jbradfor@westga.edu
Hometown: Nickerson, KS
Record at UWG:
The West Georgia Braves would like to welcome Josh Bradford to the West Georgia family. Bradford comes to Carrollton by way of the University of Toledo, where he has been an assistant coach. Bradford pitched in Minor League Baseball with several organizations for seven years before becoming a coach and will be the UWG pitching coach in the 2005-06 year.
Bradford’s collegiate coaching career began in 2001 when he was the pitching coach a Division II powerhouse Kentucky Wesleyan. In 2002, his pitching staff had a 3.03 team ERA, third lowest among Division II schools nationally. After spending two seasons at KWC, Bradford spent a summer as a pitching coach for the Danville Dans of the Central Illinois Collegiate League. His staff had a team ERA of 1.78 that year, a league record.
The following fall, Bradford moved on to Toledo, where he was the outfield coach as well as assisting in the bullpen with the UT pitching coach.
In his playing career, he was drafted in 1993 by the St. Louis Cardinals, but opted to hone his skills at the collegiate level first. Bradford played at Hutchinson Community College for two years before moving to Division I waters at Xavier University. In 1996, he was named the Atlantic-10 pitcher of the year, which earned him a 15th round selection by the Toronto Blue Jays.
Bradford played four seasons with the Blue Jays and three seasons of independent baseball before hanging up his glove to become a coach. He has since coached 15 players who have been drafted and/or are now playing professionally, including 11 pitchers.