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Southern Miss baseball coach Scott Berry announced Tuesday the hiring of Keller Bradford as Director of Player Development/Operations.

“We are excited about Keller returning to the Golden Eagle baseball family,” said Berry. “Having played in our program, he understands the tradition and what makes us successful. His role will assist in maximizing each players’ potential both on and off the field. ”

Bradford returns to his alma mater after spending two seasons as an assistant coach at Hinds Community College. His duties will include organizing team travel, fundraising and serving as the program’s liaison with the program’s booster club “The Dugout Club,” as well as assisting in camps and on-campus recruiting. In addition, he will oversee the analytics and technology for the program.

In his first season at Hinds overseeing the pitching staff, seven pitchers signed or committed to move on to play at the four-year level with five of them moving on to the NCAA Division I level. The staff produced a 2.20 earned run average, good for 2nd in the nation according to the NJCAA, while only allowing 70 hits in 94 innings pitched, good for 10th in the nation according to the NJCAA.

Last season, Bradford helped lead Hinds to a 25-16 record and his pitching staff posted a 4.25 ERA, which ranked No. 10 in the NJCAA. His squad also registered 363 strikeouts with only 164 walks. That staff had nine pitchers sign at four-year schools with seven going to Division I institutions.

Prior to working at Hinds, Bradford worked as the pitching coach for Mississippi Delta Community College. While at Mississippi Delta, Bradford coached seven pitchers who moved on to the four-year level with four of them being NCAA Division I signees. Also, Bradford spent the summer of 2019 coaching some of the premier collegiate talent in the country as the head coach for the Upper Valley Nighthawks in the New England Collegiate League, where the Nighthawks finished 24-20 during Bradford’s first stop as a head coach.

Collegiately, Bradford started at Hinds in 2014 playing for Sam Temple where he competed for a National Championship in Enid, Okla., as a freshman. As a sophomore, Bradford was a part of a signing class that included 14 Division I signees and won a MACJC State Championship by finishing the season with a school-record 43 wins.

Upon leaving Hinds, Bradford made a stop in Monroe, La., playing for ULM, where he threw 48.1 innings in relief while making 35 appearances, which is second in school history.

Bradford transferred to Southern Miss and sat out the 2017 season due to a shoulder injury that resulted in surgery. As a senior, he threw 30.2 innings in 23 appearances with a 3.52 ERA while helping the Golden Eagles to another C-USA Title by notching a win in the Conference Tournament Championship game.

Academically, Bradford graduated with honors from Hinds and was a member of Phi Theta Kappa. Also, he was selected to Honor Roll while at ULM and at Southern Miss. Bradford graduated in 2018 from Southern Miss with a Bachelor’s degree in Sports Management as well as a Master’s degree in Sports Management in May of 2021.

A Raymond, Miss., native, Bradford is the son of former Golden Eagle and former MLB pitcher, Chad Bradford, who spent 12 years playing professionally.

Bradford is married to the former Macken’z Smith and the couple will live in Hattiesburg.