Rounding Third Softball

RTS has learned that Alabama State Coach Todd Bradley has agreed to a contract extension. The two-year extension will run through June 30, 2025. His current contract took the Hornets leader until the end of the 2023 season. Bradley has been at ASU for three seasons and compiled a record of 52-75 while winning one SWAC Championship and making an NCAA Postseason appearance in 2021.

After appointing Tennessee, Florida State, and hometown hero Caylan Arnold interim head coach, DIII Maryville College has now reversed course and named Jill Moore to the permanent position of head coach. Moore spent nine seasons with DII Lynn University before resigning unexpectedly before the 2022 season. The final three seasons she led the program as head coach compiling a 30-81 record. Moore worked with current Maryville Athletic Director Sara Quatrocky on the athletics staff at Lynn.

The move seemingly caps a tumultuous few months for the program, and unsure and often awkward leadership from MC Athletic Administration trying to figure out the future of the program. It all started with the unceremonious ousting of former head coach and program alum Leah Kelley at the end of September. Kelley, a four-time conference coach-of-the-year, built the program into a perennial conference and national contender making two NCAA Postseason appearances in eight seasons while winning 157 games.

RTS has learned that East Tennessee State has parted ways with head coach Belinda Hendrix. The move comes after a tumultuous one season tenure that started after her hiring in the summer of 2021. The program has been riddled with accusations of an unhealthy team culture. An investigation had been launched during the 2022 season based on numerous complaints from student-athletes and supporters of the program. Hendrix was 8-48 in her lone season at ETSU.

Caressa DeRossett has been named the new head coach at DIII Susquehanna University in Pennsylvania. DeRossett joins SU after serving the last two seasons at DII Wheeling University. She compiled a record of 24-65 at the West Virginia school.

Veteran collegiate stalwart Jim Beitia has joined the staff at South Florida as Director of Operations. Beitia most recently was head coach at Eastern Florida State from 2017-2021. He served on staffs at both Auburn and Arizona State through those program’s multiple WCWS runs. Beitia also was the head coach at Oklahoma, departing the Sooners to established the program at Tennessee in 1995 as its first head coach. He also guided teams internationally and professionally during his long coaching career.

New Mexico Highlands has announced that the institute and head coach Kevin Jannusch have parted ways. Jannusch had been with the DII program two seasons where he compiled a 16-76 record.

Caroline Hill has been named the new head coach at Limestone University. The Saints alum spent the past three seasons leading the program at Spartanburg Methodist College where she compiled a 49-55 record. She replaces former head coach Amy Yates who retired in September.

RTS has learned that former Tennessee and Florida State pitching standout Caylan Arnold has been appointed interim head coach at Maryville College. She replaces former head coach Leah Kelley who resigned in September. Arnold, the Maryville Native, spent three seasons in the circle for the Lady Vols before transferring for her final two years (COVID year included) with the Seminoles. The former All-SEC and All-ACC hurler helped lead FSU to a WCWS Runner-up finish in 2021. Arnold has also played on the professional level with Athletes Unlimited.

In a most interesting hire, Cal State Bakersfield tabbed their Sports Information Director Dan Sperl as their new head coach. After a national search that started back after the dismissal of former head coach Crissy Buck-Ziegler in May, it only took five months to walk down the hall of the CSU Bakersfield Athletic Department to hire their new leader. Sperl last coached in 2015 as an assistant and recruiting coordinator at Jacksonville. He also had coaching stops at George Washington and Western Washington. He joined the sports information staff at CSUB in 2019.

The Smash It Sports Vipers have traded Jocelyn Alo to the OKC Spark. The announcement by Women’s Professional Fastpitch (WPF) brings Alo back to the state where she was a record-breaking star in college at Oklahoma. She made her professional debut last season hitting .373, with three home runs, a .427 on base percentage and .608 slugging percentage. The Vipers will receive draft picks and cash considerations in the trade.