Rhodes College head softball coach Luke Wagner announces that Rebecca Arbino has joined the Lynx coaching staff as the pitching coach.
"I'm incredibly excited to welcome Rebecca to Rhodes College," said Wagner. "Coach Arbino brings with her a wealth of experience, both as a player and a coach. During an extensive interview process, it was very clear Coach Arbino was aligned with our program's goals and values, both immediate and long term. I can't wait for her to join us in Memphis."
For the last three years, Arbino has been the founder and head coach of the Army Softball youth softball squad out of Louisiana. Prior to that, Arbino was the interim head coach for the University of Minnesota Crookston after moving on from University of Nevada - Las Vegas where she was an assistant for two seasons. At both stops, in addition to her coaching duties, she was responsible for the programs' compliance, budgets, fundraising and community service efforts.
"I am very excited to get to Rhodes and get to work," stated Arbino. "The atmosphere on campus is something I am excited to be a part of, and I am looking forward to helping the softball team grow and progress in any and every way that I can. I am thankful, and feel honored, to have been chosen to work with this team. Coach Wags has given me a great opportunity and I could not be more proud to now be a member of the Lynx family."
As a collegiate athlete, Arbino was named Rookie of the Year at Texas A&M University where she went 12-8 and earned 20 starts her freshman season. In her sophomore season, Arbino went 19-10 with a 2.47 ERA. That season she led the Aggies in games started (28), wins (19, tied), shutouts (9), saves (1, tied), innings pitched (187.0), strikeouts (144) and opponent's batting average (.215).
Arbino then transferred to San Diego State University where she garnered the following accolades before graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Women's Studies:
* 2013 Mountain West Pitcher of the Year
* 2013 NFCA All-West Region Team (Second Team)
* Two-time All-Mountain West Team (2012-13)
During her senior season, she earned all-region accolades after leading the Mountain West in wins (21-13), appearances (42, tied), saves (2, tied), strikeouts (201) and opponent's batting average (.238, tied), and was second in innings pitched (215.3) and third in ERA (2.08) and games started (29).
Arbino's full student-athlete bio can be found here.
While at Rhodes, Arbino is expected to assist Coach Wagner in all phases, but will specifically be tasked with further developing the Lynx pitching and catching battery.
