Coaching Staff

Nikki Bethurum

Softball - Head Coach

Email: Nikki Bethurum

Nikki Bethurum enters her 3rd year leading the Lady Matador Softball program trying to bring the Lady Matadors yet another Region I Playoff berth… and to take them a step or two beyond that. Not too bad for someone who came to AWC just looking for a chance to prove she was ready to be a college head coach. Bethurum came to Yuma after a three-year stint as an assistant softball coach at the University of Arkansas at Monticello. Longtime UAM Head Softball Coach Alvy Early entrusted Bethurum with a lot of extra coaching duties along with her duties as Recruiting Coordinator and pitching coach. Bethurum helped lead the Lady Cotton Blossoms to the Gulf South Conference West Championship and a berth in the NCAA Division II South Regional Tournament in her first season on the staff, and in 2009, she helped lead the Blossoms to a 38-16 overall mark, a 2nd-place finish in the GSC’s West Division, and her pitching staff featured the conference’s Pitcher of the Year. She brought that winning attitude to AWC, and even as an interim head coach that first year, she led the Lady Matadors to their first postseason win since 2006. Last season (after shedding the ‘interim’ title), she led them back to the postseason and back to the Region I Semifinals after upsetting top-ranked Yavapai in the opening round. Bethurum made the transition from player to coach very quickly. A 19-win pitcher as a senior for Downey High School and a member of four different traveling softball teams that all qualified for nationals, Bethurum was the first signee of the 2001 recruiting class for University of California-Riverside in the inland empire. After spending her freshman campaign as UCR’s top pitcher, the native of Downey, California, made the decision to head out of the Golden State for the first time by transferring to the University of Louisiana-Monroe. Bethurum became ULM’s top pitcher and hitter-despite fighting through shoulder problems throughout the season. Injuries forced Bethurum to move from the mound (and first base) to starting shortstop for her final two years as a player, and she was an All-Southland Conference Honorable Mention selection as a junior. Nikki also made the honor roll at ULM all three years she was there, earning a Bachelor’s Degree in Mathematics from ULM and graduating with honors in 2006. Bethurum earned her Master’s Degree in Applied Mathematics from the University of Arkansas-Little Rock in 2009, and besides her coaching duties, is a Professor of Mathematics at AWC.

Softball - Assistant Coach

Email: Mark Garcia

It’s been nearly a decade since Mark Garcia first stepped onto the AWC Softball Field to lend his expertise to the program, and in his 9th year with the team continues to help the team excel in several aspects. Nikki Bethurum-the third head coach Garcia’s worked for while at AWC-applauds Garcia’s work with the team’s catchers the last 2 years which has helped lead the Mats to playoff wins both years. Garcia has been a part of 7 Region I Playoff teams during his tenure, including a pair of Region I Semifinal teams & one Region I Finals squad. Garcia hasn’t just been a top-level coach in the sport of softball. As a player, he’s played primarily as a catcher in men’s fast-pitch softball at the National and World level, and later pitched for a team in Mexico. Mark’s coaching experience also includes a local travel team, and brings strong management skills to the program from his current position as a manager at Albertson's Super Market. Garcia is married to Laura and has three children, Mark Jr., Angie and Erin.  

Softball - Assistant Coach

Email: Miguel Villarreal

With the exception of AWC Baseball Assistant Coach Jack Watson, no one currently on campus has been around the ball fields at AWC longer than Miguel Villarreal, and both spring sports can speak to the positive effect that Villarreal has provided for them. In the 1980’s, Villarreal was one of the first Matador Baseball catchers to be coached by a young John Stratton. It was then that Villarreal says he was first inspired to become a coach, taking notice of what Stratton and the coaches did and how they handled their charges. Nearly three decades later, Villarreal is trying to inspire that same notion in the mind of Matador Softball players as he continues to improve the skills of the Matador infielders. Villarreal began coaching summer travel softball teams, and more than a decade later, he’s still doing it, including coaching one squad to a national championship in Salem, Oregon, and leading another to the championship game the next year. Villarreal also spent time on the high school coaching level as an assistant for Kofa High School’s softball program before coming to AWC. Miguel and Mark Garcia aren’t just side-by-side in the Matador Softball dugout, since they still play men’s fast-pitch softball together. Villarreal and his wife, Loretta, have a son, daughter, and two granddaughters.

Ron VanWhy

Softball - Assistant Coach

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Miguel Villarreal learned his love for coaching from watching John Stratton. Ron VanWhy can relate, since it was being coached by Villarreal for four years all the way back in Babe Ruth Baseball that inspired VanWhy to be a coach himself. VanWhy now gets a chance to stand side-by-side with his mentor, Villarreal, as fellow assistants with Matador Softball. It’s VanWhy’s first opportunity at college coaching, but VanWhy knows plenty about coaching softball, having spent the last 3 years coaching ASA Softball and Triple Crown Softball teams to championship games. VanWhy is proud to call himself a Yuma High alum, and played varsity baseball for the Crims as well. Ron isn’t the only VanWhy at AWC, since his wife, Karyn, is the school’s longtime travel specialist. Ron and Karyn dote on their two daughters, Taylor and Ashley.