Jaguars Win Three, Dame Earns 200th Career Win
San Antonio, TX- This past Sunday, against Texas College, Coach Nicole Dame reached a career milestone with her 200th win as a head coach. The win is a true testament to just how successful Coach Dame has been in her career, particularly as the only head coach that Jaguar softball has ever known.
Going into the week-end series with crosstown rival (and nationally ranked) Our Lady of the Lake University (OLLU), Coach Dame was sitting at 197 wins. With a three-game series with OLLU and a single make-up game against Texas College on the horizon, to achieve 200 wins at home, meant needing to take at least two of the three from OLLU, who were leading the conference coming into Friday's double header. Coach Dame's women came through in a big way taking both games on Friday from OLLU to bring her to 199 wins setting up a scenario where Dame needed just one win between the game left with OLLU and the game against Texas College. The Jaguars ended up dropping the third game against OLLU, but they came back on Sunday and emphatically beat Texas College 25-0 for Dame's 200th win.
"It is one of those deals where, coming into it, you know the math works but you also know you are going into a series with the 9th ranked team in the country. I believe in our team, and I thought we could take at least a couple of games from OLLU, but you just try not to make it a big deal. The girls really came through, and what I like about it is that it really was not about my wins, it was about our team coming together and being the better team for a significant series, and it just so happened it brought me to 199 wins with two games at home to go. When it was all said and done, to get the 200th at home against Texas College was humbling," said Dame.
Dame's head coaching career began at the Runnels School in Baton Rouge, LA, where Dame spent three seasons at the helm of the Raider's softball program. She then was the head coach at Walker High School in Walker, LA where she coached the Wildcats for one season before moving onto the college game as an assistant coach for Concordia University (TX). Dame won 65 games in her three seasons as a head coach at the high school level.
Coach Dame started the softball program at A&M-San Antonio, guiding the inaugural team to a respectable 9-25 (3-16 RRAC) record. In just the program's second year, Dame guided the Jaguars to a 23-30 (14-14 RRAC) record, and for the first time the Jaguars qualified for the conference tournament, which they have made every year since. The 2023 season saw the Jaguars go 30-23 (20-8 RRAC), and saw the Jaguars make their first NAIA tournament appearance in just the program's third season. For the 2024 and 2025 seasons the Jaguars went 25-20 (10-14 RRAC) and 24-27 (14-14 RRAC), respectively. As it stands, the Jaguars are at 24-16 (17-10 RRAC) for the 2026 season, bringing Dame's win total at A&M-San Antonio to 135.
"I have been fortunate to coach good players wherever I have been. They deserve the credit because they win the games," Dame said. She continued, "As a coach, the goal is to give your athletes the tools they need to be successful and then get out of the way trusting them to utilize the tools for success. For me, softball is just a vehicle for teaching these kids how to be successful in life. That is what matters, and I hope that my 200 wins means that I have been successful at giving all the girls I have coached over the years the tools to be successful in life." Dame finished by saying, "I also want to thank the administrators who believed in me at all my stops, and for sure, the administration at A&M-San Antonio."