Alyssa Nakken
Alyssa Nakken (born June 13, 1990) is an American professional baseball coach for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball (MLB). She is the first full-time female coach in MLB history and the first to coach on the field during a major league game.[1][2] She attended California State University, Sacramento, where she played college softball.
Alyssa Nakken | |||
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San Francisco Giants – No. 92 | |||
Coach | |||
Born: Woodland, California | June 13, 1990|||
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Career
Nakken is from Woodland, California, and graduated from Woodland High School in 2008. In high school, Nakken played softball, basketball, and volleyball.[3][4]
She attended California State University, Sacramento, where she played college softball for the Sacramento State Hornets as a first baseman.[4][5] She had a .304 batting average and was named to the All-Pacific Coast Softball Conference all four years, from 2009 through 2012.[6] She was also a three-time all conference selection, and the 2012 conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year.[1] Nakken graduated with a bachelor's degree in psychology.[3]
Nakken joined the Giants' baseball operations department as an intern in 2014. She worked for the team on health and wellness programs.[3][4] In 2015, she earned a master's degree in sports management from the University of San Francisco, where she also worked as the chief information officer for the baseball team.[4] The Giants promoted her to the major league coaching staff as an assistant coach in January 2020, making her the first full-time female coach in MLB history.[2] Though she will wear a baseball uniform, she will not be in the dugout during games, as there is a seven coach maximum, and those seven were hired prior to her.[3]
On July 20, 2020, Nakken became the first woman to coach on the field in a major league baseball game, during exhibition play. Nakken was first base coach for the Giants' game against the Oakland A's. The Giants won 6–2.[1] Her jersey from the game was sent to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.[7]
References
- Martin, Jill (July 21, 2020). "Alyssa Nakken made MLB history as the first woman to coach on the field during a major league game". cnn.com. CNN. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
- Snyder, Matt (January 17, 2020). "San Francisco Giants hire Alyssa Nakken as first woman on MLB coaching staff". CBSSports.com. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
- Bretón, Marcos (January 17, 2020). "A first for MLB baseball: SF Giants hire female coach, a former Sac State star". SacBee.com. The Sacramento Bee. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
- Crowley, Kerry (January 17, 2020). "SF Giants hire Woodland High grad Alyssa Nakken, MLB's first woman coach". Daily Democrat. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
- Crowley, Kerry (January 16, 2020). "MLB's first woman coach: Giants hire Alyssa Nakken, former Sac State softball player". The Mercury News. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
- "Former Sacramento State softball star Alyssa Nakken becomes first full-time female coach in MLB history". www.ncaa.com. NCAA. January 24, 2020. Retrieved February 7, 2020.
- "Alyssa Nakken of San Francisco Giants makes history as first woman to coach in MLB". oregonlive. Associated Press. July 24, 2020. Retrieved July 24, 2020.