ROCKINGHAM — When he took over as Richmond Senior High School’s athletic director earlier this month, Rob Ransom wasn’t sure if he wanted to add “head baseball coach” to his resume.
But in a message sent to the Richmond Observer on Wednesday evening, Ransom confirmed that he would be taking over as the Raiders’ skipper and returning to his old stomping grounds.
Ransom is in his first full school week as Richmond’s athletic director, having been hired and approved by the Richmond County Board of Education following former AD Ricky Young’s resignation in early August. He is making the transition to AD and one of Richmond’s four assistant principals after spending the last couple of school years as Cordova Middle School’s principal.
“It was just an opportunity to be involved with a game that I love,” Ransom said of his decision. “I am very excited to be part of such a tradition-rich program.
“Coach Young had a very successful tenure at Richmond and I look forward to carrying on that tradition,” he continued. “I’m looking forward to just being back at practices and games and the competition.”
Having graduated from Richmond in 1988, Ransom was a two-sport athlete in high school. He played basketball and was a pitcher and outfielder on the baseball team. As a part of the Raider athletics program then, and having watched his children Kenzie and Jake Ransom play sports at the high school the last handful of years, he understands the expectation for continued success in his new role.
Ransom is not new to the coaching arena, having spent the first 13 years of his academic career on the sidelines. He began his career at Scotland High School from 1994-1996, and followed up with a stint at Richmond from 1996-1998. He was also a coach while he spent nine years at Rockingham Junior High School from 1998-2006.
From 2002 through 2005, Ransom served as the head girls’ varsity basketball coach at Richmond. He’s also compiled several years of coaching experience outside of the educational system, including coaching the American Legion Post 96 team.
Under Young the past 10 seasons, the Raiders compiled a 203-84-1 record and made some deep playoff runs, including finishing as the 4A state runner-up in 2014. The success of the program also included making the state playoffs in each of the last 10 seasons, and the Raiders won three conference championships, the last coming in 2016.
This past spring, the Raiders finished 19-9 and earned second place in the Sandhills Athletic Conference standings with an 11-3 mark. The team saw Jake Ransom play as a first baseman and designated hitter, and Richmond defeated R.J. Reynolds High School 3-2 in 12 innings in the opening round of the playoffs. Brett Young, the son of Ricky Young, hit a sacrifice fly in the bottom half to advance the Raiders.
“Ricky has done a great job,” Ransom said of his predecessor. “Jake was fortunate enough to be involved in the program the last three years, so I know the strong beliefs that Ricky has instilled.
“We will attempt to carry on and hopefully build on those successes,” he closed. “We will get started with fall workouts in the coming weeks. That will give me the opportunity to meet the players and continue to develop their skills.”
