Jon Malgradi

Position: Co-Head Coach Alma Mater: Arizona State, 2005

Jon Malgradi enters his second season as co-head coach of the Golden Eagles with wife Kirsten Voak.

Under Malgradi's direction, the Southern Miss hitters improved their performance at the plate into a gritty force in Conference USA play. With Malgradi leading the way, freshman Caroline Walker was named the College Sports Madness C-USA Freshman of the Year after batting .336 with a team-high .454 slugging percentage. Along with the development of Walker, six of eight returners improved their batting averages from the previous season, including junior catcher Mackenzie Sher, who saw her average between 2011 and 2012 jump nearly 200 points.

Malgradi came to Southern Miss after spending the previous three seasons as the head coach at Mesa Community College in Mesa, Ariz., where he compiled a 102-76 record, including a top-10 ranking in 2011 and a regular season conference championship in 2010. The program also set school record marks for wins (42) and their highest ranking in the NJCAA National Poll (No. 2). From 2006-10, he also was a clinician at all ASU softball camps.

Prior to Mesa, Malgradi coached at Central Arizona College in 2008, leading the Vaqueros to a .403 team batting average, and a Division I NJCAA record 484 runs in 62 games.

In 2006-07, Malgradi coached varsity at Seton Catholic High School where he also taught science, biology, and anatomy physiology. In winning a state title at Seton Catholic, Coach Malgradi's team went 20-2, breaking 21 of 23 school records in the process.

Malgradi also played baseball collegiately while at Fresno State during the 1997 and 1998 seasons. However, his playing career was cut short due to extensive damage in his pitching shoulder.