LOGAN, Utah — Utah State softball head coach Kristen Zaleski announced the hiring of Apdiel Vazquez (pronounced APP-deal) to the team's staff as an assistant coach on Thursday.
Vazquez joins the Utah State staff after most recently spending the 2026 season as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Nicholls. While there, he helped the Colonels to a 31-23 record and a Southland Conference Tournament championship appearance. The team's .574 winning percentage was its best since 2019, while three players earned all-conference recognition. The squad ranked 16th in the nation in stolen bases per game with 1.96 per outing.
Prior to his time at Nicholls, Vazquez spent two seasons as an assistant coach at Division-II Midwestern State in 2024 and 2025. There, he served as the team's hitting, catching and infield coach. During his second season with the Mustangs, the team saw major improvement with a 76-point increase in batting average (.292), a 175-point increase in OPS (.790), 113 more hits (400), 88 more RBIs (210), a 103-point increase in slugging percentage (.416) and 34 fewer strikeouts compared to the previous year. He also coached a pair of players to all-Lone Star Conference accolades.
Vazquez spent five seasons (2019-23) at NAIA Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kansas, starting as an assistant coach for three years before being promoted to head coach for his final two seasons. During his second year as head coach, the Swedes compiled a record of 26–22 which included wins over No. 16 Ottawa and (RV) Oklahoma Wesleyan, finishing fourth in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) standings. Multiple Bethany players earned all-KCAC honors, including KCAC Player of the Year, two Gold Glove selections, and multiple all-KCAC honorable mentions. He also coached the program's first NAIA First Team All-American in team history.
In his first season as head coach, Vazquez had a record of 17–26, which featured a win over No. 12 Grand View (Iowa). The Swedes earned several all-conference honors, including one KCAC Second Team selection, four honorable mentions, and one KCAC Gold Glove Award.
Prior to being head coach at Bethany, Vazquez worked as an assistant for three seasons. He was the top assistant during his last two years, which included the Swedes' historic run to the 2021 NAIA Softball World Series Final Four. Vazquez served as the team's hitting, infield, first base and catchers coach, and was also the program's head junior varsity coach.
Vazquez played three seasons of collegiate baseball at Bethany, where he was the starting catcher during his junior and senior seasons. He earned a bachelor's degree from Bethany in physical health and wellness in 2018, before earning his master's degree in sports science and rehabilitation from Logan University.
For more information on the Utah State softball program, follow the Aggies on Twitter at @USUSoftball, on Facebook at USUSoftball and on Instagram at ususoftball.
- USU -
