Coaches

Tatjana Matthews

Tatjana Matthews enters her third season as the head coach for the South Carolina State University women's softball.


Matthews comes to SC State from Allen University where she was the head softball coach, Assistant Director of Athletics/SWA and adjunct professor in the criminal justice department. While at AU, Matthews made an immediate impact increasing wins from four (4) to 16 in a single season.


Prior to Allen, Matthews served as head coach at Mississippi University for Women “The W,” a member of the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA). Matthews finished with a 21-19 record in the program first year of existence and qualified for the USCAA World Series finishing fifth.


While there she coached two USCAA All-Americans, including Katlyn Duke, 10 All-Academic All-Americans, as well as Cara Hopper a member of the USCAA All-World Series team.


Before joining “The W” (Mississippi University for Women), Matthews spent five years at Columbia College on the softball coaching staff, she was named head coach in 2016. Under the direction of Matthews, Columbia College posted their first winning season in school history and was a part of three winning seasons since 2012.


During her collegiate athletic playing career at Francis Marion University, she served as a member of the FMU softball team, where she was named to the Peach Belt Academic and All-American Academic team. She currently holds the record for most RBI’s in a season, career RBI, fielding percentage, games started, consecutive games started and ranks among the top 10 in doubles.


After graduating from Francis Marion with a bachelor's degree of science in sociology, she transferred to Charleston Southern to complete her final year of eligibility. At CSU she was named to the Scholar Athlete Team, Who's Who 2009 and 4.0 Buc Athlete Club and earned Master of Science in Criminal Justice.


The former Tatjana Slawson is married to Elise Matthews and they have two sons, Tucker (8) and Oliver (6) and reside in Columbia, SC.

Courtney Knight

Courtney Knight enters his first season as an assistant coach for South Carolina State University, joining the Bulldog staff in December, 2019.


Former SEC standout Courtney Knight comes to SC State from Mars Hill University where he was an assistant from 2014-2019. There he focused on outfielders, pitchers, and hitters; coaching 10 All-SAC athletes.


Prior to Mars Hill, Knight coached two years at Georgia Gwinnett College, helping start the program in 2012, while beginning his coaching career at Truett McConnell College in 2008.


In addition to collegiate coaching, Knight has worked in the Mid Eastern Athletic Conference office assisting the Director of Championships in 2009. Since 2008, Knight has served as a softball camp facilitator and instructor in both Georgia and North Carolina; most recently with DBat Asheville.


A four-year starter (2003-2006) at the University of Georgia, Knight lead the Bulldogs to two SEC championships, four NCAA Regional appearances and four top-10 national rankings.


The Lithonia, GA., native was a two-time All-SEC selection and a three-time All-Southeast Regional pick. The outfielder boasted a career batting average of .344 with a .992 fielding percentage.


Knight earned his bachelor’s degree in 2007 from University of Georgia, and is a member of the National Strength and Conditioning Association.

Katlyn Duke