Joe Pound Tabbed as Next Leader of Radford Softball Program

RADFORD, Va. – The Radford Highlanders and Director of Athletics Robert Lineburg announced Friday morning the hiring of Joe Pound who will serve as the 12th head coach in the history of Radford's softball program.

"I'm excited to be chosen to lead this Radford Softball program," commented Head Coach Pound. "I want to thank Dr. Bret Danilowicz, Robert Lineburg, Nicole Green and the entire Radford team for giving me this opportunity. Coach Fagan laid a great foundation for success. I look forward to building a program centered on hard work, accountability and a championship mindset. Our goal will be to develop a team that competes for a Big South Championship every year while making our student-athletes, alumni and the entire Radford community proud."

"We are thrilled that Joe Pound is our new head softball coach," commented Lineburg. "Joe has had tremendous success as a junior college head coach, winning a national championship in 2024. His junior college background will be beneficial in the new landscape of college athletics where coaches are regularly focused on roster management. He has the reputation of an outstanding recruiter and tactician as well as being known as a tremendous hitting coach. We are confident Joe will build on the past success of our softball program and take us to new heights in the coming years."

Pound is coming off the heels of an impressive five-year run at St. Johns River State College where he took a program that previously had just one winning season to achieving a national championship and three College World Series appearances. It took just three seasons for Pound to rebuild the program, winning the NJCAA Division II Softball National Championship in 2024 where the team finished with a 55-15 record and saw four players named All-Americans.

That success sustained into the 2025 season as the Vikings held the #1 national ranking throughout the year before finishing third in the national tournament with a 56-11 record. The 2026 season saw the program's third straight trip to the national tournament as the team shattered the single season home run record with 122 while two more student-athletes were named all-Americans. Throughout his tenure, Pound also earned FCSAA and NJCAA South District Coach of the Year nods in 2024, 2025 and 2026.

Prior to taking over the softball program at St. Johns River State College, Pound spent four years as an assistant coach with the Vikings baseball program. While with the baseball program, he oversaw in-game offensive and defensive strategies while being responsible for the team's infielders and hitting. Pound used analytics and video to develop hitting plans and individual goals for players.

Pound also has extensive experience in the travel ball circuit and scouting for both softball and baseball. From 2016 to 2020, he served as a coach for the Gold Coast Hurricanes where he developed practice plans for elite high school travel ball players and distributed individual scouting reports to college coaches. Over the same timeframe, Pound was selected to be head coach for the Los Angeles Dodgers elite high school travel development team by former scout and current Tulsa Drillers manager Scott Hennessey.

Pound is a former student-athlete himself, competing over four seasons with the North Florida baseball program led by Osprey legend Dusty Rhodes. He would cap his collegiate career by earning his bachelor's degree in Health.

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING
"This is certainly a great hire by Radford. Simply put, Joe Pound is a winner! I think his ability to evaluate talent is outstanding, but his ability to then develop those players is his greatest strength. What he did for our program here at St. John's River was transformational." – St. Johns River State Athletic Director and Former Head Baseball Coach Ross Jones

"Getting to know Joe through the recruiting trail, he's a very hard working and relentless recruiter. His greatest asset is teaching hitting, and his amazing offensive mindset was on full display at St. Johns River. I recruited two of his players and they were always well versed in the game and were great teammates. That reflected his leadership and the culture he set. Joe will do an outstanding job and I'm excited to see how he continues to grow the Radford Softball program." – Retired Florida International Head Coach Mike Larabee

"Congratulations to Radford on a tremendous hire! Joe Pound is a national champion and one of the best offensive-minded coaches in the game. Joe is a relentless recruiter and will make an immediate difference. He is a proven winner and will continue that at his new post." – Florida Atlantic Softball Head Coach Jordan Clark

"I'm really happy for Joe to be getting this opportunity. Building a successful Division I program is challenging, yet very rewarding. I'm sure he will rely heavily on the foundation he built at SJR in his transition to Radford" – North Florida Softball Head Coach Jeff Conrad

STAY SOCIAL WITH RADFORD SOFTBALL
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#RiseAndDefend

Joe Pound Tabbed as Next Leader of Radford Softball Program

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