Softball Welcomes Assistant Coach Matt Burns

MUNCIE, Ind. - - The Ball State softball program is excited to welcome Matt Burns to its staff as an assistant coach, according to head coach Helen Peña.

Burns, who spent the past two seasons in the same role at the College of Charleston, will work with the Cardinals hitters and serve as the program's recruiting coordinator.

"Ball State softball got better today," Peña said. "I'm thrilled to have Matt and his family on board. He has a tremendous work ethic and an elite mind for the game that will no doubt help our student-athletes. In addition to his talents as a high-level developer, he possesses a keen eye for talent and will be our recruiting coordinator for this upcoming season. His passion for helping student-athletes reach their fullest potential on and off the field aligns with mine, and I can't wait to see what he can do here as a Cardinal!"

In his two seasons with the Cougars, Burns helped the program make back-to-back Coastal Athletic Association tournament appearances after missing the event in 2021. He helped mentor four players who earned Second Team All-CAA honors, as well as the 2022 CAA Rookie of the Year. His work helped CofC's team batting average jump .025 from before his arrival, with seven of the team's eight returning hitters seeing improvement in both average and OPS from their first to second season under his tutelage.

"I am honored and thrilled to be joining the Ball State softball staff," Burns said. "I can't thank Coach Peña enough for giving me this opportunity. The fact she has so much experience helping lead successful programs was a major part of my decision to join the Cardinals family. I'm very excited to get to work and do my part in helping build a championship program."

Before joining the College of Charleston staff, Burns was an assistant at Longwood for the 2021 campaign, where he mentored two players to First Team All-Big South honors and one to Second Team All-Big South accolades. He also helped eight of the 10 returning hitters improve in average, on base percentage and/or slugging percentage from the previous season.

Prior to arriving at Longwood, Burns spent three seasons (2018-2020) at Bucknell, where he helped five Bison earn First Team All-Patriot League honors, five players earn Second Team All-Patriot League accolades and coached one player to Patriot League Rookie of the Year status. He helped the 2018 squad set the program's single-season home record (36) and lead the league in average, on base percentage, slugging, home runs and walks in conference play.

The Bison also led the Patriot League in average, on base percentage, slugging percentage, runs scored, triples, home runs, stolen bases and walks in league play during the 2019 season. Bucknell finished second in the Patriot League in 2018 and 2019, winning 55 games with a 27-8 conference record over the two years.

Burns started his softball coaching career with a two-year stint at Skidmore College for the 2015 and 2016 seasons. There, he worked with five First Team All-Liberty League selections and helped his players earn one NFCA All-America Second Team honor and six NFCA All-Region accolades, with five being first-team selections.

A four-year varsity letterwinner in baseball at Plattsburgh State, including serving as team captain as a senior, Burns started his coaching career as a baseball coach at SUNY Oneonta (2012). He also coached baseball at Bard College (2013), SUNY New Platz (2014) and was a volunteer coach at Akron (2014-15).

Burns graduated from SUNY Plattsburgh in 2011 with a combined Bachelor of Arts/Master of Science for Teachers degree. He will be joined in Muncie by his wife, Danielle, their son, Derek, and daughter, Gabriella.

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