The Missouri State University-West Plains (MSU-WP) Grizzly Softball team has found its new head coach.
He’s Ryan Hargrove of Salem, Arkansas. He replaces the team’s first head coach, Don Long, who resigned in May. Hargrove began his new duties Thursday, July 18.
“We’re excited to welcome Coach Hargrove to our Grizzly family,” said Keri Elrod, associate vice chancellor of athletics and community engagement. “He has a wide range of coaching experience at various levels, including within the NJCAA. We look forward to watching Coach Hargrove continue the success of Grizzly Softball.”
“It’s an honor to be selected to lead the Grizzly Softball program into its third year,” Hargrove said. “I am excited an cannot wait to get started!”
More about Hargrove
Hargrove has 13 years of coaching experience at the youth, high school and collegiate ranks. He began his coaching career in 2011 as assistant coach of the Viola (Arkansas) High School varsity baseball team and head coach of the junior varsity team.
From there his coaching career has taken him to Dakota College in Bottineau, North Dakota, as head assistant baseball coach; North Arkansas College in Harrison as assistant baseball/softball coach; Flippin (Arkansas) High School as assistant baseball/softball coach and later head softball coach and head volleyball coach; Arkansas State University-Mountain Home as volunteer assistant softball coach; and most recently Marked Tree (Arkansas) High School as head softball/assistant football coach.
He also has coached the Windy Hill Whales in the Beach Collegiate Baseball League in Myrtle Beach, Virginia; the Seaside Sand Gnats in the Ripken Experience Summer Collegiate Baseball League at Myrtle Beach; the Laramie Colts in the Rocky Mountain Summer Collegiate Baseball League; and was director of baseball operations/coach at Camp Caribou in Winslow, Maine.
As a coach, Hargrove has an 80-39 record at the high school level, 70-45 record at the summer collegiate level and 62-42 record as a collegiate assistant coach. He’s earned five Arkansas high school conference championships and four Arkansas high school district championships. He coached the Seaside Sand Gnats to the 2022 Ripken Experience Summer Collegiate Championship and was a four-time summer collegiate all-star coach and a two-time Arkansas high school conference coach of the year.
Hargrove received a Bachelor of Science in Sport Coaching and Health Education from the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg in 2010 and a Master of Arts in Coach and Athletic Administration from Concordia University in Irvine, California, in 2016.
Knew he had to apply for position
As a native of the south-central Missouri and north-central Arkansas regions, Hargrove spent a lot of time in West Plains. “I attended the MSU-WP basketball camps growing up and watched numerous basketball and volleyball games at the civic center,” he explained. “I’ve shared a lot of memories with friends and families over the years here, so I knew I had to apply.”
He believes his coaching experience at various levels makes him a good fit for the position. “I have been blessed to have been an assistant and a head coach with different programs, and I have worked under and with some great coaches and players at both the high school and college levels. These relationships and experiences, along with constantly trying to learn new techniques, have helped prepare me for this opportunity,” Hargrove said.
What Grizzly fans, players can expect
Hargrove said his coaching style is built on hard work and caring for others. “I expect our players to work hard every single day and try to get better both on the field and off. We are going to do things the right way. I am going to coach the players hard and hold them to a high standard, but I’m also going to care about them as people, not just athletes. I want the players to know that I will be there for them even when their playing days are over,” he explained.
“My goals for the program first and foremost are to help these student-athletes transition from college to the outside world,” he added. “We want every single softball player to graduate, and we will try to help those who want to continue their careers past the NJCAA level to do just that.
“Grizzly Athletics programs have had great success in the past, and it’s my goal to help the softball program be a part of that,” Hargrove continued. “We want to compete at the highest national level possible. I want our softball program to be a desirable one that players cannot wait to walk through the door and be a part of it.”
Under Hargrove’s tutelage, fans can expect to see Grizzly Softball teams that “play hard no matter the score, teams that will not give up and will fight for each other in victory and defeat,” he said. “We want players who are proud to wear the Grizzly name across their chest and will represent the school in that manner. We want hard-working players who want to be part of a team that becomes a family with the common goal of growing together on and off the field.”
Hargrove said he will create a positive environment for his players so they can feel comfortable being themselves and thrive academically, athletically and personally. “We want every player who comes through here to be proud to have been a part of this program and to know they have value,” he added.
First things first
Although he hasn’t met any of the returning softball players yet, Hargrove said he has reached out to them all and expressed his excitement to be coaching the team. “I just expressed my excitement at being a part of the Grizzly family and that I could not wait to meet them and get started,” he said.
Part of getting started is setting a schedule, which Hargrove said is his first priority. “We want to get a competitive schedule together, one that will prepare us for conference play and the grind that is NJCAA softball season,” he explained.
This includes off-season games this fall and a full slate of competitive games next spring during the regular season.
“The Missouri Community College Athletic Conference (MCCAC) is a tough conference,” he said. “There will be no easy games. Three Rivers, Crowder, State Fair and Jefferson are all schools that find themselves battling for and making post-season runs in recent years.
“It will take a lot of hard work to be successful. Programs are not built overnight. I want to thank Coach Long and his staff for building the foundation of this program and giving us a path to follow. We will have to make sure we are working tirelessly in every aspect of the program to continue to grow it, to see it become bigger and reach higher,” Hargrove said.
“My vision is to see this program at the highest possible place it can go both academically and athletically,” he added. “While there may be bumps in the road along the way, we must continue to believe in what we are doing and what our goals are.”
For more information about the Grizzly Softball team, visit MSUWPGrizzlies.com.
