email coach: jwlong@nemcc.edu

*JODY LONG
Head Softball Coach
Jody Long began working as an assistant softball coach at Northeast Mississippi Community College in 1997, and following the 2000 season, played a major role in the program’s switch to fast pitch competition.  Now, he is the head softball coach and the program is in good hands

Long led the Tigers (33-22) to their third straight Tiger-Fest championship, a sixth consecutive North Division title and a State and Region 23 Tournament runner-up finish in 2006.  Those finishes were the fourth and third in a row respectively.  He was runner-up in the voting for Mississippi Association of Community/Junior Colleges (MACJC) Coach of the Year.

Northeast’s softball team is the only team in Region 23 (Mississippi and Louisiana) to play in every championship game from 2001 to 2006.

Beginning with the 2001 season, the Tigers shared one North Division title (’01) and won the championship outright five times (’02, ’03, ’04, ’05 and ‘06).  Northeast has hosted the State/Region 23 Tournament twice (’02 and ‘04) and battled through the loser’s bracket to win the Region 23 title and participate in the National Tournament in 2003.

In 2001, Long was named the All-Region/All American Director through the National Fast Pitch Coaches Association (NFCA).  Following the 2003 campaign, he was named NFCA Division II South Region Coach of the Year.  Long has also served as the president of the MACJC Softball Coaches Association since 2003.

Long also serves as assistant director of event planning and resident life and is a Fellowship of Christian Athletes sponsor.

After attending Northeast as a student and working as a manager/trainer on the baseball team, Long of New Albany returned to Booneville in the spring of 1997 to complete an internship through the University of Mississippi.  He joined the Northeast family full time that summer as the director of the college’s commercial-style health and fitness center, which he planned and developed, and an assistant director of student activities.

Since then, Long has become an instrumental member of the Northeast athletic family, helping turn the Tiger softball program into a perennial powerhouse.        

Prior to coming to Northeast, Long earned a bachelor’s degree in exercise science and leisure management (ESLM) from the University of Mississippi.  He was named the ESLM undergraduate of the year in 1997 with a 3.85 core grade point average.  Long obtained a master’s degree in education administration in December of 2000.

Long is a member of the Booneville Church of Christ.  He is married to Wendi Sullivan of Pontotoc.

Email coach: jwlong@nemcc.edu