After four strong leading Radford’s softball team to finishes of .500 or better against Big South competition, head coach Hope Creasy has decided to step down.
“I am thankful that (Director of Athletics) Robert (Lineburg) and the administration provided me the opportunity and trusted me to lead this program that I love so much,” Creasy said. “The game of softball has been great to me, as has Radford University. I will forever be grateful for the time I have had as a player, assistant coach, and head coach. The friendships forged, relationships built, lessons learned, and memories made will forever be a part of me and who I am.”
The 2021 season presented many challenges as the softball team navigated through a loaded schedule of 54 games. The Highlanders finished strong, winning six of their last nine games that included winning a crucial regular-season series finale against Winthrop for the final spot in the Big South tournament. Radford advanced to the tournament semifinals before falling to USC Upstate.
“We wish Hope Creasy the very best of luck as she steps away from coaching,” Lineburg said. “Hope will always be one of the greatest Highlander softball student-athletes to have ever played at Radford. She has also excelled as an assistant coach and as the head coach of the Highlanders. We hate to see Hope depart but I am certain she will have great success in any endeavor she chooses. She is a first-class person and has done a tremendous job as our head coach.”
The Christiansburg native’s first season came in the spring of 2018, and since then she has coached five Big South All-Conference selections and four All-Academic honorees that included the 2020 and 2021 Scholar-Athletes of the Year. On the field, she accumulated a 96-88 record through three full seasons and the shortened 2020 season.
In her first season at the helm, she guided her team to a 36-19 record. The 36 wins were the second-most for a first-year head coach and three of those victories came against ACC foes and two commonwealth rivals (Virginia and Virginia Tech). Radford would reach the Big South championship game that season after a thrilling 12-inning semifinal win over Longwood.
Year two at the helm presented more success for the Highlanders as they made another deep run in the Big South Tournament making it to the quarterfinals after two wins over third-seeded Campbell.
Radford was off to a strong 13-3 start in 2020 before the season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Creasy’s softball career has been rooted in the New River Valley ever since starting her collegiate career at Radford in 2006. She was a four-year starter for the program, leading the Highlanders to back-to-back Big South regular-season and conference tournament titles in 2009 and 2010. As a senior in 2010, she was named Big South Woman of the Year and was a first-team all-Mid-Atlantic region selection and an ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA All-District second-team honoree. After coaching stints at Georgia Southern and Louisburg College, Creasy returned to Radford as an assistant coach in 2015 before being promoted to the head role in 2017.
A national search for the program’s next head coach will begin immediately.
