Mizzou softball interim head coach Gina Fogue added Adam Kirkpatrick to her coaching staff Friday, just hours before the Tigers’ season kicked off against the University of Texas at El Paso.

Kirkpatrick will join the staff as one of two assistant coaches and will focus primarily on the Tigers’ pitching staff.

This is Fogue’s first move as interim head coach after taking over in late January, adding more experience to the Tigers’ coaching staff. Fogue spoke highly of Kirkpatrick.

“Adam’s degree in human performance and his knowledge of pitching has built him a reputation as a leading expert in the biomechanics of softball pitching,” Fogue said via a press release from Mizzou Athletics. “I wanted to make sure we could find a coach that would come in and mesh well with our pitchers.”

Kirkpatrick has over 30 years of experience in collegiate and professional softball, both in coaching and as a player. His most recent coaching stint was at Ferris State University, where he served as pitching and strength and conditioning coach in 2016 before being promoted to interim head coach in 2017.

Kirkpatrick guided over 30 players to Division I softball careers, which include three All-American players as well as many who received All-Conference honors, during his years of private instruction at the ACES Fastpitch Academy in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. This will be his first time coaching Division I softball.

_Edited by Joe Noser | jnoser@themaneater.com_