YUMA, Ariz. – Arizona Western College has announced the hiring of Joel Pricket as head softball coach, becoming the ninth coach in program history. Prickett has won 727 career games and has led teams to six NJCAA DI Softball Championship appearances, including three top-five finishes.

"Joel stood out early on in the process with the success he has had at various stops in the NJCAA", said Arizona Western College Athletic Director Jerry Smith. "There was no question that he would be the right person to take this storied program forward and we are excited to have him leading our program."

Prickett comes to Arizona Western with 26 years of collegiate coaching experience, 21 as a head coach, most recently at Cisco College in his hometown of Cisco, Texas.  Prickett spent seven years at Cisco College where he picked up his 700^th career win during the 2023 season.

While back in his hometown, Prickett also served as assistant athletic director, overseeing all aspects of eligibility for the women's sports programs. In his role as head softball coach, Prickett graduated 85% of his student-athletes, moving over 60% of them onto four-year schools.

Before returning home, Prickett spent 12 seasons as the head softball coach at Odessa College, winning six Region V West championships and leading the Wranglers to six national tournaments.

In 12 seasons, Prickett won 513 games, making him the winningest coach in Odessa Wranglers Softball program history. The Wrangler's best finish at the national tournament under Prickett came in 2005, finishing in third place, picking up wins over Temple, Chattanooga State, and Wabash Valley before being eliminated by Central Arizona.

Pickett led the Wranglers to back-to-back national tournament appearances three times, winning three or more games at the national tournament twice, going 3-2 in his final appearance at the national tournament with Odessa in 2014.

While in Odessa, Prickett oversaw the development of nine NJCAA All-Americans, 11 NFCA All-Americans, and a Golden Spike Winner. Prickett's teams hold records for most regular season wins and most post-season wins in program history.

Prior to his time in Odessa, Prickett spent three seasons as head softball coach at El Paso Community College, increasing the Tejanas' win total in all three seasons. The Tejanas broke school records for home runs and base-on-balls under the guidance of Prickett and placed one on the NFCA All-American team.

Prickett served as an assistant softball coach at Hill College during the 2000 season after getting his coaching start at Cisco as an assistant softball coach and an assistant football coach from 1996-1999.

Prickett will be formally introduced at a press conference scheduled for 11:00 am on Tuesday, May 14 in GY-108.