Virginia Tech Softball Hires Mississippi State's Josh Johnson as Pitching Coach

Following a fourth-straight NCAA Regional appearance, the top priority for Virginia Tech Softball head coach Pete D'Amour was to find a new pitching coach following the quiet, forced departure of Doug Gillis prior to the season.

Mission accomplished as the Hokies landed a rising pitching coach with high level experience in Josh Johnson.

Johnson joins the Hokies after spending the past four seasons as the associate head coach and pitching coach at Mississippi State. Per a source, Florida was also heavily interested in Johnson for their pitching coach opening making this an even more impressive hire for the Hokies.

This is a very strong hire by the Hokies as Johnson is an ascendant name in the sport as a pitching coach having gone from being the head coach at Faulkner State CC (2010-13) to impressing in one season at Louisiana and four seasons at Ball State as the pitching coach, to building a very good pitching staff in the SEC for four seasons. He's consistently seen his pitchers improve over the course of their careers with MSU's Annie Willis becoming the 7th overall pick in the 2022 WPF Draft after a standout career in Starkville.

In Virginia Tech's press release, head coach Pete D'Amour had this to say about the hiring of Johnson.

"There are a lot of variables that go into hiring an assistant coach. Experience, player development, recruiting, organization, compatibility with players and coaches, and a shared vision of where we think Virginia Tech softball has the potential to grow were the most important things for me," D'Amour said.

"Josh possesses everything I was looking for in an assistant. He's been an associate head coach for a Super Regional team, his players improve year after year, he's always learning and he fits our culture. There aren't many pitching coaches in the country that utilize and are as versed in technology as Josh," D'Amour said. "We've added one of the premier pitching coaches in the country to our program. We're excited to welcome Josh, Jenny, Jake, and Jumbo Jett to the Hokie Softball family."

Johnson gets a talented young pitching staff to work with headlined by talented All-ACC ace Emma Lemley plus talented rising sophomore Lyndsey Grein, high upside redshirt freshman Payton List, and veteran Molly Jacobson.