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Jexx Varner
The 2024 season marks the sixth year for Jexx Varner as head coach of the RMU softball team.
Varner has overseen a successful transition for the Colonials into the Horizon League, as over the last three seasons the Colonials have recorded an overall record of 80-63 (.559), including a mark of 50-31 (.617) in league play. RMU has made three consecutive appearances in the Horizon League Championships, earning its first bye in the tournament in 2023 while also making a run to the title game during the 2022 campaign.
In 2023, the Colonials finished with an overall mark of 24-23 (.511) and finished second in the #HLSB standings thanks to a mark of 14-8 in league play. Fifth-year pitcher Dana Vatakis earned a spot on the 2023 All-Horizon League First Team after appearing in 63.8 percent of RMU's games from the circle, tossing 150 innings and holding opponents to a batting average of .207.
RMU eclipsed the 30-win plateau for the first time in almost 10 years in 2022, compiling an overall ledger of 31-21 (.596). The Colonials finished fourth in the league standings for the second consecutive year thanks to a mark of 16-9 (.640) and, after dropping their opener of the 2022 #HLSB Championships, staved off elimination with a four-game winning streak en route to the title game.
A quartet of Colonials earned All-Horizon League plaudits in 2022, highlighted by catcher Meadow Sacadura, who was tabbed to both the All-Horizon League Second Team and the All-Horizon League Freshman Team. Sacadura was joined by senior Erika Bell and fifth-year Taylor Rhinehart on the second team, while Alaina Koutsogiani was also named to the All-Horizon League Freshman Team. Varner has been instrumental in the development of Koutsogiani, as in her first two seasons with the program she has established single-game, single-season and career marks for stolen bases.
During the 2021 campaign, Varner led the Colonials to an overall record of 25-19 (.568), including a mark of 20-14 (.588) in their first season as a member of the Horizon League. RMU finished fourth in the Horizon League standings, qualifying for its first conference tournament since 2016 and posting its most wins since 2015.
Outfielder Natalie Higgins was named to the All-Horizon League First Team under Varner's watch, becoming the second student-athlete in program history to reach the .400 hitting plateau. Higgins, who was also named to the 2021 National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Division I All-Great Lakes Region, hit .412 (61-for-148) during her final season with the Colonials and also recorded team highs in runs (27), doubles (10), home runs (9), RBI (43) and total bases (100). She concluded her career as the program's all-time leader in doubles (42) and ranks second all-time in RBI (129), third in games played (198) and hits (213), fourth in home runs (25) and eighth in batting average (.339).
In addition to the postseason accolades for Higgins, infielder Charlotte Grover was named to the 2021 Horizon League All-Freshman Team.
Varner began his coaching career in Moon Township, Pa., when he served as an assistant coach with the Colonials in 2008 and 2009. In 2008, RMU posted an overall record of 30-20 (.600), the program's first 30-win season since 1997.
Varner is in his second stint as a head coach, having led Lafayette for four seasons from 2013-17. While leading the Leopards, Varner helped Lafayette establish a program record for fielding percentage (.970) in 2017, while shortstop Brooke Wensel was selected as the Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year the same season. The Leopards posted three of the top five marks in school history in fielding percentage, finishing second in 2016 (.967) and fourth in 2015 (.955).
In the classroom, Varner's softball team won the Lafayette Department of Athletics Academic Excellence Award in three consecutive semesters, including the spring and fall of 2016 and the spring of 2017. It's a tradition he has continued with the Colonials, as Robert Morris posted the fifth highest GPA in NCAA Division I in 2019 at 3.760. In addition, senior Lacee Collins was named the Northeast Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year, sponsored by the league's Faculty Athletic Representatives. Collins posted a perfect 4.00 grade point average (GPA) while earning a Bachelor of Science degree in biology and was one of four female student-athletes in the NEC to garner the award, including two from RMU.
Varner, a 2007 graduate of Robert Morris with a Bachelor of Science degree in sport management, served as an assistant coach at both Ashland (2010) and Kent State (2011-13) after earning a Master of Science degree in organizational studies from RMU in 2009.
While an assistant at Ashland, the Eagles posted an overall record of 36-13 (.735) and advanced to the 2010 NCAA Division II Super Regional. Ashland set 16 school records and placed seven players on All-Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) teams.
At Kent State, the Golden Flashes posted an overall record of 27-21-1 (.561) in 2013 and claimed the Mid-American Conference (MAC) East Division title. Varner coached the outfielders and catchers wile also serving as hitting coach.
Varner and his wife, Amy, have two children.
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