UMBC Softball Reportedly Hires New Head Coach After Staff Firings and Canceled 2026 Season

The University of Maryland, Baltimore County has begun rebuilding its program with the hiring of Chris Stelma as head coach, according to a report from Edward Lee of the Baltimore Sun.

Stelma is leaving his position at Oakland University after leading the Golden Grizzlies to an 18-28 record in 2025 and a 25-24 record in 2026.

Prior to a two-year stint at Oakland, Stelma wrapped up an eight-year tenure at St. Peter’s with 96 victories, the second-most wins in program history.

He inherits a Retrievers team with eight players in the transfer portal.https://t.co/tmndRYln5y
— Edward Lee☀️ (@EdwardLeeSun) July 6, 2026

On March 31, UMBC announced that the remainder of the 2026 Retrievers' season would be cancelled following the firing of head coach Angie Nicholson and assistant coach Rick Nicholson.

"After numerous meetings with our student-athletes, it became clear that we would not have the level of participation necessary to be able to safely complete the remainder of the 2026 season," said Director of Athletics, Physical Education, and Recreation Tiffany D. Tucker. "The health and safety of our student-athletes will always be our top priority, and we simply do not have a full complement of softball team members in order to continue participating on the field this season."

Sources: UMBC has canceled the remainder of the 2026 softball season.

The firing of 2 coaches and a player vote led to the decision. https://t.co/hmnQpwFcvW
— Maren Angus-Coombs (@Maren_Angus) March 31, 2026

After coaching 18 games during the 2026 season, it was reported that Angie Nicholson was fired from the program on Sunday, March 22, and Rick was fired the Tuesday prior.

Following the firings, Jill Haines was the only coach left on staff. The team was divided and reportedly voted to cancel the remainder of the season. The Retrievers concluded their 2026 season 10-8 following the university's statement.

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

A pattern of behavior between the pair, a married couple, was first reported on March 23 by Softball on SI. In interviews, multiple former athletes came forward with their stories about Angie and Rick. Of the four athletes who spoke to Softball on SI about Rick and Angie, all recall experiencing the Nicholsons' short fuses and bullying tactics.

“If this will help them not be able to get another job somewhere, like that's what I want it to do because I don't want that to happen to other people,” Eastern Illinois player Michelle Rogers said. “All I can think is if I had spoken sooner, maybe they wouldn't have been coaching anymore.”

Following the short season, seven players hit the transfer portal: three freshmen, one sophomore, two seniors, and a graduate, all hoping to continue their careers in a more productive and healthy environment.

Two the players in the portal are Angie and Rick Nicholson's daughter, Kenzie and Taylor Nicholson.

“There was no plan for how to move forward,” a parent told Edward Lee. “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.”

Stelma's success for the 2027 season will hinge on his ability to build a new roster and cultivate a better environment for players.

Before Oakland, Stelma served an eight-year tenure at Saint Peter's University Softball program, coaching the Peacocks to success, sitting second in all-time wins at Saint Peter's.

UMBC Softball 2026 Transfer Portal Tracker

Jayda Koontz, LHP, Freshman

Transferred to: California
As a freshman, Jayda Koontz led team with four wins, a 3.60 earned run average, and 44.2 innings pitched. She was named the America East Pitcher of the Week once (3/17/25).

Brittany Howe, OF, Freshman

Brittany Howe started two games and appeared in five as a freshman. She was 2-for-10 with two runs scored and an RBI.

Abbie Frisvold, C, Freshman

Abbie Frisvold played and started in 16 games. She hit .313 with five RBIs and had a hit in 11 games. She led the team with 13 runs scored and was 5-for-5 in stolen bases.

Defensively, Frisvold threw out five of 20 potential base stealers.

Riley Gallagher, C, Sophomore

Riley Gallagher only saw action in 10 games, starting seven in 2026. She recorded three hits in 14 at-bats and scored two runs.

Amaya Carroll, INF, Senior

Amaya Carroll started her career at UMBC in 2023 as a two-way player and was the starting shortstop. She spent the last three seasons as the starting shortstop.

Carroll is a career .259 hitter with 10 doubles, nine home runs, 44 runs and 52 runs batted in.

Kenzie Nicholson, INF, Senior

In her lone season at UMBC, Kenzie Nicholson started all 18 games. She led the team with 13 runs scored, 10 stolen bases and nine hit-by-pitches.

The senior started her career at Arizona State in 2023 before transferring to Jacksonville State in 2024 and then New Mexico State in 2025.

Taylor Nicholson, INF, Graduate

Taylor Nicholson played in and started 15 games in her only season at UMBC. She led the Retrievers in batting average (.442), home runs (4), RBIs (22), doubles (5), hits (19), slugging (.839), OBP (.489) and OPS (1.326).

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