UMBC Director of Athletics, Physical Education, and Recreation
Tiffany D. Tucker announced Angie Nicholson as head coach of the Retrievers' softball program on August 25, 2025. Nicholson becomes the program's eighth head coach.
"It's a great day to be a Retriever! When looking for the next leader of our softball program, we were looking for someone with a proven track record leading a Division I program who knows how to cultivate success for our softball student-athletes on the field, in the classroom and in the community. We found that person in Angie Nicholson," Tucker said. "We are thrilled to welcome Angie to the Retriever Nation community, and we're excited for her to lead our softball program through its next chapter."
Nicholson comes to UMBC after one season as the head coach at Norfolk State University. A seasoned leader and perennial program builder, she has also had head coaching stops at Georgia State University, Hampton University, Eastern Illinois University, Cleveland State University, Butler University, Ursuline College and Cuyahoga Community College. Nicholson comes to UMBC with an overall collegiate coaching head coaching record of 588-548-1 (.518) in 25 seasons and an NCAA Division I record of 469-466-1 (.502) in 20 seasons.
"I want to thank President (Valerie) Sheares Ashby, Tiffany and the selection committee for entrusting me with this opportunity to lead the UMBC softball program," Nicholson said. "I can't wait to get started, develop a championship culture for our student-athletes and evolve our program to always represent Retriever Nation with pride and be the standard in the America East Conference."
In her only season at Norfolk State in 2025, Nicholson led the Spartans to a 22-23 record, tying for the third-best single-season turnaround in NCAA Division I (18 more wins than the previous year). Norfolk State went from last to second in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference on the strength of a 14-7 conference record. The Spartans finished the season with the best pitching staff in the conference with the lowest ERA (3.55) and fewest walks allowed (94). Norfolk State finished eighth in the nation in Division I in stolen bases per game (2.71) and 10th in total stolen bases (132) behind Nicholson's signature baserunning strategy. The 132 stolen bases reset the Norfolk State single-season record, a mark that had stood since 1998.
Six Spartans earned postseason All-MEAC honors with five on the second team (Maya Johnson, Kira Turner, Queen Edmonds, Kailey Bryant and Brierra Tyler) and one (Amaya McPherson) on the third team. For her team's monumental 2025 season, Nicholson was named MEAC Coach of the Year, becoming just the second head coach in school history to earn conference Coach of the Year recognition.
In three seasons at Georgia State (2022-24), Nicholson guided the Panthers to 50 wins. Her three Georgia State squads recorded single-season stolen base totals that rank in the top five all-time in school history – school record of 121 in 2022, second-most (94) in 2023 and fourth-most (85) in 2024.
The 2022 season saw the Panthers rank tied for ninth in stolen bases in Division I, averaging 2.24 per game, earning their first win over a ranked opponent since 2018 with a 4-1 victory over No. 22 Louisiana and Chloe Middlebrooks finishing as the NCAA statistical leader for hit by pitches per game (0.50). In 2023, Emily Brown earned All-Sun Belt Conference second-team and NFCA All-Region second-team honors after recording the second-most single-season stolen bases (26) in school history.
In five seasons at Hampton (2017-21), Nicholson posted 85 wins leading the Pirates. In her first three seasons, her Hampton squads posted 20+ wins – 23 in 2017, 24 in 2018 and 23 in 2019.
In 2017, the Pirates went 23-22 with a stellar 17-1 MEAC mark and a North Division title. Four players earned All-MEAC honors and freshman outfielder Taylor Warrick garnered second-team All-State selections by the Virginia Sports Information Directors Association (VaSID). In 2018, the Pirates posted a doubleheader sweep over Atlantic Coast Conference foe Virginia and recorded an 11-7 conference record in the program's final season in the MEAC. The 2019 season, Hampton's first in the Big South Conference, saw Nicholson's team finish just under .500 at 23-25 with a winning record (18-13) at home.
Nicholson's 2020 squad was off to a magical start at 15-4 before the season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which also cancelled the entire 2021 season. A pair of wins during the 2020 season came against conference preseason favorites DePaul (Big East) and George Washington (Atlantic 10).
In three seasons at Eastern Illinois (2014-16), Nicholson guided the Panthers to an 84-71 record and three trips to the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament. She recorded one of the best seasons of her collegiate coaching career in her first season in 2014, leading EIU to a 38-17 record and the No. 3 seed in the OVC Tournament. In 2016, Nicholson led the Panthers to the No. 2 seed in the OVC Tournament. During her EIU tenure, 13 different Panthers earned postseason accolades, including five first-team and six second-team All-OVC honors.
In seven seasons at Cleveland State (2007-13), Nicholson posted a 211-152 record and helped build her alma mater into one of the top teams in the Horizon League. She led the Vikings to six Horizon League Tournaments, including winning the tournament title and earning an NCAA Division I Softball Championship Regional berth in 2009 and finishing as the conference tournament runner-up three times (2007, 2008 and 2010). Nicholson was twice named Horizon League Coach of the Year (2008 and 2010). During her time leading Cleveland State, she coached three Horizon League Players of the Year and three Pitchers of the Year and one Newcomer of the Year.
In her first season as a Division I head coach at Butler in 2006, Nicholson earned 17 wins. In 2005, she led Ursuline (as an NAIA institution, now competing in NCAA Division II) to 25 wins in her one season, a major turnaround from only three wins the season prior.
Nicholson began her coaching career as the head coach at Cuyahoga Community College from 2000-04. She posted 94 wins in four seasons and advanced to the NJCAA Region 12 Tournament three times. In 2004, she was named Ohio Community College Athletic Conference and NJCAA Region 12 Coach of the Year, leading her team to a 30-15 record and the Region 12 championship and finishing sixth in the nation.
Nicholson was a four-year softball student-athlete and two-time all-conference selection as a catcher at Cleveland State, where she earned her undergraduate degree in 2000.
