Longtime NCAA Division I Assistant Baseball Coach Matt Collins was tapped to replace legendary Coastal Alabama - North Head Baseball Coach Keith Griffin following retirement at the end of the 2025 season. Collins, a Louisiana native, was a two-year letterman at, and later assistant head coach of, the University of Louisiana-Monroe (Warhawks). He enters his first official season at the helm of the Coastal Alabama - North Baseball program in 2026.
Collins joined the Coyotes mid-season to shadow Griffin during the 2024 campaign, who bookended a stellar career by leading the Brewton-based Coastal - North team to the NJCAA Division II National Championship in 1998 and the ACCC State Championship in 2000, and more notably winning the 2024 ACCC Division II State Championship in his second year back with the program.
Athletics have played a significant role in Collins's life. His grandfather is in the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame, Collins's father coached football at LSU during Nick Saban's national championship run, and his brother is a head high school baseball coach.
Success is also a part of his DNA. As a member of the LSU-Eunice Bengals, he helped the team win the 2006 NJCAA National Championship, and was named to the World Series All-Tournament team. He then transferred to ULM, where he won the Sun Belt Conference Championship, starting 53 of 54 games and batting an incredible .421 in the final 21 games en route to the title.
With Collins taking the reins in Brewton, a multi-million-dollar capital improvement project was just completed, outfitting Coyotes Stadium with a new press box, concessions and restroom building, stadium seating for fans, and much more.
Collins is married to his wife Ainsley, and the two have three children. The family plans on hitting the ground running in Escambia County, Ala., enjoying outdoor activities and attending area high school football games.
