Following his senior year at Ole Miss, Stroud was the top choice of the Houston Rockets in the 1980 NBA draft.

[4] After a three-year professional career, Stroud entered the coaching profession in 1984 as a graduate assistant at the University of Alabama.

During his thirteen-year tenure, Stroud guided his teams to three Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference championships and led the Majors to three NCAA tournament appearances.

The two-time SCAC Coach of the Year and the all-time wins leader at Millsaps, Stroud compiled a record of 204–131, reaching the 200-victory plateau this season in a 71–48 triumph over Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology on January 31, 2003.

Stroud's best year came in 1994–1995 as he led the Majors to a 25–3 mark, an SCAC title, and a trip to the NCAA Division III Sweet 16.

In 2004 he became coach of the girls team at New Albany High School where he compiled a 248–131 record over 13 years and won the Class 4A state title in 2011.

New Albany also made appearances in the MHSAA's state tournament in 2009 as a semifinalist, 2010 where the team finished as the Class 4A runner-up, and 2015 when the Lady Bulldogs lost in triple overtime to Bay High School in the quarterfinal round.