Logan Parker joined the Radford Baseball program as its new hitting coach on June 28, 2021. He will split recruiting duties with pitching coach Damian Stambersky.
Parker comes to Radford after spending the last two seasons at Army West Point where his offense led the Black Knights to the 2021 Patriot League Championship and the 2021 NCAA Regionals at Texas Tech. During this past season, the Black Knights yielded one of the most effective offenses for the program in recent years. Army led the Patriot League in all batting categories except doubles where they were second. In conference play, Army averaged 9.8 hits and 6.7 runs per game. Freshman Sam Ruta earned Patriot League Rookie of the Year while senior second basemen Tim Simoes was named Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year and nominated for a Rawlings Gold Glove Award.
In 2020, Army was off to a strong start before the season was shortened. Playing only 15 games including powerhouses Duke, Texas A&M, Campbell and Iowa the Black Knights had a team batting average of .268, leading the Patriot League in hits.
Before his time at West Point, Parker spent seven years as an assistant and associate head coach at Odessa College in Texas. His responsibilities included recruiting, hitting and infield coach. He was also a member of the Department of Health and Physical Education faculty.
While at Odessa, Parker played an instrumental role in the transformation of the program. The Wranglers maintained themselves as a nationally ranked offense in many categories and housed four NJCAA All-Americans and three MLB draft picks. In 2017 the Wranglers were WJCAC champions and Region V finalist or semi-finalist for five straight seasons. During his time with the program, Odessa saw 60+ student-athletes accept baseball scholarships to various NCAA/NAIA programs. Parker is tireless in his work having recruited, developed, and assisted numerous student-athletes in their transfer to power five programs.
Parker previously attended New Mexico Junior College and then transferred to the University of Cincinnati where he completed his collegiate career earning a Bachelor of Science degree. In 2006 he was a 12th round draft pick by the Cincinnati Reds and played professional baseball for six seasons retiring in 2011.
Parker has had the opportunity to be coached and mentored by some of the best in the game. Most notably over the years was Ray Birmingham (University of New Mexico), Brad Meador (Director of Amateur Scouting, Cincinnati Reds) and David Bell (Manager, Cincinnati Reds). In 2016 he earned a Master of Science in Recreation and Sport Sciences from Ohio University.
"In our search for the right fit for our offensive approach and philosophy here at Radford, we were looking for a teacher with great communication skills, a tireless recruiter and tremendous work ethic," commented Kuhn. "I have mentioned before the importance to me to have a Championship pedigree as one of the pillars for our baseball program and Logan absolutely fits that criterion. Our program has become instantly elevated with the addition of Coach Parker. Logan is going to assist our current offensive players and future recruits to reach great heights. Coach Parker joins Coach Stambersky and Coach Merrigan as selfless coaches who are dedicated to the development of our players, the pursuit of Championships and the growth of Radford Baseball. We are elated to have Logan, his wife Mary and their two lovely daughters join our Baseball program."
