Matt Lisle, who holds more than 16 years of coaching experience at the collegiate and professional level, has been named Nevada baseball’s director of player and program development, head coach T.J. Bruce announced Aug. 18.
In 2020, Lisle helped lead the Fresno State softball program to an unprecedented turnaround. The Bulldogs, who finished No. 64 and No. 89 in the RPI the last two seasons, improved to No. 12 in 2020.
The 21-4 Bulldogs upended No. 2 Texas for the first win over a top-five program in 10 years.
The Bulldogs offense was ranked in the top 10 in the country in several categories while also leading the Mountain West Conference in a number of categories.
The Bulldogs finished the season ranked in the top 25 in every poll for the first time since 2016.
Prior to Fresno State, Lisle served as hitting strategist for the Chicago White Sox. Lisle was responsible for creating the assessment and evaluation system and process for all hitters in the organization. He oversaw the execution of all assessments and created individual hitting plans based on hitter's strengths and weaknesses in all areas of hitting.
Before moving to the major leagues, Lisle's career was in college athletics. He had a brief stop with the Missouri baseball team in 2018.
Prior to that, he served as the hitting coach for South Carolina softball, which garnered 2018 NFCA Southeast Region Coaching Staff of the Year honors after taking a team that was predicted to finish 12th in a loaded SEC to a third-place finish. Lisle's Gamecock lineup led the SEC with a school-record 65 homers while also leading the league in slugging, doubles, total bases and hit by pitch.
Before his time with South Carolina, Lisle served as head coach at Menlo College, turning in the school's first winning campaign in 14 years with a 30-20 mark. Four hitters that year earned All-Golden State Athletic Conference honors.
Lisle spent time as an assistant coach at both Cal State-East Bay in 2014 and Santa Clara in 2015, before his first head coaching appointment.
Santa Clara posted the second-best batting average in program history, jumping more than 30 points, while also helping the Broncos to its highest RPI finish in program history.
At East Bay in 2014, Lisle created an offensive renaissance, seeing the team's home run total increase from seven to 48 in one season. His offense ranked second in the California Collegiate Athletic Association in slugging and RBI.
Lisle began his collegiate softball coaching career as a volunteer assistant with Oregon in 2013, and helped the Ducks to its first Pac-12 championship.
His roots in the game date back to when he was working up the high school ranks. He got his break as the associate head coach at Patten University for two years before becoming the head baseball coach at NCAA Division III Gallaudet in 2007-08.
In addition to his high school and collegiate coaching positions, Lisle has built a strong following online with over 1 million followers and has served as a hitting consultant for several MLB players and organizations.
Lisle earned his bachelor's degree in organizational management from Patten University in 2006.
