With more than a decade of athletic training experience, Roderick Young joined the Alcorn State University staff in September 2021 as the director of sports medicine. He serves as the primary athletic trainer for Braves football, cheerleading, and softball while overseeing the daily operations of the athletic training room and supervising the sports medicine staff.  

This is Young’s second stint with Alcorn State Athletics. He served as the head athletic trainer for the Braves from 2014-2016 before heading to King’s Daughters Medical Center in Brookhaven, Miss where he spent five years in a similar role. 

Prior to working at King’s Daughter, Young worked as an athletic trainer for Mississippi Sports Medicine from 2003-2014. He worked with hundreds of athletes across numerous sports in Central Mississippi, including men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s soccer, men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s tennis, and volleyball.  

He received a Master of Sports Science in Sports Management from Jackson State University in 2016. He earned his undergraduate degree from Delta State University in 2009 after transferring from Hinds Community College, where he received “HCC Trainer of the Year” honors.  

The Jackson, Miss. native is a certified and licensed athletic trainer, registered orthopedic technologist, American Red Cross First Aid/CPR/AED instructor trainer, a member of National Athletic Trainers’ Association, and Southeastern Athlete Trainer’s Association.  

Young is married to Canice Rich–Young with whom he has five children; Trenton, Kayden, Darren, Ava, and Bryson. He is also a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.