University of Minnesota Athletics
Softball
- Title:
- Assistant Coach/Pitching Coach
- Email:
- newma671@umn.edu
Nicole Newman joined the Gopher softball staff in June 2026 after spending the previous four seasons as an assistant coach at Florida Atlantic, where she worked primarily with the pitching staff.
Newman helped FAU to a 34-20 record in 2026, guiding the Owls to one of the top pitching staffs in the American Athletic Conference. FAU finished second in the league with a 3.25 ERA while leading the AAC in opponent batting average (.243), earned runs allowed (164) and hits allowed (325).
In 2024 and 2025, Newman was part of the AAC Coaching Staff of the Year and helped lead the Owls to back-to-back regular-season conference titles. She also coached an All-American for the second consecutive year as FAU produced the national leader in saves, recorded the third perfect game in program history and saw one pitcher throw her second career no-hitter.
The Owls finished the 2025 season with a 2.70 ERA, the lowest mark in the AAC and 24th-best nationally. FAU also struck out 322 batters, tied for 25th in the country, and allowed just 270 hits, 87 fewer than the next-closest team in the conference. The staff also led the AAC with a .201 opponent batting average.
In 2024, the Owls recorded 41 wins, their most since 2016. Newman helped guide the pitching staff to a 2.87 ERA while allowing the fewest walks in the conference. FAU also featured pitchers with the third- and seventh-lowest ERAs in the AAC, while one of Newman’s pitchers earned both Softball America and NFCA All-America honors.
During her first season in Boca Raton, Newman helped lead FAU to a 35-20 record, the program’s most wins since 2017 at the time. The Owls posted a 2.10 team ERA, which ranked 19th nationally and led Conference USA. All five FAU pitchers finished with an ERA below 4.00, including four with sub-3.00 marks, as the staff recorded the program’s lowest season ERA since 2016.
Newman arrived at Florida Atlantic after one season on the Creighton staff and two seasons as a graduate manager at Minnesota following a decorated pitching career at Drake.
At Drake, Newman was a 2019 NFCA First Team All-America honoree and became the first NFCA First Team All-American in program history. As a senior, she set the NCAA Division I record with five perfect games, a mark that still stands, while leading the nation with 423 strikeouts and ranking third nationally with a 1.07 ERA. She finished her career with a 93-33 record, 1.72 ERA and 1,223 strikeouts over 787.2 innings, and remains Drake’s career record holder in wins and strikeouts.
During her time as a graduate manager at Minnesota, Newman was part of a staff that helped the Gophers to a 31-13 record in 2021. Minnesota ranked 26th nationally that season with a 2.06 team ERA.
