Matt Williams has been named the 2025 Division I Assistant Coach of the Year
Coastal Carolina’s pitching coach Matt Williams has been named the 2025 Division I Assistant Coach of the Year by the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA), the organization announced Wednesday.
Williams has spent 19 years as a collegiate pitching coach. He served as the pitching coach and assistant head coach at South Carolina during the 2024 season. He previously spent four seasons at Liberty University, where he helped the Flames reach the NCAA Tournament in 2021 and 2022.
Another one
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— Coastal Carolina Baseball (@CoastalBaseball) October 22, 2025
While at Liberty, he built an impressive rèsumé, mentoring standout pitchers such as Garrett Horn, who earned Freshman All-America honors after going 6–1 with a 1.99 ERA in 2022. In 2021, Trevor DeLaite became the first pitcher in program history to be named a National Pitcher of the Year finalist and earn All-American honors, posting a 12–1 record and 2.18 ERA. During that 2021 season, the Flames’ pitching ranked fifth nationally in runs allowed per game.
Williams brought his pitching expertise to Myrtle Beach, quickly making an impact and helping guide the Chanticleers on their historic run to the College World Series championship, which included a remarkable 26-game winning streak last season.
Coastal’s pitching staff was the driving force behind the team’s success last season, anchored by standouts Jacob Morrison, Cameron Flukey, and Riley Eikhoff. The trio helped the Chanticleers post a 3.20 ERA — second in NCAA Division I — and rank third nationally in WHIP.
Coastal’s bullpen was equally dominant. Ryan Lynch led the group with a 0.56 ERA and nine saves, striking out 36 batters. Dominick Carbone added five saves and 52 strikeouts, while Matthew Potok, Darin Horn, Hayden Johnson and Scott Doran combined to post a 15–2 record with four saves.
Williams makes a significant difference for pitching staffs wherever he goes. In his first season as pitching coach for Coastal, he guided Jacob Morrison to a 2.42 ERA and a 12–1 record in 2025, and was a finalist for the National Pitcher of the Year Award, a dramatic improvement from his 6.55 ERA in 2023. Likewise, Cameron Flukey lowered his ERA from 5.73 in 2024 to 3.19 in 2025 — all while nearly doubling his innings pitched.
Williams and the Chanticleers will be without standout pitchers Morrison and Eikhoff in the upcoming 2026 season after both were selected in the 2025 MLB Draft. However, the staff will feature key returning seniors such as Flukey, Horn, Lynch and junior reliever Hayden Johnson, providing valuable experience and leadership on the mound.
The Chanticleers open their 2026 campaign in Conway for a three-game series against Fairfield on Friday, Feb. 13 at 4:00 p.m. EST, hungry for a return to Omaha.
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