Former Oklahoma star Samantha Ricketts was hired as Mississippi State's head softball coach, the school announced Monday.
OFFICIAL | Samantha Ricketts Named MSU Head Softball Coach #HailState🐶https://t.co/dNNA7cXBzx
— Mississippi State Softball 🥎 (@HailStateSB) July 22, 2019
Ricketts has been on the Bulldogs' staff since 2015, serving as assistant coach from 2015-2018 and was promoted to associate head coach on July 30, 2018. Prior to her time in Starkville, Ricketts was an assistant coach at Wichita State from 2012-2014.
"It became clear during our search that Samantha Ricketts was the right fit to lead Mississippi State softball,” Mississippi State athletic director John Cohen said in the release. “Samantha’s vision, national recruiting experience and her ability to teach the game were the biggest factors in our decision. She has been one of the most sought-after rising stars in the nation. Coach Ricketts has the utmost respect from our student-athletes and her peers around the country. With her SEC experience and her time at Oklahoma, she knows what it takes to develop our student-athletes into strong people both on and off the field.”
The San Jose, California, native is among the best hitters that Oklahoma coach Patty Gasso has had in Norman. In her four years, Ricketts became Oklahoma's career leader in home runs (48) and RBIs (239), and is third in Sooner history in slugging percentage (.645).
