HONORS
- 2023 Southland Conference Coach of the Year
MILESTONE VICTORIES/NOTABLES AT NICHOLLS
- 1st career victory -- Feb. 12, 2022 (Hammond, La.) -- vs. Alabama A&M (7-3)
- 1st run-rule victory -- Feb. 20, 2022 (Troy, Ala.) -- vs. Eastern Kentucky (10-2, 5 inn.)
- 1st road victory -- March 4, 2022 -- at Alabama State (7-2)
- 1st Southland victory -- March 25, 2022 -- at UIW (9-4)
- Longest winning streak -- Feb. 18-24, 2023 -- 7 games
- 1st nonconference win vs. Louisiana school -- March 4, 2023 -- ULM (1-0)
- 1st Southland series victory -- March 10-11, 2023 -- UIW
- 1st Southland series sweep -- April 28-29, 2023 -- HCU
Justin Lewis was named head softball coach at Nicholls State University on July 8, 2021. He served three seasons as head coach of the Colonels before accepting a position at Kansas University following the 2024 season.
In 2024, the Colonels eclipsed the 30-win plateau for the first time since 2019 and repeated with a third-place finish in the standings. The Red and Gray went on to win two Southland Conference Tournament games for the second straight year.
In his second season, Lewis led the Colonels to a 29-24 overall record and a 13-11 mark in conference, good for third place in the SLC standings. After going 12-38 and 4-14 in his inaugural campaign, Nicholls was projected to finish last in the Southland preseason poll by a wide margin. But with the help of 13 freshmen and four transfers, the Colonels' win total improved by 17 games – the second most in the NCAA for the year. Nicholls also enjoyed its first postseason berth and winning season since 2019.
Lewis took over the Colonel softball program after spending one season as an assistant and primary hitting instructor at Fresno State, where the Bulldogs won the Mountain West Championship and made an appearance in the 2021 NCAA Tournament. Fresno State posted a 37-12 overall record with a 20-4 mark in the Mountain West.
Fresno State had a historic campaign in 2021, leading the conference in 23 statistical categories while outscoring the opposition, 279-103. Offensively, the Bulldogs had MW bests in batting average (.295), hits, doubles (62), triples (18), home runs (47) and stolen bases (88). Fresno State also had four 2021 All-Mountain West selections, highlighted by Hailey Dolcini and Keahilele Mattson. Dolcini claimed MW Pitcher of the Year while Mattson took home Player and Co-Freshman of the Year.
Lewis had a brief stint in the Southland Conference as an assistant at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in 2020. In the shortened season, the Islanders nearly matched their win total from the previous campaign and claimed victories against UAB, ULM, Syracuse and Southeastern Louisiana.
Prior to his time with the Islanders, he served as the assistant coach at Texas A&M Kingsville. In 2019, the Javelinas set school records for wins in a season (52), winning percentage (.839) and longest win streak (19). TAMUK won the Lone Star Conference Championship in the regular season and the LSC Tournament Championship in the same season for the first time ever. The Javelinas also captured the South Central Regional Title and earned their first ever trip to the College World Series, where they won four games before finishing as the National Runner-Up.
At TAMUK, Lewis worked with an offense that set new program marks for runs scored in a season (343), total bases (768), on-base percentage (.387), and home runs (46). He also worked with the infielders, helping the unit tie the single-season fielding percentage record at .967.
Before returning to coaching, Lewis served as a firefighter for nine years. He was also a camp coach for University of Arizona head softball coach Mike Candrea for the three years before heading to TAMUK. His college coaching experience also includes three baseball seasons at Central Arizona College.
As a student-athlete, Lewis played two years at Central Arizona College and then transferred to ULM, where he was an All-Conference performer.
| Overall |
|
|
|
SLC |
|
|
|
| Year |
Win |
Loss |
% |
Win |
Loss |
% |
Finish |
| 2022 |
12 |
38 |
.240 |
4 |
14 |
.222 |
t-6th/7 |
| 2023 |
29 |
24 |
.547 |
13 |
11 |
.542 |
3rd/9 |
| 2024 |
31 |
26 |
.544 |
16 |
8 |
.667 |
3rd/9 |
| Total |
72 |
88 |
.450 |
33 |
33 |
.500 |
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