Al Sampson enters his third season as the head softball coach at Webster University in 2027. Since taking over the program in August 2024, Sampson has compiled a 29–41 overall record and a 20–14 mark in St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) play. He was named the SLIAC Coach of the Year in 2026.
During the 2026 season, Sampson guided Webster to a 19–21 overall record and a 12–4 mark in conference play, earning a share of second place in the SLIAC regular-season standings. After being picked seventh in the preseason poll, the Gorloks secured the No. 3 seed in the conference tournament. Sampson earned SLIAC Coach of the Year honors, while freshman Kailey Rushman made conference history by becoming the first player to earn both SLIAC Pitcher of the Year and Freshman of the Year honors in the same season. Webster produced six All-Conference selections, including First Team honorees Rushman, Vanessa Saenz and Isabelle Loiben. Sophie Errante earned Second Team recognition, while Madi Stichling and Ava Reinecke received Third Team honors.
In his first season at Webster in 2025, Sampson guided the Gorloks to a 10–20 overall record and an 8–10 mark in conference play.
Prior to arriving at Webster, Sampson spent 15 years coaching and managing at Jeffco Xpress Fastpitch Organization in Jefferson County, Missouri, beginning in 2009. During his tenure, he directed, trained and motivated softball players with diverse skill sets ranging in age from 8 to 22, helping them reach their full potential both on and off the diamond.
Sampson worked with more than 300 softball players on an individual basis as a hitting instructor and coached more than 1,200 select softball games. Through his extensive recruiting connections throughout Missouri and across the country, he helped more than 100 players advance to collegiate softball programs at the NCAA Division I, II and III, NAIA and junior college levels.
In addition to his coaching responsibilities, Sampson served as Vice President of Jeffco Xpress Softball beginning in 2009. In that role, he scouted and recruited players for the organization while serving as a resource for student-athletes and college coaches throughout the recruiting process.
Before arriving at Webster, Sampson also spent two seasons as an assistant softball coach at the St. Louis College of Pharmacy in 2020 and 2021. Serving as the team's hitting and fielding coach, Sampson helped guide the program to its best overall hitting season and lowest earned run average in school history at that time.
Outside of coaching, Sampson has served as a board member of the Tanner Boynton Scholarship Fund, which was founded in 2009. The organization has helped award more than 130 scholarships to area high school seniors participating in baseball and softball.
Sampson graduated from Southeast Missouri State University in 1995 with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting.
