DURHAM, N.C. – Duke University head softball coach Marissa Young announced Wednesday the addition of Josh Bloomer to the Blue Devil staff as an assistant coach. Bloomer comes to Durham from Louisville, Ky., where he served as the head coach at Louisville Male High School for seven seasons.
“I wanted to bring in someone who will excel in three areas – knows how to connect well with young women, knows how to coach high academic performing student-athletes and how to teach hitting from a biomechanical stand-point to improve our offensive production,” Young said. “Josh Bloomer checked all of those boxes. Josh has had a proven track record of success, winning at every level he has coached – most recently achieving a No. 1 ranking nationally – and has done a lot of lead work with Blast Motion Sensor, improving swings using feedback from technology.
"Josh's high character, competitive nature and passion for both player development and their personal development, paired with his hunger for success is going to be a great addition to our staff. We welcome Josh and the Bloomer family to our Blue Devil family.”
Bloomer is coming off of a successful campaign at Louisville Male High School, guiding his squad to National Fastpitch Coaches Association and Kentucky state titles this past spring. His 2019 team put together a 39-0 ledger for only the second unbeaten season in program history and became the first team from the state of Kentucky to finish a season ranked No. 1 nationally. For his efforts, Bloomer was tabbed a finalist for USA Today's National High School Coach of the Year award, and his staff was named the 2019 Kentucky 3A State Coaching Staff of the Year.
Over seven seasons at Louisville Male High School, Bloomer compiled a 458-147-4 mark as the head coach and led the Bulldogs to six regional championships, as well as state runner-up finishes in 2015 and 2017 and the state title in 2019. Numerous Bloomer-coached athletes have gone on to play collegiately in the ACC, SEC, Big Ten, Sun Belt, Ohio Valley Conference, Horizon League, Big East, Atlantic 10, Ivy League, Mid-American Conference, Missouri Valley Conference, Atlantic Sun and Conference USA.
"I am extremely honored to be joining the Duke family as a member of the softball program,” Bloomer said. “Coach Young has done an outstanding job building the foundation for the program and I am excited to join the staff and begin working with her to take this program to greater heights. The standard of excellence that comes with the Duke University name speaks for itself. As a former educator, the ability to work with highly motivated young women who have a desire to excel in all aspects of their college experience, is an amazing opportunity.
I want to thank Coach Young for this opportunity. Her trust and confidence in what we plan to do on the offensive side is amazing. I'm excited to be a Blue Devil and get to work!"
Prior to taking the helm at Louisville Male, Bloomer previously served as the head coach at Louisville-area Mercy Academy from 2005-12 and an assistant coach Grayson County High School in Leitchfield, Ky., from 2003-04. At Mercy Academy, Bloomer helped saw his team capture a state title in 2012 and finish as state runners-up twice, in addition to taking home five regional championships. He was a part of the Kentucky State Coaching Staff of the Year in 2004 at Grayson County High School.
In addition to excelling at the high school level, Bloomer has also seen success coaching on the travel softball circuit throughout his career. Bloomer-coached teams have on three occasions earned top-10 finishes at national tournaments, while his 2018 squad turned in a top-25 showing in the 18U division at Premier Girls Fastpitch (PGF) nationals.
Bloomer's coaching career has also included work on the technical side of the game as a contributor to the Blast Softball Motion series, as well as speaking engagements at several coaching conferences and experience running hitting portions at multiple college camps.
A native of Kentucky, Bloomer played football and baseball at Central Hardin High School in Elizabethtown, Ky., and later served as a softball coach at his high school alma mater. Bloomer received a master's degree in education from the University of Kentucky in 2002. He has been married 12 years to his wife, Erin, and they have two children: Nathaniel (10) and Cole (8).
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