Rounding Third Softball

The Colorado School of Mines has named Mike Coutts their new head coach. Coutts heads to the Rocky Mountain DII school after serving as head coach at DI Maine for the past six seasons. He led the Black Bears to the 2016 America East Conference title and the NCAA Postseason.

Longtime Mississippi Valley State Head Coach Lee Smith has stepped down announcing his retirement from coaching. Smith lead the Devilettes for 19 seasons winning eight Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Championships and appearing in the NCAA Postseason after each of those titles. He was named SWAC Coach of the Year on nine occasions during his tenure. Smith also served as Associate Athletic Director at MVSU, a role he will continue in moving forward.

Southeastern Louisiana has announced a contract extension for head coach Rick Fremin through the 2024 season. Fremin will be in his seventh season coaching the Lions in 2022. He has compiled a record of 164-136 while making three straight trips to the Southland Conference Tournament.

Sources have confirmed to RTS that Concord University Coach Alisa Tasler will be named the new head coach at Radford. Tasler spent 10 seasons coaching the Mountain Lions where she compiled a record of 247-228. Concord won 30 or more games in eight of her ten seasons at the helm and made two appearances in the NCAA Postseason.

Adrian Gregory has been named the new volunteer assistant coach at Texas A&M. The embattled Gregory returns to College Station after serving as head coach at Texas Tech from 2015-2020. The former Aggie was a four-year starter for the program between 2002-2005. She resigned at Texas Tech last fall after an investigation into the program’s culture.

Drexel has named Katie Jansson their new head coach. Jansson spent the past three seasons leading the program at Iona where she compiled a 43-45 record. While with the Gaels she coached the MAAC Player of the Year, the MAAC Pitcher of the Year and the MAAC Rookie of the Year during the 2021 season.

Jansson replaces Carl Taylor whose contract was not renewed after the 2021 season after claims of various player mistreatment from what has been described as a few “disgruntled” student-athletes. The investigation by Drexel Administration was never completed and inquiries by RTS where met with resistance as it is “a personnel matter and as such we will not be commenting any further.”

The storied 2021 run for the James Madison Dukes has resulted in an equally storied contract for its leader. JMU has announced an eight year contract extension for head coach Loren LaPorte taking her through 2029. LaPorte led the Dukes to a 41-4 record and the program’s first appearance in the Women’s College World Series in June. The Dukes would knock off No. 1 and eventual National Champion Oklahoma in their first game of the WCWS. Through four seasons LaPorte has a 148-32 overall record, and is practically invincible in Colonial Athletic Association play sitting at 56-4.

New Utah Valley head coach Cody Thomson has announced the hiring of Sam Duran as assistant coach. Duran spent the past three years on staff at Cal State East Bay. She also had a stint at Cal State Bakersfield as graduate assistant coach. Duran played collegiately at UCLA.

RTS has learned that former Texas A&M standout Lexi Smith will join the coaching staff at Northwestern State. She spent the 2021 season as an assistant at Southwestern University in Texas. Smith also spent time at her alma mater as a student assistant for the Aggies and was head coach at Jourdanton High School. She will direct the pitching staff for NSU.

University of Minnesota Duluth head coach Jen Walter has stepped down to accept an assistant position at the University of St. Thomas. She joins new Tommies head coach Jen Bagley Trotter’s staff as UST makes the unprecedented move from Division III to Division I in 2021-22. Walter spent six seasons as the Bulldogs coach where she compiled a 186-98 record along with three NCAA Tournament berths and one Regional Championship in 2018.