College Softball Coaching Couple Fired Amid Inappropriate Conduct Allegations

The University of Maryland Baltimore Country is moving on from its coaching staff after just 18 games.

Head coach Angie Nicholson and assistant coach Rick Nicholson have both been fired for inappropriate conduct, according to a report from the Baltimore Sun on Monday morning. The two coaches are married and have two daughters on the team.

Sources: UMBC is looking for a new softball coach. After 18 games, Angie Nicholson is out as head coach.
— Maren Angus-Coombs (@Maren_Angus) March 23, 2026

According to Edward Lee, who spoke with parents of three players, Rick Nicholson brushed the chest of two players while attempting to swat away insects on two separate occasions.

"When the second player objected to the contact, Rick Nicholson scolded the player, according to one parent," Lee writes. "He walked into the dugout and threatened to cut the player, which was overheard and reported by an observer, two parents said."

The parents confirmed that Rich Nicholson was fired on Tuesday and Angie Nicholson was dismissed on Sunday evening.

Both coaches were removed from the UMBC website shortly after the Baltimore Sun's report was published.

Softball On SI reached out to UMBC on Friday for confirmation and did not receive a response.

UMBC's Season in Jeopardy

After canceling its last the six games, including a three-game America East conference series against Binghamton, the rest of the 2026 season is reportedly in jeopardy.

The firings leave the team with just one coach, Jill Haines. She is in her first year at UMBC after spending last season as an assistant pitching coach at Marymount University.

Despite have one coach on staff, parents claim that athletic director Tiffany D. Tucker didn't provide the team with any clarity after a team meeting on Sunday.

“They said they don’t know what’s going to become of the season,” the parent said. “They did not want any of this to happen. But there is a faction that wanted this to happen. So, this team is divided.”

The parent also stated that the divisiveness is because of the coaches' two daughters, Kenzie and Taylor. One group has an issue with the Nicholson family, and the other group is being led by them.

Kenzie is a senior playing at her fourth school in four years, and Taylor is a graduate and is also at her fourth school.

Before landing at UMBC, Kenzie had played at Arizona State, Jacksonville State, and New Mexico. Taylor started at Missouri before transferring to Arizona State and then to New Mexico State.

“There was no plan for how to move forward,” the parent said. “That is absolutely absurd. … A lot of these players feel like their season has been taken away from them, and the blame is being pushed to them. But the blame should be on the administration and maybe on the coaches.”

The Retrievers are 10-8 on the season and are scheduled to play a three-game series at home versus Bryant on Saturday and Sunday.