HEAD COACH CRAIG NICHOLSON

Craig Nicholson is in his first season leading the Akron softball program after being named head coach in June of 2022.

Nicholson is the Zips' ninth all-time head coach since the softball program began in 1977.

Nicholson has 25 years of experience as a collegiate coach and spent the last five seasons at Texas A&M Kingsville compiling a 174-72 mark. He became the winningest coach in program history while being the first coach to lead the Javs to consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances.

Before Texas A&M Kingsville, Nicholson spent two seasons at Arizona State, producing an 82-34-1 mark and back-to-back postseason appearances. The 2015 season saw Nicholson lead the Sun Devils to a postseason berth despite being forced to rely on two true freshmen pitchers to carry the team. The Sun Devils compiled a 36-22 overall record and were 12-11 in conference play, good for fourth overall in the Pac-12. The Sun Devils advanced to the Baton Rouge Regional and were two outs away from a super-regional appearance. In his first season at ASU, he led the Sun Devils to an impressive 46-12-1 record and a postseason berth. Nicholson guided ASU to a third-place finish in his inaugural season in the Pac-12. Nicholson's offensive approach featured the Sun Devil's bat .322 as a team while limiting opponents to a .206 BA.

Nicholson spent seven seasons as the head coach at Ball State where he amassed a 241-162 record with the Cardinals. The fastest coach in program history to pass the 100 and 200-win marks, Nicholson was instrumental in Ball State capturing three Mid-American Conference regular season championships (2009, 2010, 2012), a trip to the NCAA Tournament in 2010, and the program's first All-American. In 2013, Ball State finished its season in the MAC Tournament with a 37-17 overall record and 18-3 in conference for its fourth league title in the last five years and a MAC Coach of the Year accolade for Nicholson.

Nicholson spent 11 years at Central Arizona, where his coaching record was 723-90. He led CAC to four National Junior College Athletic Association National Championships (1997, 1999, 2003, 2005), seven conference championships and eight regional titles. In that time, he was named Coach of the Year four times and the NFCA Junior College Coach of the Year on three occasions.

In addition to his coaching duties at CAC, Nicholson was a professor of sport and fitness. He is a graduate of Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario where he earned his bachelor's degree in physical education. He earned his master's in sports science from the United States Sports Academy in Mobile, Ala. Nicholson is married to April and they have four children; Cade, Avery, Payton, and Colby.