ST. LOUIS, Mo. - The Webster University Athletics Department is pleased to welcome Al Sampson as the next Head Softball Coach for the Gorloks. Sampson will officially begin his duties on August 1, 2024.
Sampson comes to Webster after spending the past 15 years coaching and managing at Jeffco Xpress Fastpitch Organization in Jefferson County, Missouri and two seasons at the College of Pharmacy in St. Louis during the 2020 and 2021 seasons.
During his tenure at Xpress Softball that started in 2009, Sampson has been a spectacular coach that directed, trained, and motivated softball players with diverse skill sets from the ages of 8-22 to reach their full potential on and off the diamond.
In addition, Sampson has worked with over 300 softball players on a one-on-one basis as a hitting instructor and has coached over 1,200 select games. Sampson has a deep connection with recruiting in the state of Missouri and around the country with scouting and recruiting players. During his time at Xpress, he advanced over 100 players to either Division I, II, III, NAIA, and or Junior College programs.
"We are very excited to have Coach Sampson join Webster University as the new head coach of our Gorlok Softball team. Coach Sampson demonstrated a passion for the sport and his track record shows he has the coaching skills and recruiting connections necessary to continue to move our softball program forward. I want to thank the search committee for their efforts and look forward to working with Coach Sampson as we work toward providing our softball team a quality experience." said Director of Athletics, Scott Kilgallon
In an advanced role at Xpress Softball, Sampson has been the Vice President since 2009 where he scouted and recruited players for the program while being a resource for players with college coaches to advance their playing career.
In a previous role as the Assistant Softball Coach at College of Pharmacy in St. Louis, he was the Hitting and Fielding Coach that led the team to the best overall hitting season and lowest earned run average in school history at that time.
"I am really excited and honored to take over the Gorlok program and looking forward to showing the search committee and University they made the right decision. I can't wait to meet everyone on the team individually and get to work building a team that will be fun to watch!" said Sampson.
Sampson is a Board Member of the Tanner Boynton Scholarship Fund which was founded in 2009 and has helped give out over 130 scholarships over the past 13 years to area high school seniors that play baseball and softball.
Sampson graduated from Southeast Missouri State University in 1995 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting.
