Matt Lisle - Softball Coach

Matt Lisle

Title:
Assistant Coach
Email:
mlisle@csufresno.edu

Fresno State head softball coach Linda Garza announced on Wednesday she has added Matt Lisle (pronounced LYLE) as an assistant coach. Lisle joins the Bulldogs from the Chicago White Sox organization, where he was a hitting analytics instructor.

"I'm so excited to have Coach Lisle on staff," said Garza. "I'm confident he will make an immediate impact offensively. He brings an array of experience, college baseball & softball, private instructor, as well as in Major League Baseball. I appreciate his upbeat, get after it approach, and hunger to be great now. Coach Lisle is the perfect fit for what we are looking for and we are excited he is a Bulldog."

Excited to be a Bulldog is Lisle, as well. Lisle comes to Fresno with deep ties to the city and to Fresno State. His grandfather and father were both born in Fresno and has family rooted in the Valley. His grandfather, Chappie Lisle, was a three-year letterwinner (1951-53) on the Fresno State football team and grew up in Fresno as a city boxing champion and a high school baseball and football star. His grandfather graduated from Fresno State as did his grandmother.

"As a lifelong Bulldog fan with deep family roots not only in Fresno, but at Fresno State, I am so grateful to Coach Garza for the opportunity and excited to get started," said Lisle. "Fresno State Softball is one of the premiere programs in the country and I'm looking forward to helping Coach Garza and the Bulldog Family continue that tradition."

With the 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 collegiate athletics. He had a brief stop with the Missouri baseball team in 2018 and prior to that 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 Gamecock Softball, Lisle served as the 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 the 2014 season, Lisle engineered 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 among NPF and MLB players as a hitting consultant through his online videos and e-books. He also is a national clinician, serving as a featured speaker at the National Fastpitch Coaches Association conference in 2014.

Lisle earned his bachelor's degree in organizational management from Patten University in 2006.

Lisle's Collegiate Employment Timeline
2018-19 – Hitting analytics instructor, Chicago White Sox
2018 – Assistant baseball coach, Missouri
2018 -- Assistant softball coach, South Carolina
2016 -- Head coach, Menlo College
2015 -- Assistant coach, Santa Clara
2014 -- Assistant coach, Cal State-East Bay
2013 -- Volunteer assistant, Oregon
2008 -- Head baseball coach, Gallaudet University
2006 -- Associate head baseball coach, Patten University

Lisle's Education Timeline
2006, B.A. -- Organizational Management, Patten