Bio

Brittney Matta begins her fourth season as the South Mountain Community College softball head coach in the 2022-2023 school year. A two-time national champion at Arizona State, Matta has brought a new attitude and aggression to the Cougars.

SMCC continued to achieve success under Matta in 2022. The Cougars finished 34-24 overall and 25-19 in ACCAC action to qualify for their second straight Region I Division II Tournament. Freshman Kate Hogan became the second Cougar in as many years to earn First Team All-American honors, receiving the recognition from the National Fastpitch Coaches Association. In 2022, Hogan batted .503 with 87 hits and 62 runs in 56 regular-season games, and added added 23 doubles, six triples, 14 home runs, 82 RBIs, 21 walks and 14 stolen bases. She and sophomore Christian Smith earned All-Region I Division II honors and freshman Mariah Martinez and sophomore Tara Lorona joined them on the All-ACCAC team. After the season, nine Cougars transferred to four-year institutions, including Hogan to NCAA Division I Idaho State and Rylie Atherton to NCAA Division II Concordia-Irvine. 

The Cougars had a sensational 2021 season as the team returned to the diamond, highlighted by a national ranking, a return to the postseason and a new program record .675 winning percentage. SMCC  finished the year with a 27-13 overall record and 25-9 mark in the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference, and the Cougars' .735 conference winning percentage also set a new program record, and the 25 league wins tied a school record.

SMCC flexed a potent offensive lineup all season, totaling 333 runs, 70 doubles, 25 triples, 41 home runs, 316 RBIs and 142 stolen bases. The Cougars led the ACCAC in triples and stolen bases, owning 88 more steals than their nearest conference rival. As a team, SMCC batted .406 with a .483 on-base and .646 slugging percentage in its 39 games. The Cougars finished fourth in the NJCAA Division II in batting average, second in on-base percentage, ninth in slugging percentage, tied for second in triples and tied for eighth in stolen bases as a team. 

Individually, freshman Mia Stankiewicz earned First Team NJCAA All-American, All-ACCAC and Division II All-Region honors after she batted .575 with 58 runs, 18 doubles, five triples, 18 home runs, 67 RBIs, 21 stolen bases and 23 walks. Freshman Alexa Key earned Second Team All-ACCAC honors after she finished the season with a .493 batting average, 58 runs, 22 hits, six doubles, four triples, 23 RBIs, 13 walks and a conference-best 38 stolen bases. 

In her first season in charge (2020), SMCC turned in some impressive performances. SMCC batted .314 as a team and attacked the base paths all year, totaling 67 stolen bases to lead all ACCAC squads. Their 10 triples also tied for the league lead and scored 118 runs.

Individually, Ali Ashner and Julia Ruble each won an ACCAC Player of the Week award, and Vanessa Gutierrez took home an ACCAC Pitcher of the Week honor.

Matta served as an assistant coach at Mesa Community College under head coach Grady Moorhead from 2017-2019. She helped take MCC to the NJCAA Division II Regional Finals as the Thunderbirds were one win away from the Women’s Junior College World Series.

Matta started at ASU in 2006 and was the only walk-on to make the squad. She was a member of the 2008 NCAA National Champions and then served as an undergraduate assistant coach on the 2011 NCAA National Champions.

She became the head coach at Highland High School in Gilbert, Ariz., in 2014. In her first year of  coaching, she took her team into the Arizona Interscholastic Association playoffs.

Matta graduated from ASU in 2010 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice. She is currently pursuing a Master’s in Higher and Post-Secondary Education.

Matta is originally from Northern California and graduated from Woodland High School, where she watched her father coach Dustin Pedroia. Matta has a daughter, Ava, who is very much a part of the Cougar family.