Softball
- Title:
- Head Coach
- Email:
- rodney.delong@unt.edu
- Phone:
- 940-369-7822
- Alma Mater:
- Cameron University, 2006
The University of North Texas named Rodney DeLong as its fifth head softball coach, University President Neal Smatresk and Director of Athletics Wren Baker announced June 13, 2018. He is in his fifth season at the helm of North Texas softball.
UNT softball continued its progression in 2022 when DeLong led his team to its first NCAA Regionals appearance after capturing the Conference USA tournament title. Five players were named all-conference selections with three players earning C-USA Championship All-Tournament honors, including MVP Molly Rainey. The team posted program-best marks in batting average (.290), slugging percentage (.512), runs scored (297), home runs (71), RBI (274) and total bases (707).
Year three of the DeLong experience in Denton featured more improvement, leading the team to its highest win total in program history with 38 as he earned C-USA Coach of the Year honors for the second time. The Mean Green won its first outright conference championship, with three players earning conference superlative awards and seven players named to all-conference teams, both program-best marks.
During a shortened second season, DeLong continued to elevate the program to new heights. UNT started the season 13-2, which was the best 15-game start in program history and finished with a 19-5 record. The Mean Green set program and school history on Feb. 29 when it knocked off No. 5 Oklahoma on the road. The win proved to be the first win in North Texas intercollegiate athletics history over a top-five ranked team on the road. The victory marked the 50th career win for the Mean Green skipper, making him the fastest coach in North Texas softball history to reach the 50-win mark.
In 2020 the Mean Green made it back-to-back years with a win over a top-10 ranked Louisiana team, this time knocking off the Ragin’ Cajuns 2-1 in Lafayette on Feb. 8. North Texas also finished the shortened season with a perfect 5-0 record at home.
In DeLong’s first season with the team, he was named C-USA Coach of the Year as the Mean Green broke or tied six school records including wins (35), runs scored (279), RBI (257), walks taken (207), doubles (78) and shutouts (8). The biggest success came on May 5, 2019 when the Mean Green captured its first Conference USA regular season championship. During year one of the DeLong era, the Mean Green earned four All-Conference selections.
A 14-year coaching veteran, DeLong came to North Texas after leading Austin Peay to a program-record 39 wins in 2018, snapping a 24-year streak of losing seasons. The 39-19 record in his first season with the Governors marked a 22-win improvement, the largest in NCAA Division I softball this year. APSU won a program-record three games on its way to a school-best third-place finish at the Ohio Valley Conference tournament, and the Governors earned an at-large bid into the National Invitational Softball Championship.
Prior to Austin Peay, DeLong was an assistant coach at Georgia Tech and served as the hitting instructor and infielders coach. During the 2017 campaign, the Yellow Jackets showed improvement in 11 different offensive categories and finished the season ranked 18th nationally in home runs per game (1.02), nearly doubling their average from 2016. Georgia Tech’s defense ranked 59th nationally in double plays per game (0.40).
In his first collegiate coaching stop, DeLong compiled a 106-61 (.635) record at Cameron University and led the Aggies to consecutive NCAA Division II Softball Tournament appearances for the first time in program history. Under his tutelage, Cameron had 18 all-conference honorees, nine named all-region and two selected as All-Americans.
In his final season, the Aggies went 33-21 and 18-14 in the Lone Star Conference, good for a program-best third-place finish in conference. The 2015 squad posted a school-record 41 wins, including a program-record 17-game winning streak, and reached the South Central Regional final. In his inaugural season, DeLong led the program to its first winning season since 2009 with a 31-21 record.
Once considered one of the top high school softball coaches in Oklahoma, DeLong amassed a 211-64 (.767) record at Cache High School (2008-10; 2012-13) and Lawton MacArthur High School (2011). While at Cache, he led the Bulldogs to the 2013 state championship, as well as four regional championships and five district championships.
A two-year letter winner on Cameron’s baseball team, DeLong played shortstop for the Aggies, starting in 79 games and finishing with 54 career RBI. He began his collegiate career at Northern Oklahoma-Tonkawa, earning second-team all-region honors after batting .390 with 10 home runs and 56 RBI as a sophomore.
The Lawton, Oklahoma native graduated from Cameron University in 2006 with a bachelor’s degree in history before receiving his Masters of Education in sports administration at East Central University in 2013. Rodney and his wife Meghann have two children, their son Ryker and daughter Kaiya.
