Matt Wilson is in his first season with the Trailblazer Baseball program and serves as pitching coach. Prior to his arrival at Dixie State, he spent four seasons as an assistant coach at Pepperdine University, where he was member of the Waves' staff that guided Pepperdine to a 43-18 record and a West Coast Conference title in 2014, and a second-straight NCAA postseason appearance in 2015.
The Waves won a WCC tournament title as well and made a run to the program's first ever NCAA Super Regional (since the round was instituted in 1999) in 2014. The Waves' regional win was the program's first since its NCAA Championship season in 1992. Pepperdine again made it to a regional final in 2015 after ousting both Clemson and Arizona State, before falling to host Cal State Fullerton. The Waves made a third straight WCC Tournament in 2016 and won 29 games.
Working with the Wave catchers, Wilson helped develop Freshman All-American Aaron Barnett, who led the team with a .359 batting average and threw out 39% of base-stealers from behind the plate in 2014.
Wilson coached the 2013 season at Pierce College in Los Angeles. Wilson has also coached collegiately at Cal State Northridge, San Joaquin Delta and his alma mater Sacramento State.
While with Pierce, Wilson coached catchers and hitters, ran the offense and coached third base. The team produced six all-conference players and six four-year college transfers, and also improved its offensive statistics across the board.
At CSUN in 2012, Wilson worked with both the outfielders and the hitters while also running the camps program. Wilson was the founder of the Matador Baseball Club, a 10 year old travel baseball team.
Prior to CSUN Wilson was an assistant coach at San Joaquin Delta. He helped lead the squad to a state championship in 2011 and was the runner-up in 2009. In 2008, the team made its first playoff appearance in nine years. During his stint with SJDC, 51 players transferred to play at four-year schools and 17 of those transferred to a Division I school. While at Delta, Wilson also served as an associate scout for the Toronto Blue Jays for one year.
During the summers, Wilson has been a coach with the Humboldt Crabs (2007-09) and the St. Joseph Mustangs (2010-11). As a hitting coach for the Crabs, the team posted a batting average above .300 each season and won two league titles, averaging over 40 wins per season.
As a pitching coach for St. Joseph, Wilson led the staff to a 2011 MINK league title with a 42-12 record. The team led the MINK league in ERA and opposing batting average that season as well. Over the two-year stretch, the Mustangs had a record of 82-27, made two NBC World Series appearances and finished fourth overall in 2010.
Wilson was also a volunteer assistant coach at Sacramento State University from 2006 to 2007, where he worked with the catchers, hitters and pitchers, and also coached first base. While there, the team appeared in two Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Tournaments.
Wilson was a four-year starting catcher at Sacramento State from 2002-05. In his senior year, he led the team in home runs and was second in RBI, while defensively he caught 23 runners attempting to steal. He left school in the Top 10 for career at-bats and hit by pitches. Sacramento State elected Wilson to the All-Decade Team (2000-10) for his work with the program.
Wilson earned his bachelor’s degree in kinesiology from Sacramento State in 2006 and his master’s in coaching and athletic administration from Concordia University in 2010. He and his wife Michelle welcomed their first child, Hank, this past November.
