MOON TOWNSHIP, PA. — A busy month for RMU Athletics continues to get busier. An off-season that has included Athletic Director Chris King resigning and the women’s golf and men’s track & field programs returning is now capped off by acclaimed softball coach Jexx Varner resigning.
The announcement came on Wednesday following Varner’s acceptance of the Kent State head coaching position, where he had previously served as an assistant before returning to help the Colonials in 2017. Varner, an RMU alum, leaves the program following their most explosive season.
Off the backs of players like Courtney Poulich, Mary Brant, Aglaia Rudd, and Ellie Facher, RMU’s offense ranked highly in the NCAA, placing third in scoring, fourth in slugging percentage, fourth in batting average, sixth in home runs per game, and ninth in on-base percentage.
Over the past two seasons, which included the program’s first Horizon League championship and an NCAA tournament appearance, almost every offensive record was broken, a culmination of the work Varner had put in over the course of his eight seasons in Moon Township.
In a statement released by Varner, the RMU alum called the decision to leave “bittersweet,” adding, “I have so much love and appreciation for all the people who made the past decade so amazing. I am extremely proud of what WE have built here and the impacts the women of our program have made on this university, department, the Horizon League, and the Moon Township community. Every single person who has touched this program has helped get RMU Softball to where it is today.”
Varner’s work extended far off the field, often commenting on the commitment to making better women than players. Varner also dedicated time to his team, supporting the community, holding clinics for the youth, and hosting Hit-A-Thons to support foundations like Connor’s Cure, which raises funds and awareness for pediatric cancer.
The softball team will now look for a new head coach for the first time since 2018, when Varner took the reins from longtime coach Craig Coleman. Coleman simultaneously held the post as RMU’s athletic director and resigned from both in 2018, meaning RMU will have to fill both these positions in the same off-season again.
The team and roster itself will also now fall under some questions. With Varner at the helm, a sense of stability and even continuous growth was expected. Now, with the departure of their head coach and the graduation of premier slugger Courtney Poulich, that sense of stability seems to be gone.
This, added to the thorn in every mid-major program’s side that is the transfer portal, could lead one to see that there might be a lot more to hear from on the softball front as the school year looms.
