Deifel Brings Meuchel to Fayetteville
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Razorback softball head coach Courtney Deifel has announced the addition of Matt Meuchel to her staff as an assistant coach. Meuchel comes to Fayetteville on the heels of an eight-year run as the head coach for the Nevada softball program. With two NCAA Tournament appearances at Nevada, he also has previous coaching experience at Arizona State, McNeese State and Oklahoma State.
Head coach Courtney Deifel on Meuchel
“I am thrilled to be adding Matt to our Razorback Softball family. He brings with him a wealth of knowledge, experience and competitiveness that will blend perfectly with our staff and make an immediate impact on our program. Matt is not only widely regarded as one of the sharpest minds in softball, but more importantly, he is a man of high character and will be an outstanding leader and mentor for our student-athletes. I can’t wait to welcome Matt, his wife Joey and their two boys to Fayetteville.”
During his eight-season tenure as Nevada’s head coach, Meuchel guided his team to 196 victories. In 2016, the Wolf Pack posted a 32-15 overall record with a 10-10 mark in the Mountain West Conference. It was the program’s best season since joining the conference in 2013. Meuchel saw five of his student-athlete named to the 2016 All-Mountain West Conference Team including a pair of first-team selections.
After four years as an assistant coach for Nevada and two seasons with Oklahoma State, Meuchel returned to Reno as head coach in 2009 and responded by leading the team to a 40-19 record and an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. That season, Nevada tallied a 15-5 record within the Western Athletic Conference to claim a share of the regular-season title. Meuchel went on to earn his first NCAA victory as a head coach with a win over Cal Poly in the first round of the Palo Alto Regional.
Between his role as an assistant coach (2003-06) and head coach (2009-16) at Nevada, Meuchel helped the Wolf Pack collect 35 postseason all-conference individual accolades among 22 student-athletes including five WAC All-Tournament Team selections. That collection of awards included WAC Pitcher of the Year honors for Katie Holverson in 2009.
Meuchel was first hired at Nevada when the program was reinstated in 2003. After three seasons of rebuilding the program, and having been promoted to associate head coach, he was part of a postseason run in 2006 that included Nevada’s first-ever WAC Tournament title. With that triumph, Nevada advanced to the NCAA Tournament and played in the Corvallis Region, hosted by Oregon State.
The Missoula, Montana, native began his coaching career with assistant roles at Arizona State and McNeese State in 2001 and 2002, respectively. He also served as an assistant coach at Oklahoma State and helped four student-athletes to All-Big 12 honors in 2007 and 2008 between his two stints at Nevada. Meuchel returned to Reno as Nevada’s new head coach ahead of the 2009 season.
Along with his time as a collegiate coach, Meuchel carries past coaching experience at the international and professional levels. He was part of the coaching staff for the Greek softball team that competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.
Additionally, Meuchel spent the summers of 2011 and 2012 as an assistant coach for the USSSA Pride in the National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) league. The Pride posted a combined 61-21 record and won two NPF regular-season championships with Meuchel on the staff. During the summer runs, he coached eight All-NPF selections, five Olympic gold medalists and two NPF Players of the Year; and was part of the 2011 NPF Coaching Staff of the Year.
Meuchel was married in the summer of 2009 to Joey Hall, and the couple has two children, Hudson and Charlie.
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