RICHARDSON, TX  – After an extensive national search, UT Dallas Director of Athletics Chris Gage has announced the hiring of Brad Posner as the new head coach of the Comet softball program. Posner becomes the fourth head coach in history of the UTD softball team and is anticipated to be on campus by July 15.

A native of New City, N.Y., Posner comes to UT Dallas after spending more than a decade as an assistant at SUNY-Cortland, one of the top softball programs in NCAA Division III. While at Cortland, Posner helped guide the Red Dragons to a 436-130-2 record in 12 seasons, making eight appearances in the NCAA D-III National Championship Tournament during that stretch. He was honored as part of the NCAA D-III Northeast Region Coaching Staff of the Year five times while at Cortland (2003, 2004, 2008, 2009, 2011).

“We are extremely happy to have Brad Posner join our athletic family,” said Gage. “He has a proven track record at a high level. We feel that he can take our softball program to the level it needs to be competitive in the one of the best softball conference in NCAA Division III.”

Posner, 34, coached 17 All-Americans at Cortland while mentoring 61 student-athletes to all-region accolades. As the program's primary hitting coach, Posner was responsible for the Red Dragons boasting a team batting average over .300 in 11 of his 12 seasons. This past spring, Cortland batted .351 as a team to rank 20th in NCAA D-III. The Red Dragons had the second most wins in NCAA D-III in 2011, finishing with a 42-5-1 overall record and placing fourth at the World Series.

“I am extremely excited and honored to be named the head softball coach at UT Dallas,” said Posner. “The athletic department is young, and teams have already proven they can be successful.  UTD really felt like a place where we could give the student-athlete an incredible collegiate experience, academically, athletically and socially. Plus, the campus is absolutely beautiful and the people are first rate.”

Posner takes over a program that posted an 18-20 overall record this past spring, the most wins by the Comets in six seasons. UTD placed sixth in the highly competitive East Division of the American Southwest Conference. Four East Division teams were nationally ranked in 2011 with all four of those squads advancing to the NCAA D-III National Championship Tournament. Over the past four years, three different divisional members have made deep postseason runs with East Texas Baptist winning the national title in 2010, Louisiana College placing third nationally in 2008 and Texas-Tyler finishing third in 2011 and fifth in 2009.

“I am looking to lead the UTD softball program to the next level,” continued Posner.  “We have a strong core of returning players who can provide great leadership this year.  They will also be setting the foundation for the future success of the program.  We have some good incoming talent that will have the opportunity to contribute right away.  We will be competitive on the field from the start and we will continue to progress as time goes on.”

Posner is a 2008 graduate of Southern New Hampshire University, earning a bachelor's degree in psychology while working as an assistant coach at SUNY-Cortland. He is currently completing his master's degree in recreational management at Cortland.

“We had very good candidates for the position and I felt that Brad stood out because of his immense passion, enthusiasm, energy and experience,” added Gage. “I feel confident that he will provide not only the immediate needs to the program but also the continued future development that our student-athletes deserve.”

The UT Dallas softball program was established in 2002 and posted winning campaigns in four if the first five years of existence. However, the Comets have not posted a record above .500 since 2006. Tricia Hoffman started the program and served as head coach from 2002-05, before giving way to her assistant Kim Sotomayor. Sotomayor helmed the program from 2006-10. Cassie Crabtree served as the head coach of the Comets for the 2011 season before resigning May 26.

-Courtesy University of Texas at Dallas Sports Information Department