RADFORD, Va. – Another Highlander returns home as Alex Guerra has been named Radford Baseball's seventh head coach in program history, Director of Athletics
Robert Lineburg announced on Tuesday. Guerra will lead the program after spending the past seven seasons as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at James Madison University.
"We are delighted to have Alex Guerra return to his alma mater as the Head Baseball Coach at Radford University," said Lineburg. "Alex was an outstanding baseball player, a great leader, and a wonderful teammate during his time here at Radford. He also spent time here as an assistant coach where his work ethic and passion helped Radford Baseball achieve some of the best seasons in school history. He will bring that same energy and work ethic as the head coach and we look forward to Alex leading the Highlanders to great success."
"I want to thank President Danilowicz,
Robert Lineburg and the rest of the Radford University administration for allowing me the opportunity to become the Head Baseball Coach at Radford University," said Guerra. "It is a dream come true to be the head coach at Radford, a place where I created so many great memories as a student-athlete and assistant coach. Radford University is a special place and our staff will work tirelessly to create a student-athlete experience that our players will cherish for a lifetime. I am over-whelmed by the amount of support from former players, alumni, and coaches across the state and region. I cannot wait to get started! Go Highlanders!"
Guerra emerged from an extremely competitive pool of head coaching candidates, separating himself as someone with an undeniably strong track record of success at all levels of the game and an unrelenting passion for Radford University and its community.
In his seven years on Marlin Ikenberry's staff at JMU, Guerra guided the Dukes through a complete rebuild which saw them produce strong results on the diamond and a long list of standout players. Most recently, Guerra helped the 2022 JMU squad to a 27-26 overall record with 12 wins in the Colonial Athletic Association, their most conference wins since 2016. Seven Dukes earned all-conference honors and the team posted a .971 fielding percentage that stands as the second-highest in program history.
Notable players coached by Guerra include Chase DeLauter, who is expected to be drafted in the first round of the 2022 MLB Draft, as well as Kevin Kelly and Fox Semones – a pair of
Collegiate Baseball Freshmen All-Americans.
Before his time at JMU, Guerra was a part of Joe Raccuia's staff at Radford, where he had served the Highlanders as an assistant coach since 2013. At Radford, he served as the team's lead hitting coach and recruiting coordinator while working closely with the catchers on a day-to-day basis.
The Wantagh, N.Y, native oversaw the development of six all-conference position players, including a pair of selections in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft and Radford's first-ever nominee for the Johnny Bench Award, given annually to the top catcher in Division I.
Prior to Radford, Guerra served as director of baseball operations at Central Florida before moving into a volunteer assistant coach position the next season. While in Orlando, he played a vital role in recruiting, budgets and travel while also coaching the outfielders and assisting with the infield, catchers and scouting reports.
Before going into coaching, Guerra played two seasons at Division III Greensboro College before transferring to Radford for his final two collegiate campaigns. As a Highlander, he batted .311 and drove in 94 runs while playing second base, shortstop and third base, tacking on 11 home runs across his junior and senior seasons.
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