Norfolk State University Vice President and Director of Athletics Dr. Melody Webb announced the hiring of Tatjana Matthews as the 10th head coach of the Spartan softball program prior to the 2026 season.
A proven leader and trailblazer in collegiate softball, Matthews brought a wealth of coaching experience and a track record of building programs into contenders. Throughout her career, she has guided teams to historic milestones while developing student-athletes into champions on the field and in the classroom.
Matthews made an immediate impact in her first season at Norfolk State, leading the Spartans to a 22-21 overall record and a 12-9 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference mark while earning a fourth-place finish in the conference standings. Norfolk State collected seven All-MEAC selections and posted the fifth fewest losses during the program's Division I era.
Under Matthews' leadership, the Spartans developed one of the conference's top pitching staffs and one of the strongest offensive seasons in school history. Maddy Morris led the MEAC with a 2.29 ERA, paced the conference with 11 home runs, and tied for the league lead in pitching wins with 10. Kailey Bryant finished fourth in the conference in ERA (3.58), led the MEAC in doubles, and allowed the fewest earned runs among league pitchers. Bryant and Samantha Stevenson also ranked among the conference leaders in fewest walks allowed, while Bristyl Riddick led the MEAC in runners caught stealing.
Matthews also guided the Spartans to one of the most productive offensive campaigns in program history. Norfolk State set a program record with 0.88 home runs per game and tied the school single-season record with 38 home runs, matching the 2018 team. The Spartans ranked second in school history in slugging percentage (.458), third in total bases per game (12.21), fourth in doubles per game (1.44), and finished among the program's top five single-season marks in hits per game, batting average, fielding percentage, doubles, and shutouts.
Matthews arrived at Norfolk State following a successful six-year stint as head coach at South Carolina State. During her tenure with the Lady Bulldogs, she coached eight All-MEAC honorees, including 2025 MEAC Player of the Year Taylor Ames-Alexander.
In 2024, Matthews guided South Carolina State to its first MEAC Softball Tournament appearance in 13 years, earning the No. 5 seed. After dropping its opening game, SCSU rebounded with a 6-3 upset over No. 2 Howard before narrowly falling to top-seeded Morgan State in extra innings.
Prior to South Carolina State, Matthews spent the 2019 season at Allen University, where she engineered a dramatic turnaround by improving the program from 4-30 to 16-24. She also served as the inaugural head coach at Mississippi University for Women in 2018, leading the Owls to a 21-19 record in their first season of competition.
As a student-athlete, the former Tatjana Slawson began her collegiate career at Francis Marion University, where she earned Peach Belt Academic Team and Academic All-America honors while establishing herself among the program's all-time leaders. Matthews still holds school records for single-season RBI, career RBI, fielding percentage, games started, and consecutive games started while ranking among the top 10 in doubles.
She completed her playing career at Charleston Southern University, earning Scholar-Athlete honors, membership in the 4.0 Buc Athlete Club, and recognition in Who's Who in 2009. Matthews also began her coaching career at Charleston Southern as a graduate assistant while earning a master's degree in criminal justice. She earned her bachelor's degree in sociology from Francis Marion.
