Williamsburg, KY – University of the Cumberlands Athletics Director Chris Kraftick announce the hiring of Nicole Thompson as the next Head Coach of the Patriot softball program, Monday morning. Thompson becomes just the fourth Patriots Head Softball Coach since 2022.
 
"We are thrilled Nicole has chosen to come to Cumberlands," said Kraftick. "She's someone who has been on our radar for some time now but once we had Nicole, JT, Kramer, and Kash on campus we knew they were a perfect fit for our Patriot Family."
 
Thompson arrives in Williamsburg following a successful coaching career that has spanned both the NAIA and NCAA Division II levels, bringing more than a decade of head coaching experience and a proven track record of building winning programs.
 
"I am truly honored to be joining the University of the Cumberlands family. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Dr. Quentin Young, Chris Kraftick, and Sam Lee for this incredible opportunity," said Thompson.  "It is a privilege to return to the Cumberlands area, where my coaching career first began, and my family and I were immediately reminded of just how special this community is the moment we arrived on campus. I look forward to building upon the proud winning tradition of the Patriots softball program and am eager to help our student-athletes thrive both on and off the field."
 
Most recently, Thompson served as head coach at Missouri Western State University, where she guided the Griffons consecutive 32 win seasons compiling a 64-39 overall record in her two seasons there, while being a factor in the highly competitive Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA).  In her time with the Griffons, the team set several program records including walks, where they drew 193 walks during the 2026 season.  They also notched 159 stolen bases over the past two years, including recording the third-most stolen bases in school history with 89 during the 2025 season.
 
Prior to Missouri Western, Thompson spent five seasons at Regis University in Colorado, compiling a 132-101 overall record. Under her leadership, the Rangers won at least 33 games in each of her final three seasons and captured the 2024 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) Tournament Championship. Regis earned its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2015 and opened regional play with a victory over nationally-ranked West Texas A&M.
 
Thompson is also well-known throughout Kentucky and the Appalachian Athletic Conference from her tenure at Union College in Barbourville. During three seasons as head coach, she posted an 82-70 overall record and a 50-20 mark in AAC competition. She guided the Bulldogs to consecutive third-place conference finishes and was named the AAC Coach of the Year in 2017.
 
Thompson's coaching career began in a unique fashion at Union College, where she initially joined the institution as Assistant Director for Communications before being named interim head coach and eventually taking over the program full-time.
 
A native of Loveland, Colorado, Thompson ties to the NAIA extend back to her playing days when she was a standout two-sport athlete at Bethany College (Kan.), competing in both softball and basketball. On the softball diamond, she was a three-time All-Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference First Team selection at shortstop and helped lead the Swedes to two KCAC regular-season championships, a conference tournament title, and two NAIA National Tournament appearances. Her success on the field led to her being inducted into both Bethany's and her high school Athletic Hall of Fame. Following that, Thompson earned her master's degree in Athletic Administration from William Woods University while serving as a graduate assistant in sports information.
 
The Patriots are coming off a 40-21 season, in which they advanced to the NAIA World Series for the fourth consecutive year. 
 
For the latest and most up-to-date information on University of the Cumberlands Athletics, please visit www.cumberlandspatriots.com. Follow us on Twitter - @UC_Patriots, Instagram - @UCPatriots, YouTube – Cumberlands Patriots, and Facebook by searching University of the Cumberlands Athletics.