Head Softball Coach Northeast Alabama Community College Husband of Courtnay Foster Father of Bobby and Rustin Guthrie Combat Veteran One of the Few
Joined July 2019
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Joe Guthrie retweeted
For those that missed it last night… Here is the 8 run inning! Zero HR, two out and two strikes hitting all over the place … vs elite WS pitching! Inject this into my veins!
The game of baseball played at its finest! Please, please, please 🙏 ALL MLB orgs.. take notice!
Baseball fans everywhere are telling you loud and clear that this is what we want! Not K or HR approach on every pitch. You can steal us all back from the college baseball world where winning team baseball is still played… only if … you start playing baseball league wide like the Brewers and Rays…
Video Credit - FOX
@MLB
@MLBNetwork
Joe Guthrie retweeted
THIS!!!!!!!!! nailed it!
The Brewers are being celebrated like they invented baseball.
They are doing things that have become unusual.
They have an old school tough manager who players love playing for.
They focus on basic easy to understand basic fundamentals.
They have a hitting coach that was an overachieving player for skill that played in the big leagues.
They hit the ball the other way.
They value putting the ball in play.
They adjust their approach based on situation and count.
They are not addicted to exit velocity and launch angle bullshit.
They bunt and steal bases.
They do not have selfish superstars that need to be treated like celebrities.
The Brewers simply play the game how it was meant to be played.
Joe Guthrie retweeted
🔥 @NACCathletics: Great softball program with Coach @Jkolaitis33 as the A.D. & with @JoeGuth08812179 as the Head softball Coach. Great option for Arizona 2027/2028 ballers. 🔥
College Softball Program of the Day #002: Northeast Alabama Mustangs 🐴🥎
2027 and 2028 players, if you want proof that the right JUCO can still build a national champion from scratch, start with Northeast Alabama Community College in Rainsville, Alabama.
In September 2022 the college announced it was starting a softball program. Joe Guthrie was hired as the first head coach in summer 2023. Nathaniel Ledbetter Stadium broke ground that fall. The Mustangs played their first season in 2025 and went 17-26-1. Year two? They won it all.
2026 was historic:
🏆 56-4 overall
🏆 ACCC regular-season and tournament champions
🏆 5-0 at the NJCAA Division I Softball World Series
🏆 Beat No. 1 Florida SouthWestern in the semifinals, then Temple (Texas) 7-3 in the title game
🏆 Only the second ACCC school ever to win an NJCAA World Series national championship
🏆 National title in the program's second season of existence
The pitching and lineup were elite. Freshman Addie Edwards went a perfect 34-0 with a nation-leading 1.12 ERA and 0.79 WHIP, 219 strikeouts in 211 2/3 innings, and 32 complete games. She was named NFCA and NJCAA DI Pitcher of the Year, ACCC Tournament MVP, and World Series Best Pitcher (5-0 in Oxford). Freshman Marti McCluskey was NFCA NJCAA DI Player of the Year (.429, 15 HR, 78 RBIs). Sophomore Francesca Lumpp was World Series MVP. The staff posted a 1.93 team ERA with 20 shutouts.
Head coach Joe Guthrie built this from day one. Nearly 20 years of coaching before NACC: Texas A&M assistant, UAB head coach (56-43), Marion Military Institute head coach, Army combat veteran, Alabama native. His staff — pitching coach Courtnay Foster and assistant coach/athletic director Jimmy Kolaitis — was named NFCA NJCAA DI Coaching Staff of the Year and South Region Staff of the Year. Foster, a former Northwestern All-American pitcher and Bucknell head coach, was named NFCA NJCAA DI Assistant Coach of the Year. Kolaitis is a former UAB head coach with Arizona State, Oregon and South Alabama stops, plus multiple USA Softball assignments.
The pipeline is the point of JUCO done right: develop, win, and move on. Players learn under D1-experienced coaches in a championship culture at Nathaniel Ledbetter Stadium, then take the next step.
What it means for you: NACC is the model for a modern JUCO path. Elite coaching, a brand-new facility, a national title in year two, and a staff that develops pitchers and hitters who get noticed. If you are looking for a place that will push you and put you on the map, get on their radar the right way.
@NACCsoftball @NACCathletics @JoeGuth08812179 @Jkolaitis3
National Softball Recruiting | @NatlSBRecruit
2027 and 2028 players and parents, DM us "INFO" and we'll help you build a real list of schools and a plan to get seen.
Joe Guthrie retweeted
College Softball Program of the Day #002: Northeast Alabama Mustangs 🐴🥎
2027 and 2028 players, if you want proof that the right JUCO can still build a national champion from scratch, start with Northeast Alabama Community College in Rainsville, Alabama.
In September 2022 the college announced it was starting a softball program. Joe Guthrie was hired as the first head coach in summer 2023. Nathaniel Ledbetter Stadium broke ground that fall. The Mustangs played their first season in 2025 and went 17-26-1. Year two? They won it all.
