ULM Warhawks

Matt Collins, a two-year letterman as a first baseman at ULM from 2008-09, returned in 2017 as an assistant coach under Michael Federico, and was promoted to associate head coach prior to the 2022 season. Collins returned to his alma mater after spending the previous three seasons at Stephen F. Austin.
 
His offenses at ULM have been known for their ability to put pressure on opponents, using timely hitting and speed to force mistakes by the defense.
 
In 2021, Collins coached a pair of Warhawks to Second Team All-Sun Belt Conference honors in third baseman Grant Schulz and second baseman Travis Washburn. Schulz was hitting just .185 in mid-April and, under the direction of Collins, caught fire down the stretch. Schulz slashed .440/.481/.720 over the final 20 games of the season while driving in 20 runs to finish the season at a team-best .333/.396/.535 and 30 RBIs. Washburn used a steady approach at the plate to reach All-Conference honors, finishing second on the team with a .327 batting average and 11 stolen bases.
 
ULM used small ball and aggressive base running to fuel its offense in 2021 as the Warhawks finished with a .500 record (26-26) for the first time since going 32-30 in 2012. ULM led the nation with 57 sacrifice bunts while leading the Sun Belt Conference and ranking in the Top 20 nationally in stolen bases (92, 13th nationally) and stolen bases per game (1.77, 17th nationally). ULM was third in the SBC with a .272 team batting average.
 
Individually, Mason Holt led ULM with 33 bases on balls and 22 stolen bases (34th nationally). Trace Henry ranked fourth in the SBC with 16 doubles, while Logan Wurm (fourth SBC, 22nd nationally, nine sacrifice bunts), Schulz (eighth SBC, seven sacrifice bunts) and Washburn (eighth SBC, seven sacrifice bunts) exemplified the selfless style of Collins’ offensive approach.
 
In 2020, Collins led the Warhawks to an incredible start at the plate as ULM started the season 12-5 before the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancelation of the remainder of the campaign. At the end of the season, ULM ranked fourth in NCAA Division I in on-base percentage (.433) and bases on balls (105), fifth in scoring (9.1 runs per game), seventh in runs scored (155) and 10th in stolen bases (36). The Warhawks also led the Sun Belt Conference in batting average (.311, 15th nationally), stolen bases per game (2.12, 16th nationally) and triples (6).
 
Individually, Schulz led the SBC in batting average (.438, 25th nationally). Ryan Humeniuk led the SBC in hits (28, 12th nationally), hits per game (1.65) and runs scored (22, 11th nationally). Danny DeSimone was second in the SBC with six home runs (19th nationally) and 22 RBIs (16th nationally).

In 2019, Collins helped the Warhawks to a four-win improvement over 2018 and an appearance in the Sun Belt Conference tournament semifinals. He worked with third baseman Chad Bell, who hit a school-record 21 home runs. Bell led the Sun Belt in homers and slugging percentage, while finishing second in school history with 159 total bases and tied for fourth in program history with 61 RBIs. Bell was named first team All-Sun Belt Conference and ABCA/Rawlings All-Region. Collins also coached Andrew Beesley to a second team All-Sun Belt selection as a utility player. He also coached a pair of MLB Draft picks in Bell (19th round) and outfielder Trent Tingelstad (22nd round). As a team, ULM increased its batting average by 25 points in 2019 and scored 62 more runs than 2018.
 
In his first year on Federico’s coaching staff, the Warhawks produced a 23-31 record overall, nearly doubling the program’s win total from the 2017 season. Collins worked with outfielder Johnny DeLaCruz, who finished fifth in the Sun Belt in batting with a career-best .332 average. The Warhawks also ranked fourth in the league in runs scored (308), RBI (272) and stolen bases (73).
 
During his third and final season at Stephen F. Austin, Collins helped develop four all-conference players, including 2017 Southland Newcomer of the Year Josh Evans, who ranked No. 19 in NCAA Division I with a .383 batting average. The first baseman also was named to the ABCA/Rawlings South Central All-Region First Team. The Lumberjacks finished the 2017 season with a 29-28 record and qualified for the SLC Tournament.
 
As the hitting coach, Collins was one of the driving forces behind SFA’s dramatic turnaround in 2016 as the Lumberjacks won 13 more games than the previous season, finishing with a record of 30-30. It marked SFA’s fifth 30-win season in program history and its first since 2011. As a team, the Jacks’ finished second in the Southland and No. 34 in NCAA Division I with a .298 batting average.
 
Collins tutored six players who earned All-Southland recognition, including first-team selections Conner Fikes (outfield), Garrett McMullen (outfield) and Kyle Thornell (third base). Under his instruction, Fikes emerged as one of the nation’s top hitters, finished third in the conference with his .362 batting average while ranking among the NCAA leaders in triples (No. 22 with six) and sacrifice flies (No. 8 with eight). Outfielder Zac Michener was named third-team All-SLC as well as Newcomer of the Year. In addition, second baseman Nick Ramos and shortstop Tyler Kendrick received All-SLC honorable mention.
 
In his first year in Nacogdoches, he worked with Thornell, who earned second-team All-SLC honors as the designated hitter after batting .301 with team highs in home runs (five) and RBI (30). Thornell also ranked third in the NCAA Division I with eight triples.
 
Prior to joining the SFA staff, Collins spent three years as an assistant coach at McNeese State, serving as the team’s hitting coach and recruiting coordinator from 2012-14. During his tenure, he helped produce six first-team All-Southland performers, including three selections in 2014. Collins helped recruit and develop power hitters, like two-time All-Southland selection Jackson Gooch (2014: first team; 2013: second team), who led the Cowboys in batting average (.301), home runs (five) and RBI (34) in 2013 along with Seth Granger, who paced the ballclub in hitting (.327) and homers (four) in 2012.
 
Collins, a 2010 ULM graduate, served as a volunteer assistant for the Warhawks during the 2011 season.
 
As a junior, he started 53 of 54 games for ULM’s 2008 Sun Belt Championship team. Collins hit .413 over the last 21 games of the 2008 campaign, including a 14-game hitting streak. In 2009, he collected 79 hits as a senior – the 10th-highest single-season total in school history – and completed his two-year ULM career with a .334 batting average.
 
Collins began his collegiate career at LSU-Eunice where he helped the Bengals to a combined record of 96-13 in two seasons, including the program’s first NJCAA National Championship in 2006. As a sophomore, he batted .350 with five home runs and 48 RBI. He accounted for all three of LSU-E’s in the 2006 World Series Championship Game, driving in two runs and scoring another. Collins was named to the World Series all-tournament team.
 
A graduate of Parkview Baptist High School in Baton Rouge, he earned all-state honors in both football and baseball as a senior. Collins helped lead the Parkview Baptist baseball team to the 2005 Class 3A Championship.
 
Collins and his wife Ainsley have two daughters, Georgia and Caroline.