Nichols College Women's Softball

Caitlin Hitchcock was named the 17th head coach in the history of the Nichols College softball program on June 14, 2022. In her third season at the helm, Hitchcock guided the Bison to a program-record 32 wins, finishing 32-13 overall and 12-6 in conference play. Hitchcock was named the 2025 Conference of New England (CNE) Softball Coach of the Year and  sent Nichols to the CNE Championship game, where they fell in extra innings to champion Western New England. In that same tournament, the Bison earned the number two seed, giving them hosting duties for the first time in recent memory. The Bison were never swept this season and had an impressive 8-2 record in their spring training trip to Florida. The season featured key wins over eventual NCAA tournament teams Gettysburg, Swarthmore, Western New England, and UMass Boston. The team also saw six all-conference honorees, including pitcher of the year Chelsea Indyk and defensive player of the year Allie Silliman. The Bison also earned three all-region honorees under Hitchcock's guidance. In just her second season at the helm, Hitchcock guided the Bison to one of their best seasons in program history, and their winningest since 2008. Throughout the spring, the Bison compiled a 24-20 overall record, which included a 10-6 record in Commonwealth Coast Conference play. The season was highlighted by the program's victory over top-seeded Endicott on the second day of the CCC Tournament, which was just the fourth win all-time for the Bison over the Gulls. Under Hitchcock's guidance, Nichols saw three players named to All-Conference teams, with sophomore first baseman Allie Silliman landing on the All-CCC Second Team, and juniors Chelsea Indyk (P) and Chloe Steiniger (INF) on the All-CCC Third Team. The program also broke their record for single-season doubles (64) and putouts (893) in 2024, and tied their record for single-season shutouts (6).  Prior to Nichols, Hitchcock spent 17 seasons as the head softball coach at Trinity (CT) College (2003-19), posting 10 winning seasons and making nine trips to the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Tournament, advancing to the semifinals in 2019 and the finals in 2007. A two-time NESCAC Coach of the Year (2016-17), she stands as the winningest coach in Trinity program history with a record of 279-267-1 (.511). Under the guidance of Hitchcock, Trinity student-athletes received 14 NESCAC All-Conference First Team honors and 22 Second Team nods. Eleven were named National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-New England Region, six garnered All-New England accolades and three took home All-Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC) honors. Hitchcock coached a pair of major NESCAC award winners in Sara Doherty (2007 NESCAC Player & Pitcher of the Year) and Caroline Blanchard (2011 NESCAC Defensive Player of the Year), as well as 2003 CoSIDA Academic All-America selection Laura Heath. In 2017, the Bantams ended Tufts University’s 65-game conference winning streak and became the first NESCAC program to sweep a DH from the Jumbos. Off the field, Hitchcock – who spent two years as a graduate assistant with the Trinity softball program (2002-03) before being elevated to head coach – saw 43 student-athletes named to the NESCAC Academic Team. In her final season in Hartford in 2019, a total of 11 student-athletes were Easton/NFCA All-America Scholar- Athletes, which requires a grade point average (GPA) of 3.50 or higher. The team, meanwhile, placed 11th in all of NCAA Division III with a 3.650 cumulative team GPA. While at Trinity, Hitchcock was an assistant coach with both the women’s basketball (2000-03) and women’s volleyball (2002-11) programs, assisting with practice and gameday planning, recruiting, and contest management. She was also a physical education teacher in the athletic department. Hitchcock earned her bachelor's degree from Trinity in educational studies and her master's degree from the college in American Studies. She was a four-year member of both the Bantams softball and women’s basketball programs (1996-2000), earning NESCAC Softball Second Team honors in 1999 before serving as team captain of both programs the following season. Hitchcock currently ranks No. 6 in runners caught stealing and No. 9 in career fielding pct. (.978).    

Javier Godoy Gomis was named the next Head Men's and Women's Tennis Coach on July 17, 2025.  Gomis is no stranger to tennis on The Hill, having previously served both programs as a Graduate Assistant Coach and Volunteer Assistant Coach over the past three years. Throughout that time, he helped train the student-athletes to a combined four NCAA Tournament appearances, four Commonwealth Coast Conference/Conference of New England Championship titles, 35 All-Conference performers, and 27 Academic All-Conference selections. From that list of 35 All-Conference athletes, eight were also recipients of top conference honors such as Player, Rookie or Scholar Athlete of the Year. Gomis also brings additional coaching experience to the table as a full-time tennis professional at the Westboro Tennis and Swim Club in Westboro, Massachusetts, and a former coach at the Cunningham Tennis Club in Queens, New York, where he offered private lessons and coordinated summer competition camps for junior players. While working as a Graduate Assistant Coach with the Bison, Gomis received his Master of Business Administration (MBA) with a Concentration in Data Analytics at Nichols in 2024. He is also the proud holder of a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Florida National University, as well as a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Management from Shaw University.

Samantha Witmer enters her third season as an assistant coach for the Nichols softball program in 2025.  During her time as an undergrad at Trinity College, she competed for the Bantams softball program for three seasons. The two-time captain for the Bantams was a two-time member of the NESCAC All-Academic First Team and a two-time NFCA New England All-Region Second Team member. She had a career batting average of .407, which was good for second all time at Trinity, with 49 runs, 19 doubles, six triples, a .574 slugging percentage, a .525 on base percentage (a Trinity record), and was 3rd in the nation her sophomore year in being hit by a pitch with 16. Along with playing softball, Witmer interned with the Trinity College of Athletics Office of Communications. She worked heavily with social media, announcing games, and keeping in-game stats. Following her four years at Trinity, she began graduate school at Springfield College, where she played on the softball team in the spring of 2022 in her final season of eligibility. While playing 40 games for the Pride, she recorded a .350 batting average, with a .437 on base percentage, and a .450 slugging percentage. She accounted for 19 runs, 42 hits, and 30 RBI in 120 at-bats, while only striking out 9 times. Currently a graduate student at Springfield College, Witmer is working on completing her Masters of Education in Athletic Leadership. She recently graduated from Trinity with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and English.

Alyssa Mabardy enters her second season as the softball pitching coach in 2025.

Colleen Bousquet enters her first season as a Volunteer Assistant Coach with the Nichols Softball program in 2024.  Prior to Nichols, she attended Penn State University Greater Allegheny as a catcher before transferring to University of Massachusetts Dartmouth where she remained behind the plate before joining the US Navy. During her time in the Navy, she got involved in coaching club and travel softball and currently coaches a 12U team and provides catching instruction to youth athletes. In addition to coaching, she is also an Academic Advisor and Retention Coordinator at Nichols College.  

Jose Nunez begins his first season as a graduate assistant coach for the Nichols men's and women's tennis programs in 2025-26. Nunez, who played on the Nichols men's team during the 2024-25 campaign, spent three seasons player at the Division II level with Post University (2021-24), during which time he posted a career record of 18-16 (Singles) and 3-8 (Doubles). Transitioning to his time with the Bison, Nunez went 8-5 (5-0 CNE) in singles play across 13 career matches at the No. 2 position, while also going 5-5 (3-0 CNE) in doubles competition between the No. 2 and No. 3 flights. At the tail end of the 2024-25 campaign, Nunez also helped the Bison secure their 15th conference championship title, and was honored with All-Conference of New England First Team-Singles recognition.