CALIFORNIA (Jan. 26) – With coaching experience at all three NCAA levels and a former pitcher within the region, Nikki Yanchak was recently named the assistant coach for the California (PA) softball program.

Yanchak, formerly Nikki Nuzum, most recently served two seasons as the head coach at Alderson Broaddus in the Mountain East Conference (MEC) after one year as head coach in the NCAA Division III level at Franciscan (Ohio). Additionally, she has coaching experience at Penn State-Fayette, Washington & Jefferson, Youngstown State, Potomac State (W.Va.) and West Liberty. As a player, Yanchak appeared in nearly 100 games as a pitcher at Fairmont State from 2011-14.

"I'm very excited to join the Vulcan coaching staff. It's an honor to be working with Coach [Rick] Bertagnolli and learn from his experience," said Yanchak. "He is a proven leader and championship-level coach. I look to help maintain the tradition of excellence that he has had in career at Cal."

Yanchak served as the head coach at Alderson Broaddus the previous two years before the school closed in the fall. She guided the Battlers to a combined 39-69 overall record after the program had won just 21 games over the previous four years while splitting time in two different conferences. Yanchak mentored an All-MEC Second-Team infielder in each of her seasons with the program. Grace Sobeck posted a .333 average and .944 OPS with six homers and 25 RBI in 2022, while Hailee Culbertston hit nearly a .330 clip and scored 50 runs over her last two seasons.

"We are fortunate to hire such a seasoned coach, especially someone with many years of head coaching experience," said head coach Rick Bertagnolli. "Nikki is familiar with both the PSAC and the Atlantic Region which helps make this a great transition from Coach [Natalya] Smarra, who was such an integral part of our program for over a decade dating back to her playing days."

A native of Fairmont, West Virginia, Yanchak posted a 10-22 record at Franciscan in the program's initial year as a member of the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC). The Barons reached double-digit wins for only the fourth time in program history, while utility Chlose Cross and outfielder Jenny Massey both received All-PAC laurels.

Yanchak initially spent time in the PAC during the 2019 campaign at W&J as an assistant coach. The Presidents were led by two-time Academic All-American Rachel Johnson, who paced the league with a .472 batting average and a .552 on-base percentage. Yanchak then served as assistant coach at YSU during the 2020 campaign that was shortened to just 15 games due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

As a player, Yanchak was a two-time, all-conference player for the Fighting Falcons while playing in two different leagues. She finished her career in the circle with a 39-26 record and a 2.98 ERA while logging 434.0 innings with 307 strikeouts. Yanchak posted a breakout 2013 campaign, as Fairmont State won 37 games and advanced to the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WVIAC) Championship in the final year of the league. She set a career-best with a 1.70 ERA in 19 appearances with 10 complete games and an 11-4 record. As a senior, Yanchak set career highs with 16 victories, 145.0 innings pitched and 21 starts while playing in the first year of the MEC.

Yanchak resides in Morgantown, West Virginia, with her husband George and three children, Joseph, Thomas and Mary Jane.