Ashley Gruber began her career at Penn State Behrend in 2009. She was a three-time all-conference selection and two-time team MVP while earning AMCC Co-Player of the Year honors as a senior. Her final season she led the team in hits (55), doubles (16), home runs (9), RBIs (50) and batting average (.430). Gruber hit a walk-off home run in the AMCC Championship game to help the Lions reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2009.

She broke the program’s double record and is second all-time in home runs and assists, and is third in RBIs. Gruber also received the Team Scholarship/Leadership Award and the AMCC Spring Sportsmanship Award her junior year.

Gruber now enters her ninth season on the Penn State Behrend softball coaching staff. Last season, she mentored the Lions to their ninth AMCC Championship in program history. Gruber tallied her one-hundredth win in 2018 and is 11 wins away from 200 in her career. 

She has led Behrend to four AMCC titles and four appearances in the NCAA Tournament with three trips to the ECAC Tournament since her first year in 2014. Gruber is just one of two AMCC student-athletes to be named both Player of the Year and Coach of the Year in any sport (Maria Iovino, UPG, women's tennis).

The Then and Now Series is part of the AMCC's 25th anniversary where the conference will be recognizing current AMCC coaches and/or athletic administrators who are former AMCC student-athletes. The Then and Series will run every Tuesday throughout the academic year.