Nicole Matson enters her second season as an assistant coach for the Cal State East Bay softball team in 2017-18. She helped guide the Pioneers to a 27-25 record in 2017 with a 19-19 mark in the CCAA, just the second time the program has finished at least .500 since joining the conference.
Matson spent the 2016 season as an assistant coach at Notre Dame de Namur. Prior to that, she served for two years on the coaching staff at San Francisco State, followed by one year at Menlo College.
Matson is a graduate of University of the Pacific, where she played shortstop for four years and remains one of the top sluggers in program history. She helped lead the Tigers to their first ever Big West Conference championship in 2011. Matson was named Big West Freshman of the Year and went on to earn All-Big West Honors four times. She led the Big West in home runs (13) as a junior, and was voted as the conference's Defensive Player of the Year as a senior.
She holds the program record with 61 hit-by-pitches, more than twice as many as the No. 2 player. She also ranks second in Pacific history in career home runs (37) and RBI (164), third in runs (149) and slugging (.562), and fourth in on-base percentage (.442), doubles (40), total bases (338), and walks (85).
A native of Castaic, Calif., Matson attended Valencia High School, where she led the Vikings to four straight Foothill League titles. As a senior, she helped Valencia to a 32-1 record, the California State Championship, and the No. 1 ranking in the nation.
Matson earned her bachelor's degree in Sports Sciences in 2011 and her master's degree in Curriculum and Instruction in 2012, both from Pacific.
