RRAC Baseball and Softball Head Coaches achieve major milestones this season

WACO, Texas (June 1, 2026) – Three coaches—Brad Neffendorf (LSU Shreveport Baseball), Nicole Dame (Texas A&M–San Antonio Softball), and Matt Piker (Our Lady of the Lake Baseball)—secured major career milestones in Red River Athletic Conference spring sports in 2026, cementing their places in conference history.

 

 

LSUS Baseball Head Coach Brad Neffendorf has maintained a remarkable .830 winning percentage since taking charge of the Pilots in 2020. This elite level of sustained success establishes him firmly among the top tier of active NAIA coaches. In his first season, with an abbreviated schedule due to COVID-19, his team finished with a 22-4 record (7-1 RRAC). The following year, the Pilots won the RRAC postseason title with a record of 50-18/22-6; in 2022, they marked a 53-8/31-2 record and captured the regular-season title; in 2023, LSUS went 47-10/27-3 and won the regular-season trophy; and in 2024, the Pilots went 44-11/28-2 and again won the regular-season championship.  Neffendorf led his team to an unprecedented 59-0 national championship season (along with the regular-season and postseason conference titles), and he stands alone as the only coach in collegiate baseball history to accomplish this feat. In all his previous seasons except in 2020, his teams have qualified for the NAIA National Championship, finishing in the World Series in 2021 and 2022 and in the Opening Round in 2023 and 2024.

 

In 2026, the Pilots were ranked No. 1 in the NAIA Baseball Coaches' Top 25 Poll for three periods, then dropped to fourth, eighth, and 12th in the final poll. LSUS captured the postseason conference title and were runners-up in the regular season with a 43-14/20-7 record.

 

Neffendorf has received plenty of individual accolades as well, including the 2025 Rawlings NAIA National Coach of the Year and the Skip Bertman Coach of the Year, which honors the top coach across all divisions of college baseball. He reached his 300th career coaching win on April 2, 2026, when the Pilots defeated Southwest (N.M.) 11-5 in their season opener. He completed the season with a 318-65 overall record and 165-21 RRAC record.

 

Before joining LSUS, Neffendorf had various coaching positions at NCAA D1 Southern Illinois-Carbondale, Tennessee Wesleyan, and Campbellsville (Ky.).

 

His student-athletes have been widely celebrated, as well. Three have been named to the NAIA World Series All-Tournament team, and 11 have signed professional contracts. This season, Carlos Sanchez was named RRAC Player of the Year, Brad Lucas was named Co-Pitcher of the Year and MVP for the postseason tournament, and Carlos Vega received Gold Glove honors.

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A&M-San Antonio Softball Head Coach Nicole Dame began the inaugural softball team in 2020-21, and this year, she celebrated her sixth season leading the Jaguars. She built the program from the ground up, overseeing all aspects of the sport, including the addition of a brand-new softball facility that opened this season.

 

Dame brought 16 years of coaching experience to the Jaguars program upon her arrival. She was head coach at the Runnels School from 2012-14 and at Walker High School from 2014-16, accumulating a 65-31 record. She was also assistant coach at St. Amant High School from 2009-12, and she served as assistant softball coach at NCAA D3 Concordia University (Texas) from 2016-2020.

 

In her first season with A&M-San Antonio, she nabbed a 9-25/3-16 record and quickly improved to 23-30/14-14 in 2022 and a first-time trip to the postseason tournament as the sixth seed. She led the Jaguars to winning seasons in 2023 (30-23/20-8), when they finished as runners-up in the postseason championship as the second seed, and in 2024 (25-20/10-14), when they finished the regular season as the sixth seed. In 2025, A&M-San Antonio posted a 24-27/14-14 record, and this spring, the Jaguars finished fifth in the regular season and reached the postseason tournament quarterfinals (26-18/17-10).

 

Including her 65-31 high school coaching record and 137-143 at TAMUSA, Dame now holds a 202-174 overall coaching record. She secured her 200th win on April 26 with a 25-0 victory over Texas College.

 

Her student-athletes have also excelled on the field, with two repeat All-Conference winners: Kaylee Barlow (2025, 2026 First Team) and Samara Aguilera (2025 Second Team, 2026 First Team). In addition, she has guided her players to academic achievement and community leadership.

 

OLLU Baseball Head Coach Matt Piker achieved his milestone 100th win during the three-game series finale against Southwest (N.M.) on Feb. 28. The Saints swept the Mustangs 3-0 with 16-0, 5-4, and 5-3 wins.

 

Piker started his tenure at OLLU in 2021 as pitching coach and recruiting coordinator. He began his head-coaching career in 2023, when he took over as head coach for the Saints. He has accumulated four consecutive winning seasons, beginning in 2023 with a 30-20/20-9 record (third-place finish in the regular season/postseason semifinalist), 2024 with a 28-24/16-14 record (sixth-place regular-season finish/postseason semifinalist), and 2025 with a 30-23/20-10 record (fourth-place regular-season finish/postseason quarterfinalist). This past season, the Saints were the fifth seed with a 34-20 record (tied for the most overall wins in Saints history)/19-8 RRAC record. They finished third overall in the postseason tournament.

 

Piker led the team to an at-large bid to nationals but fell short, losing their last game 9-8 to Concordia (Neb.). The Saints were behind 9-5, and they staged a valiant three-run effort in the ninth to come up one run short.

 

Prior to coming to OLLU, Piker served in various coaching positions at Mayville State (N.D.), Arkansas Tech, and the University of the Ozarks.

 

Piker has developed standout players on the field and in the classroom, led by Jack Kalisky (2025-26 NAIA Pre-Season All-American; 2026 Gold Glove; 2024, 2025, 2026 All-Conference First Team; 2023 Freshman of the Year and All-Conference Second Team). He's also fostered the most student-athletes to graduate from OLLU.