Since Josh Bloomer joined the Blue Devil softball staff as an assistant coach on July 3, 2019, Duke has put together a 67-16 record. Bloomer came to Durham from Louisville, Ky., where he served as the head coach at Louisville Male High School for seven seasons.
Bloomer helped guide the Blue Devils to a 44-12 campaign in 2021, including the program’s first ACC Championship title and earning the No. 13 national seed in their first NCAA appearance. Duke’s coaching staff was named the Coaching Staff of the Year for the Southeast region.
Duke shattered numerous offensive season records in 2021 – runs scored (298), doubles (79), home runs (47), runs batted in (258), total bases (646) and walks (150).
Before his first season at Duke was shortened by the COVID-19 pandemic, Bloomer helped the Blue Devils to a 23-4 record and the program’s first ranking in program history. Duke saw an offensive surge during the 2020 season, ranking 15th in doubles (44), 18th in scoring (6.59), 18th in slugging percentage (.528), 20th in triples per game (.37) and 26th in batting average (.319).
Bloomer is coming off of a successful campaign at Louisville Male High School, guiding his squad to National Fastpitch Coaches Association and Kentucky state titles this past spring. His 2019 team put together a 39-0 ledger for only the second unbeaten season in program history and became the first team from the state of Kentucky to finish a season ranked No. 1 nationally. For his efforts, Bloomer was tabbed a finalist for USA Today’s National High School Coach of the Year award, and his staff was named the 2019 Kentucky 3A State Coaching Staff of the Year.
Over seven seasons at Louisville Male High School, Bloomer compiled a 458-147-4 mark as the head coach and led the Bulldogs to six regional championships, as well as state runner-up finishes in 2015 and 2017 and the state title in 2019. Numerous Bloomer-coached athletes have gone on to play collegiately in the ACC, SEC, Big Ten, Sun Belt, Ohio Valley Conference, Horizon League, Big East, Atlantic 10, Ivy League, Mid-American Conference, Missouri Valley Conference, Atlantic Sun and Conference USA.
Prior to taking the helm at Louisville Male, Bloomer previously served as the head coach at Louisville-area Mercy Academy from 2005-12 and an assistant coach Grayson County High School in Leitchfield, Ky., from 2003-04. At Mercy Academy, Bloomer helped saw his team capture a state title in 2012 and finish as state runners-up twice, in addition to taking home five regional championships. He was a part of the Kentucky State Coaching Staff of the Year in 2004 at Grayson County High School.
In addition to excelling at the high school level, Bloomer has also seen success coaching on the travel softball circuit throughout his career. Bloomer-coached teams have on three occasions earned top-10 finishes at national tournaments, while his 2018 squad turned in a top-25 showing in the 18U division at Premier Girls Fastpitch (PGF) nationals.
Bloomer’s coaching career has also included work on the technical side of the game as a contributor to the Blast Softball Motion series, as well as speaking engagements at several coaching conferences and experience running hitting portions at multiple college camps.
A native of Kentucky, Bloomer played football and baseball at Central Hardin High School in Elizabethtown, Ky., and later served as a softball coach at his high school alma mater. Bloomer received a master’s degree in education from the University of Kentucky in 2002. He has been married 12 years to his wife, Erin, and has two sons: Nathaniel and Cole.
Last updated: June 30, 2021
