Alumni Spotlight: Megan Matthews

Oct. 16, 2014

Gamecock History

Four-year letter-winner 1999-2002
Holds six Gamecock pitching records, including innings pitched, appearances, games started, complete games and strikeouts
Four-time NFCA All-Region player
1999 NFCA All-American (third team)
Two-time All-SEC (second team in 1999 & 2002)
Three-time SEC Academic Honor Roll member
Played in four NCAA Tournaments and won one SEC Tournament (2000)

She grew up in Greer, S.C.m about an hour and half from SC.
Recruited to play first, hit and be a utility player, Megan only wanted a chance to pitch, and she made the most of it.
Among other career stats, she ended up having the second most saves for SC.
Just so happened that another pitcher got kicked off the team, so Megan got many more chances to show how great of a pitcher she was.
The culture of South Carolina softball when she played here was that of hard work, class and defensive presence.
Her years spent here were some of the best years of her life and she misses her teammates. Facebook helps her keep in contact with some of them.
The day before they left for regionals in 1999 (her freshman year), senior pitcher Nikki Beers was running bases in practice and tore her ACL, so Megan pitched every inning, including 19 in one day, 12 against Pacific and seven more in an elimination game later against Texas Tech.
Her sophomore year, Megan slid into home and broke her ankle. That’s when she really started to focus on pitching and controlling only what she could, which was giving her best defensively.
She graduated with her bachelor’s degree in exercise science with a specialty in motor development before getting her masters from Florida State in sports psychology.

Moved around a lot, going from SC to Asheville to Florida State to Coastal Carolina to Oxford, Miss., to Augusta, Ga.,
She is now an assistant professor at Georgia Regents University, teaching three classes
Her sister went to Clemson and is currently trying to influence her five-year-old daughter to like Clemson instead of SC, where both of her parents went to school.

Interview conducted by Nickie Blue