HICKORY, N.C. — After building the softball program at Catawba Valley Community College, Josh Bumgarner is moving on to the NCAA level to become the new head softball coach at Lees-McRae College.

Bumgarner was officially announced as the new head softball coach of the Bobcats on Monday.

"I will be forever grateful for my opportunity to have been the head coach at CVCC," Bumgarner said. "I want to thank CVCC Athletic Director Nick Schroeder and CVCC President Dr. Garrett Hinshaw for taking a chance on me. My players and assistant coaches made these past four years ones I'll always remember."

Mickey Bolick, who served as an assistant coach under Bumgarner for the past two seasons, will be the interim head coach of the Red Hawk softball program this upcoming season.

Bumgarner finishes his tenure at Catawba Valley Community College with a 115-40 record, and he improved in every season since he was hired in 2019.

Under Bumgarner, the Red Hawks won 11 games during their inaugural pandemic-shortened softball season in 2020 before winning 23 games during the 2021 season.

After winning 37 games in 2022, the Red Hawk softball program had a breakthrough 2023 campaign under Bumgarner's leadership.

The Red Hawks went 44-8 this past spring and earned their highest national ranking in program history and their first win against a top-10 ranked team in program history.

CVCC also finished as the Region 10 softball regular-season and tournament runners up, and Bumgarner was named the Region 10 Coach of the Year.