Since he began as the head softball coach at Edgewood College in 2003, J.P. Richards has taken a dormant program into a legitimate conference contender. During his time, Richards has led the Eagles to two conference championships, a pair of NCAA Division III tournament appearances, and has finished in the Top-6 of the NACC standings nine times.

In 2018, the Eagles finished ninth in the conference standings with an overall record of 15-21, 7-15 in the conference. The 2018 team, comprised of just two seniors and 11 underclassmen, set a school record with a 7-3 mark during their annual spring break trip to Florida. 

After finishing 10th in 2012, Richards led the Eagles back to double digit conference wins for a seventh place finish in 2013. Edgewood College finished 12-28 overall and 10-14 in the NACC, just missing out on the postseason. In 2014 the Eagles went 18-19 overall and 8-14 in the conference, but Richards got the Eagles back into the postseason for the first time since 2008 in the 2015 campaign. The Eagles were 18-25 overall and 11-11 in the NACC that year.

The Eagles finished in eighth place in the Northern Athletics Conference in 2011, marking the lowest finish in Richards tenure. That finish also marked the third consecutive season the Eagles missed out on the conference tournament after qualifying they previous six seasons. Edgewood College finished the 2011 season with an overall record of 14-24 and a conference record of 9-15. It was the first time the Eagles have finished with a record under .500 in conference play under Richards.

For the second time in as many seasons, Edgewood College missed out on the six-team conference tournament. The Eagles finishes the 2010 season with a 12-12 record in NAC play, which landed them in a sixth place tie with Marian University who won the tiebreaker to qualify for the tournament. The Eagles finished with a 15-21 overall record in 2010, marking the second time in Richards' career and the first time since his rookie campaign in 2003 that the Eagles finished with a losing record.

Edgewood College did not qualify for the conference tournament for the first time in six seasons in 2009. The Eagles just missed the tournament as they finished tied for sixth place in the Northern Athletics Conference but lost the tiebreaker and fell short for just the second time in Richards' career. The Eagles finished the campaign with an overall record of 19-18 and a conference mark of 13-10.

In 2008, the Eagles got off to a slow start, but Richards helped turn the season around with a stretch of 12 wins in 14 games to finish with a 21-16 record and a 15-9 Northern Athletics Conference mark to place fifth overall for the second season in a row.

In 2007, Edgewood College turned in a 24-18 record with a 14-8 finish in the NAC. The Eagles upset three teams in the NAC tournament to make it to the championship game before falling to Aurora, 3-2, to finish runner-up and just short of their third National tournament appearance.

From 2005-06, Richards earned Lake Michigan Conference Coach of the Year honors twice after leading the Eagles to back-to-back LMC titles and back-to-back 30-win seasons, a school record. In 2006, the Eagles breezed through the conference schedule, finishing a perfect 16-0, marking the first time a team went undefeated in the LMC in eight years. The Eagles also reached back-to-back Division III National tournament appearance as well and in 2005, they garnered the program’s first-ever NCAA tournament victory at the Alma Regional in Alma, Mich.

In his time at Edgewood College, Richards has coached 14 all-conference performers, including the 2006 LMC Rookie of the Year (Jamie Kurt).

Richards has a softball background that is both extensive and varies as a player and a coach. For five years, he coached fastpitch softball at the highest level in both the Madison and Eau Claire adult leagues, in addition to a five-year playing career.