Lyon College Director of Athletics, Kevin Jenkins, has announced that Jessica Mattia will take over as the head softball coach at Lyon, after Elliott Sampley accepted a new position at Lyon in the Office of Advancement, where he will serve as the executive director of athletics advancement. (Click here for more on that story.) Mattia has served the last two seasons as an assistant coach for the Scots’ softball team and worked primarily with the pitchers.
“I am very excited to announce that Jessica Mattia will be our new head coach for our softball program,” stated Jenkins. “She has been part of the great success over the last couple years, and we feel that she is the right person to continue it.”
“What happens on the field and on the court impacts the reputation of our college on a daily basis,” continued Jenkins. “Sometimes you can search the world over for the perfect candidate and sometimes you have the right leader right within your own staff, and I feel we have the right person on our team already.”
In 2019, Mattia coached a pair of all-conference pitchers. Sophomore Katelyn Platt was named as a First-Team All-American Midwest Conference selection after leading the conference with 18 wins this season. Platt also finished second in the conference with four saves this season. Freshman Faith Cornmesser earned Second-Team All-American Midwest Conference accolades for the Scots. Cornmesser went 7-2 in the circle with a 2.61 ERA.
In her first year on the staff in 2018, Mattia coached two of the top pitchers in the conference, including the American Midwest Conference Pitcher of the Year, Nicole Sanders. Sanders finished the 2018 season with the most wins in a single season (19) in program history. Platt had a strong freshman campaign in the circle in 2018 and recorded the second-most wins in program history with 16. As a team, the Scots posted their lowest combined ERA (2.25) and limited opposing batters to the lowest batting average against (.227) in program history. Platt finished the 2019 regular season with the most wins in the conference (17).
Prior to her arrival at Lyon, Mattia worked as an assistant coach at Delaware State (DSU). While at DSU, Mattia worked primarily with the pitching staff. She designed and executed pitching plans and practices for the pitchers and created charts to record statistics during games. She helped lead the Hornets to two consecutive MEAC Northern Division Championships. Mattia was in charge of setting up and executing fundraisers, team building exercises, community service events and organizing itineraries for games.
In 2014, Mattia returned to her alma mater, Virginia State University, as a volunteer assistant on the softball coaching staff. As a player at Virginia State, Mattia was a three-time All-Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) co-Pitcher of the Year honoree. During her senior season, Mattia served as a team captain for VSU and was named as the Female Athlete of the Year for both the CIAA and Virginia State.
Mattia has been involved as a softball instructor for 5-Star Athletics in College Park, Md., since 2010. At 5-Star Athletics, Mattia has instructed youth on the fundamentals of softball through camps and clinics. She has also provided pitching lessons and clinics for groups of young pitchers.
“I am incredibly grateful to Coach Jenkins for this opportunity,” said Mattia. “Coach Sampley has done an outstanding job building this program, and I am excited to continue taking this team in a positive direction.”
The Scots finished the 2019 season at 33-14 and earned the No. 4 seed in the American Midwest Conference Tournament.
