ROCKINGHAM — Richmond Senior High School will be on the lookout for its next athletic director and head baseball coach this summer.
Rob Ransom, who has held both positions since the start of the 2019-2020 school year, announced he would be leaving Richmond County Schools later this month.
A 29-year education veteran, Ransom accepted a principal position this week at Central High School in Chesterfield County, S.C.
Ransom served Richmond County Schools for 27 of those years, spending the last 16 years as an administrator. He was the principal of Cordova Middle School for three years prior to taking over the AD job from Ricky Young.
While Richmond’s AD, Ransom helped guide the school’s athletics program through the COVID-19 pandemic in his first year. Ransom played a role in safely returning sports during the shortened athletic calendar during the 2020-2021 school year.
Also during the past four years, Ransom orchestrated the funding and completion of several projects and additions around campus.
“Working with the students and staff has been my favorite part,” Ransom said. “I’m most proud of upgrading the facilities. We’ve been able to supply our players and staff with much-needed equipment to help them be successful.
“Just to name a few of them, we built the softball hitting facility and locker room,” he added. “And we built the baseball hitting facility, the new soccer practice area and repainted the gym. The school also got a new mower, a new gator and we got a Dr. Dish for the basketball teams.”
During his four seasons at the helm of the baseball program, Ransom led the Raiders to a 33-32 overall record. That includes a 15-22 mark against Sandhills Athletic Conference opponents.
The Raider baseball team finished in fourth place in the SAC standings this past spring, the program’s best finish in conference play under Ransom.
Richmond tallied 14 overall wins in each of the past two seasons. That secured playoff appearances both years, seeing the Raiders make it as far as the second round in the 2022 4A East bracket.
Ransom plans to stay on at Richmond “through June as of now,” helping with the hiring process and coaching the summer league teams.
Dr. Julian Carter, RCS’ Associate Superintendent for Human Resources, confirmed that no one has been hired for either position at the time of publication.
The athletic director and head baseball coach positions aren’t tied together and the possibility exists that two people could be hired to replace both jobs.
“I’m sure I’ll leave someone off, but I want to obviously thank all the coaches, staff and players over the last four years,” Ransom said. “I want to thank our district administrators for giving me the opportunity.
“Thanks to Mr. (Jim) Butler for always supporting athletics and Richmond Senior,” he closed. “The folks behind the scenes, the office personnel, gate workers and assistant coaches. Of course, a big thank you to all the fans who make up Raider Nation. Go Raiders!”
This is a developing story. The Richmond Observer will publish more information when it’s made available.
