ARLINGTON, Texas - UT Arlington coach Peejay Brun announced the addition of Bobby Buchanan to the UTA Softball staff as an assistant coach on Monday.

Buchanan joins the program with years of experience on the diamond, including most recently serving as the head softball coach for Louisiana College.

"I am extremely excited to add Bobby to our coaching staff," Brun said. "He's gained great experience at different levels that will help us tremendously on the field. He's a motivator and understands how to get players to play higher than their own expectation. He will help solidify our team defense and his aggressive style of offense will help increase our runs."

At Louisiana College, Buchanan led a squad that finished fourth in the American Southwest Conference - its best finish in eight seasons, as well as featuring 10 on the all-conference list for a feat not achieved since 2010.

"I am beyond thankful to coach Brun, Athletic Director Jim Baker and UTA Athletics for this unbelievable opportunity," Buchanan said. "UTA is a dream school for me for many reasons. This institution has state of the art facilities, a winning tradition across the board and has created a culture of family. Leaving Louisiana College was a difficult decision for me, but after meeting the team and seeing the campus I knew this would be a place I could see myself calling home"

Buchanan, a graduate of Texas State University, features experience that already includes previous work with Brun. He served as an assistant coach and manager with Brun at Texas State from 2011-14 to begin his career. He then coached at Texas A&M - Corpus Christi, North Dakota and Southern University prior to being named the head coach at Louisiana College.

"Coach Brun has always been a mentor of mine, so when the opportunity arose, I knew it was a no brainer," he said. "Coach Brun has had an incredible first year, even with the conditions that most couldn't overcome, and I am excited to continue the upward trend that UTA is on to reach our team's ultimate destination."

The Mavericks are coming off a 2018 season that saw the program advance out of a postseason regional for the first time, winning the Conway Regional of the National Invitational Softball Championship. UTA returns eight of its regular nine starters on the diamond, including both NFCA All-Region selections, and both of its regular starters in the circle of a 30-win program.