Bio

Ryan Hargrove joined the Grizzly Athletics program in July 2024 as the second head softball coach for the Grizzly Softball program.

Hargrove has 13 years of coaching experience at the youth, high school and collegiate ranks. He began his coaching career in 2011 as assistant coach of the Viola (Arkansas) High School varsity baseball team and head coach of the junior varsity team.

From there his coaching career has taken him to Dakota College in Bottineau, North Dakota, as head assistant baseball coach; North Arkansas College in Harrison as assistant baseball/softball coach; Flippin (Arkansas) High School as assistant baseball/softball coach and later head softball coach and head volleyball coach; Arkansas State University-Mountain Home as volunteer assistant softball coach; and most recently Marked Tree (Arkansas) High School as head softball/assistant football coach.

He also has coached the Windy Hill Whales in the Beach Collegiate Baseball League in Myrtle Beach, Virginia; the Seaside Sand Gnats in the Ripken Experience Summer Collegiate Baseball League at Myrtle Beach; the Laramie Colts in the Rocky Mountain Summer Collegiate Baseball League; and was director of baseball operations/coach at Camp Caribou in Winslow, Maine.

As a coach, Hargrove has an 80-39 record at the high school level, 70-45 record at the summer collegiate level and 62-42 record as a collegiate assistant coach. He’s earned five Arkansas high school conference championships and four Arkansas high school district championships. He coached the Seaside Sand Gnats to the 2022 Ripken Experience Summer Collegiate Championship and was a four-time summer collegiate all-star coach and a two-time Arkansas high school conference coach of the year.

Hargrove received a Bachelor of Science in Sport Coaching and Health Education from the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg in 2010 and a Master of Arts in Coach and Athletic Administration from Concordia University in Irvine, California, in 2016. 

Hargrove said his coaching style is built on hard work and caring for others. “I expect our players to work hard every single day and try to get better both on the field and off. We are going to do things the right way. I am going to coach the players hard and hold them to a high standard, but I’m also going to care about them as people, not just athletes. I want the players to know that I will be there for them even when their playing days are over,” he explained.

“My goals for the program first and foremost are to help these student-athletes transition from college to the outside world,” he added. “We want every single softball player to graduate, and we will try to help those who want to continue their careers past the NJCAA level to do just that.

“Grizzly Athletics programs have had great success in the past, and it’s my goal to help the softball program be a part of that,” Hargrove continued. “We want to compete at the highest national level possible. I want our softball program to be a desirable one that players cannot wait to walk through the door and be a part of it.”

 Under Hargrove’s tutelage, fans can expect to see Grizzly Softball teams that “play hard no matter the score, teams that will not give up and will fight for each other in victory and defeat,” he said. “We want players who are proud to wear the Grizzly name across their chest and will represent the school in that manner. We want hard-working players who want to be part of a team that becomes a family with the common goal of growing together on and off the field.”

Hargrove said he will create a positive environment for his players so they can feel comfortable being themselves and thrive academically, athletically and personally. “We want every player who comes through here to be proud to have been a part of this program and to know they have value,” he added.