated one of the best female basketball players in the country.
She was also All-State in volleyball too, leading Colorado in blocks. Prechtel broke 14 state records between the two sports combined.
Prechtel makes it sound easy.
"It's all stuff you can do. And there's nothing that's outside your abilities, it's just a matter of actually doing it and being consistent," she said.
Prechtel is truly living out her dream now as a forward for the Cardinal, winning a national championship last year.
"I mean, it's incredible and it's something that you dream about forever and you never actually imagine yourself in that position and all of a sudden you're there," she said.
"And it doesn't even feel real now, that we won it. But it's an incredible feeling and it shows how everything pays off."
Just as incredible is her drive as she continues to shoot down anything, or anyone, questioning her skill.
"It's always the guys who come up, 'I can beat you one on one.' I'm like, 'you wanna play? we'll see,'" laughed Ashten.
"I guess I'm just proud of the consistency that I had in high school and how that pays off now," she said.
Prechtel was the Pac 12 Sixth Player of the Year in 2020. She’s 2/2 in her college career in making the Final Four. She’s entering her senior season and hopes to make it 3/3. She also hopes to play professionally after college.
This summer is the 50th anniversary of Title Nine. The law prohibited sex-based discrimination in schools, guaranteeing a level playing field for female athletics for the first time in our nation’s history. To celebrate the anniversary, KRDO's Josh Helmuth is showcasing nine of the most remarkable female athletes to come out of southern Colorado. First, this week, starting out with a recent D20 grad who is already making her wildest dreams come true.
