Nichols College Athletics

Caitlin Hitchcock was named the 17th head coach in the history of the Nichols College softball program on June 14, 2022.

In her third season at the helm, Hitchcock guided the Bison to a program-record 32 wins, finishing 32-13 overall and 12-6 in conference play. Hitchcock was named the 2025 Conference of New England (CNE) Softball Coach of the Year and  sent Nichols to the CNE Championship game, where they fell in extra innings to champion Western New England. In that same tournament, the Bison earned the number two seed, giving them hosting duties for the first time in recent memory. The Bison were never swept this season and had an impressive 8-2 record in their spring training trip to Florida. The season featured key wins over eventual NCAA tournament teams Gettysburg, Swarthmore, Western New England, and UMass Boston. The team also saw six all-conference honorees, including pitcher of the year Chelsea Indyk and defensive player of the year Allie Silliman. The Bison also earned three all-region honorees under Hitchcock's guidance.

In just her second season at the helm, Hitchcock guided the Bison to one of their best seasons in program history, and their winningest since 2008. Throughout the spring, the Bison compiled a 24-20 overall record, which included a 10-6 record in Commonwealth Coast Conference play. The season was highlighted by the program's victory over top-seeded Endicott on the second day of the CCC Tournament, which was just the fourth win all-time for the Bison over the Gulls. Under Hitchcock's guidance, Nichols saw three players named to All-Conference teams, with sophomore first baseman Allie Silliman landing on the All-CCC Second Team, and juniors Chelsea Indyk (P) and Chloe Steiniger (INF) on the All-CCC Third Team. The program also broke their record for single-season doubles (64) and putouts (893) in 2024, and tied their record for single-season shutouts (6). 

Prior to Nichols, Hitchcock spent 17 seasons as the head softball coach at Trinity (CT) College (2003-19), posting 10 winning seasons and making nine trips to the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Tournament, advancing to the semifinals in 2019 and the finals in 2007. A two-time NESCAC Coach of the Year (2016-17), she stands as the winningest coach in Trinity program history with a record of 279-267-1 (.511).

Under the guidance of Hitchcock, Trinity student-athletes received 14 NESCAC All-Conference First Team honors and 22 Second Team nods. Eleven were named National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-New England Region, six garnered All-New England accolades and three took home All-Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC) honors.

Hitchcock coached a pair of major NESCAC award winners in Sara Doherty (2007 NESCAC Player & Pitcher of the Year) and Caroline Blanchard (2011 NESCAC Defensive Player of the Year), as well as 2003 CoSIDA Academic All-America selection Laura Heath. In 2017, the Bantams ended Tufts University’s 65-game conference winning streak and became the first NESCAC program to sweep a DH from the Jumbos.

Off the field, Hitchcock – who spent two years as a graduate assistant with the Trinity softball program (2002-03) before being elevated to head coach – saw 43 student-athletes named to the NESCAC Academic Team. In her final season in Hartford in 2019, a total of 11 student-athletes were Easton/NFCA All-America Scholar- Athletes, which requires a grade point average (GPA) of 3.50 or higher. The team, meanwhile, placed 11th in all of NCAA Division III with a 3.650 cumulative team GPA.

While at Trinity, Hitchcock was an assistant coach with both the women’s basketball (2000-03) and women’s volleyball (2002-11) programs, assisting with practice and gameday planning, recruiting, and contest management. She was also a physical education teacher in the athletic department.

Hitchcock earned her bachelor's degree from Trinity in educational studies and her master's degree from the college in American Studies. She was a four-year member of both the Bantams softball and women’s basketball programs (1996-2000), earning NESCAC Softball Second Team honors in 1999 before serving as team captain of both programs the following season. Hitchcock currently ranks No. 6 in runners caught stealing and No. 9 in career fielding pct. (.978).