National Park College (NPC) Nighthawk Athletic Director and head baseball coach Rich Thompson was selected as a Minor League Manager for the Seattle Mariners this week.
Since 2020, Thompson has served as head coach of Nighthawk baseball, where he led the team to more than 100 wins and helped grow the program into a National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region 2 contender. In 2022, Thompson became NPC’s Athletic Director, leading the Nighthawks’ rapidly-expanding student-athlete population. Under Thompson’s tenure, NPC achieved historic milestones, including multiple NJCAA Region 2 titles across men’s soccer, women’s soccer and women’s basketball, numerous All-Region, All-American and Academic All-American honors as well as an NJCAA Division II National Championship in men’s basketball.
A native of Australia, Thompson played for the Australian National Team for 12 years,
including two World Baseball Classics, two International Baseball World Cups and earned
a silver medal in the 2004 Olympics. A former Arkansas Travelers relief pitcher, Thompson
played Major League Baseball for six seasons with the Los Angeles Angels, Oakland
Athletics and Toronto Blue Jays and was named to the 2011 MLB postseason All-Star
team.
“I have been extremely fortunate to be part of the athletic department in its outstanding
growth and many victories as Athletic Director and baseball coach at National Park
College,” Thompson said. “The students will forever be my greatest privilege to have
worked for and served during our time together at NPC. I would like to thank my leadership
teams, peers and coaches that have put countless hours to the betterment of all our
programs. I would also like to thank this great community for all its support and
the players who have given blood, sweat and tears to set the standard and build programs
we can be proud of into the future. Last, but not least, my biggest thanks goes to
my family for its support in chasing these dreams. This has been a tremendous professional
honor to have led this program into the future and I look forward to the future of
NPC and Arkansas junior college athletics.”
“Rich Thompson has been an integral part of National Park College and his unwavering
dedication to elevating Nighthawk Athletics has been extraordinary,” NPC President
Dr. Wade Derden said. “Rich is a hardworking and generous leader who always puts students
first in the student-athlete equation. He has brought professionalism, discipline
and integrity to Nighthawk Athletics across every team. We are proud of his service
and excited to watch his continued success in this well-deserved chapter of his career.”
A national search for NPC’s next Athletic Director and head baseball coach is currently
underway.
For more information on Nighthawk Athletics, visit Nighthawk Athletics online. Fans can also follow the Nighthawks all season on social media.
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