SMCC's Brittney Matta, Todd Eastin Reflect on Milestone Victories
PHOENIX ---
South Mountain Community College softball head coach Brittney Matta and baseball head coach Todd Eastin recently recorded milestone victories in their coaching careers. Having worked tirelessly to position the Cougars for success in the classroom and on the field, Matta (100 victories) and Eastin (700 victories) reflected on their coaching journeys.
The century mark for Matta came in a 22-1 (5) win over Gateway CC on Mar. 28, highlighted by freshman Iliana Munoz hitting for the cycle in the win. The team is currently 36-7 overall and 30-4 in the conference, with aspirations to host the NJCAA Region I Division II Tournament on campus. They come in at No. 5 in the most recent NJCAA Division II National Rankings.
"This is a good group of young ladies we have this year, and their hard work and tenacity show through. It is special to share it with them," said Matta.
Matta started at SMCC in 2020 and quickly won her first two games in charge, a doubleheader sweep of Scottsdale CC. Unfortunately, the Covid-19 pandemic would rear its ugly head to force the cancelation of the season in mid-March after 23 games.
When the squad reconvened, Matta had a new appreciation for what it would take to compete in the ACCAC.
"Getting to start in 2020 and then getting shut down allowed me to reevaluate to see what we needed to do in the conference to be successful. We have added to that each year, and I like to remind the team each day: we are writing a new history for South Mountain CC," she said.
In 2021, SMCC returned with a fury and finished the season with a 27-13 overall record to post the best single-season winning percentage (.675) in school history. The Cougars went 25-9 in the conference to tie the school record for most league wins and qualified for the postseason. Mia Stankiewicz would earn NJCAA First Team All-American honors, and she (CSUN) and Alexa Key (Gardner-Webb University) would transfer to NCAA Division I institutions.
In 2022, the team continued to rack up wins and finished the season with a 34-24 overall record and a 25-19 mark in conference play. The team qualified for the postseason for the second-straight year, and Kate Hogan would earn NFCA First Team All-American honors before transferring to Idaho State to continue her career.
The momentum has continued to amass in 2023 as the team currently ranks No. 5 in the NJCAA Division II National Rankings. The Cougars swept the season series with Phoenix College, including a pair of comeback victories on the road, and strung together an 18-game winning streak.
"Hopefully, we finish strong. The regional tournament will be the biggest test for us as a program and overall as a team. Traveling out of state and playing some teams we don't face often would be cool. I think our conference does a great job of preparing us for out-of-state teams, as we play Division I squads every other week, and I think we could make a run and get a few wins," she added.
A player on the Arizona State softball team that won the Women's College World Series in 2008 and a volunteer assistant coach on the 2011 squad that also won it all, Matta credits her time working with former Sun Devil head coach Clint Myers and former SMCC baseball assistant coach Dan Padilla.
"Coach Myers saw that ability for me to coach. I always bring everything back to him, and the grit, fight, desire and passion all go back to his coaching," she said. "Coach Padilla has played a huge part in this year's team from an offensive standpoint. From the outside looking in, he has given our girls the confidence to swing the bat."
She also is grateful to Eastin for giving her a chance to be a head coach for the first time.
"I want to thank Coach Eastin for taking a chance on me for my first head coaching job. That's always special to know that he has confidence in me," she said.
Speaking of Eastin, the Cougars' baseball coach and Athletic Director was somewhat reticent to talk about hitting another milestone. His 700th win came in a 10-0, one-hit home shutout of Western Nebraska CC on Mar. 14. While it didn't come against one of the many conference rivals, Eastin was happy to achieve the feat.
Asked about what he could recall from win number one of his head coaching career, Eastin knew SMCC won three out of four at a preseason tournament. He couldn't name any of the teams SMCC defeated, but he did remember the team that beat them.
"The first weekend was a Maricopa Tournament to start the season. The only thing I remember is that we got our butts kicked in game three of the season by Delgado CC (LA). I couldn't tell you who the wins were, but the loss was an eye-opener that we had to get better," he said.
The 2023 season represents Eastin's 20th at the helm of the Cougars, and that total does not include his time as a Cougar student-athlete or an assistant coach. He has seen the program through its highs and lows and worked with numerous assistant coaches and student-athletes that have left an indelible mark. That includes the 2023 season, where Kevin Soine is in his fourth season as an assistant and former players Kole Kaler and Toi Moyer are in their first years as assistant coaches.
"I think the biggest thing is all the assistant coaches who have been here over the past 20 years. Folks come here and don't get paid much money, so I have always been committed to helping them improve their resumes and careers. Many have gone on to good positions in baseball and other areas. Dan Padilla and Tyler Gillum aren't here with us this season, but the success of this year's team has a lot to do with what they have done in the past year and a half."
"Dave Smith is another former assistant who was here with me for eight years, probably 11 total, and significantly impacted that 700. Assistant coaches Brian Gallimore, Shea Fleck, Jimmy Turk, Mike Collins, Chris Duffy and Ryan Henderson were among many others who were at SMCC for a significant amount of time and brought a passion. Seeing those coaches move on and better themselves is always a joy. We have a lot of guys coaching at the NCAA Division I and II levels and a lot of guys in professional scouting. This program is a stepping stone for athletes and coaches," Eastin said.
A significant event between wins 600 and 700 for Eastin was the Covid-19 pandemic. Forced to shut down in the middle of the 2020 season, in which the Cougars were 20-8 overall and 12-2 in the conference, Eastin gained a new perspective on the importance of communication when the team reconvened for the 2021 campaign.
"I think the biggest thing from 600 to 700 is learning to work with student-athletes differently. The communication is different. We'd be crazy to think we can communicate with student-athletes the same way we did before the pandemic. These students were booted off campuses, and a lot of their communication came through computer screens and cell phones. I think that has festered over the past few years, and we've seen some struggles in face-to-face communication. We have to adapt to that, we have to be aware of that, and you have to coach to that too," he said.
On the softball and baseball diamonds, the Cougars are playing well in 2023 and hunting for postseason berths. The possibility of hosting an NJCAA Division II Regional Tournament is nearing a realization for softball. A series of road tests against bitter league rivals will determine baseball's fate.
Both teams should take comfort in the people leading them into the competition. The numbers indeed speak for themselves.