Former UCLA Softball Standout, Olympian Joins SDSU Staff

A former UCLA utility player is joining SDSU as an assistant coach. | UCLA Athletics

A former UCLA softball star and assistant coach is moving on from the Bruins.

San Diego State head coach Stacey Nuveman Deniz announced on Monday via press release that Madilyn “Bubba” Nickels-Camarena is joining the Aztecs staff as an assistant coach. 

Nickels-Camarena spent four years at UCLA, where she led the Bruins to the 2019 NCAA Women’s College World Series (WCWS) Championship while pacing the team in hits, home runs, RBIs, and slugging percentage. She is a three-time All-Pac 12 honoree and a two-time member of the NFCA West All-Region First Team. 

Bubba Nickles drives in Lauryn Carter from first on a double.

6-1 Bruins, B6.#GoBruins pic.twitter.com/0Ca4XNOUHF

— UCLA Softball (@UCLASoftball) February 21, 2021

After spending a year as a graduate assistant for the Bruins in 2024, she was hired as a full-time assistant coach and helped the staff be awarded NFCA West Regional Coaching Staff of the Year two times. With a 55-13 overall record in 2025, she was a vital part of the team advancing to the WCWS.

In October 2019, Nickels-Camarena was named to the United States Softball Olympic Team and assisted the team to a silver medal against Japan at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

L-R: Ally Carda, Delaney Spaulding, Tairia (Mims) Flowers, Bubba Nickles and Rachel Garcia | USA Softball

Nickels-Camarena, who currently plays under Nuveman Deniz, also a former Bruin, for the Bandits of the Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL), has spent the last few months learning her coaching style. 

“I am beyond excited to welcome Bubba Nickles-Camarena to The Mesa!” Coach Nuveman Deniz said in the press release. “Her playing and coaching experiences are elite, and she has WCWS experience in both roles in addition to her Olympic Silver Medal from the 2020 Tokyo Games. What I am most excited about is having her work directly with our student-athletes and not only infuse our program with her knowledge and technical acumen, but her mentorship and impeccable communication skills. She’s truly a player’s coach, and I know our student-athletes will thrive under her tutelage.”

Under Nuveman Deniz’s direction, Nickels-Camarena and the Bandits clinched the inaugural AUSL postseason. Nickels-Camarena is third in the league among hitters with a .819 OPS, and is second in the league with seven home runs. 

BUBBA BANDITS BOMB💣@madilyn_nickles x @UCLASoftball pic.twitter.com/bQfjTPpe1w

— Bandits | Athletes Unlimited Softball League (@AUSL_Bandits) June 8, 2025

Nickels-Camarena will make her debut with the Aztecs in 2026 as the team is coming off a 38-19 record and a postseason run that ended in the Los Angeles Regional.