2026 was historic:
🏆 56-4 overall
🏆 ACCC regular-season and tournament champions
🏆 5-0 at the NJCAA Division I Softball World Series
🏆 Beat No. 1 Florida SouthWestern in the semifinals, then Temple (Texas) 7-3 in the title game
🏆 Only the second ACCC school ever to win an NJCAA World Series national championship
🏆 National title in the program's second season of existence
The pitching and lineup were elite. Freshman Addie Edwards went a perfect 34-0 with a nation-leading 1.12 ERA and 0.79 WHIP, 219 strikeouts in 211 2/3 innings, and 32 complete games. She was named NFCA and NJCAA DI Pitcher of the Year, ACCC Tournament MVP, and World Series Best Pitcher (5-0 in Oxford). Freshman Marti McCluskey was NFCA NJCAA DI Player of the Year (.429, 15 HR, 78 RBIs). Sophomore Francesca Lumpp was World Series MVP. The staff posted a 1.93 team ERA with 20 shutouts.
Head coach Joe Guthrie built this from day one. Nearly 20 years of coaching before NACC: Texas A&M assistant, UAB head coach (56-43), Marion Military Institute head coach, Army combat veteran, Alabama native. His staff — pitching coach Courtnay Foster and assistant coach/athletic director Jimmy Kolaitis — was named NFCA NJCAA DI Coaching Staff of the Year and South Region Staff of the Year. Foster, a former Northwestern All-American pitcher and Bucknell head coach, was named NFCA NJCAA DI Assistant Coach of the Year. Kolaitis is a former UAB head coach with Arizona State, Oregon and South Alabama stops, plus multiple USA Softball assignments.
The pipeline is the point of JUCO done right: develop, win, and move on. Players learn under D1-experienced coaches in a championship culture at Nathaniel Ledbetter Stadium, then take the next step.
What it means for you: NACC is the model for a modern JUCO path. Elite coaching, a brand-new facility, a national title in year two, and a staff that develops pitchers and hitters who get noticed. If you are looking for a place that will push you and put you on the map, get on their radar the right way.
@NACCsoftball @NACCathletics @JoeGuth08812179 @Jkolaitis3
National Softball Recruiting | @NatlSBRecruit
2027 and 2028 players and parents, DM us "INFO" and we'll help you build a real list of schools and a plan to get seen.
Very good softball game played tonight for NACC Softball at Samford University. We came up just short 4-3 in 10 innings. Proud of our team’s commitment to improve. Thanks to Samford for having us. Both teams played well and got better tonight.
Joe Guthrie retweeted
@NACCsoftball continues the fall season in Birmingham today! The Mustangs travel to Samford this afternoon for a 5:30 start.
Go Mustangs!
Very pleased with NACC Softball’s effort and commitment to improve. Excellent job vs. an SEC opponent in Auburn today. Stayed even with them until the last out today in the 10th inning. Very proud of our team!
Joe Guthrie retweeted
OH SHIT!!! 💩💩💩
The ANALytics #nerds aren’t going to like this from Tom House!
#shegone
@notgaetti @BobFile
@billdubs @iamrags @artofhitting @hittingguru7 @slider_sinker @SliderDom @low_and_outside @TheRealJHair @DMEASrecruiting @VandyonTigers @KevinKennedyMLB @SalMarinello @RVGDag @AMBS_Kernan @MLBNetwork @WillClark22 @MLB
Joe Guthrie retweeted
NACC to host Softball National Championship Celebration on Oct. 15 naccathletics.com/sports/sba…
Big opportunity to improve this week vs. Auburn. Proud of our players’ efforts against two of the best teams in the country Tennessee and Alabama. We need to get tougher to continue to push through a tough challenge at AU. Looking forward to going to work this week! Go Mustangs!
Joe Guthrie retweeted
At some point, baseball has to get back to valuing ballplayers and not just numbers on a screen. Give me the Freddie Freemans, the Buster Poseys, Hunter Pences, Pablo Sandovals, Michael Youngs, Ian Kinslers of the world. Guys who just flat out know how to play the game. Everyone wants to talk launch angle and exit velo, but what happened to valuing a quality at bat?” The 9-pitch battle that might end in an out, but forces a pitcher to show everything he’s got.
The guy who hits behind the runner, takes what’s given, or just refuses to give a pitcher an easy inning. Those at-bats might not look sexy in the box score, but they show up in the 7th, 8th, and 9th. Some of these dudes could absolutely leave the yard too. That’s the point. They weren’t one-dimensional. Somewhere along the way, we confused measurable tools with knowing how to win baseball games.
I’m not against analytics or hitting the ball hard, but there is an art to winning that you can’t fully measure. We need more guys who know how to play baseball, not just hitters, not just athletes, ballplayers. And I promise you, those dudes never go out of style
Joe Guthrie retweeted
Mustang Softball is back in fall ball action today in Tuscaloosa!
📍NACC vs. Alabama at 1:30 p.m.
Very proud of our NACC Mustang softball team’s fight in our game against Tennessee last night. You must play the best to be the best. We are committed to improvement and growth. Looking forward to the next opportunity to do so tomorrow versus Alabama.
