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Matt Curtis enters his sixth season as a full-time assistant coach at Fresno State. Curtis coordinates the team's recruiting efforts, serves as the team's third base coach, coordinates the strength and conditioning program and monitors student-athlete eligibility. In addition, he is the defensive instructor for the catchers and assists with hitting instruction and practice planning.
Curtis was instrumental in assembling the staff's last five recruiting classes, which all but one have ranked in top 20 classes in the nation which included 15 first-team All WAC selections, one All-American, four Freshman All-Americans, 17 overall draft selections, and two first round draft picks. In addition, under Curtis' leadership the team has excelled academically, with numerous Torch of Excellence Honorees and Academic All-WAC selections, celebrating all-around excellence on and off the field.
Prior to his current appointment, Curtis served as volunteer assistant coach for the Bulldogs from 2000-02, working with the catchers, hitters and coaching first base. During his tenure as volunteer assistant, Curtis worked with highly touted catchers Brad Harper and Ben Fritz. In Curtis' first season, Harper was a first-team All-WAC selection and a finalist for the Johnny Bench Award, while Fritz was recognized as Baseball America's summer league All-America catcher. In Curtis' second year, Fritz enjoyed one of the finest seasons ever at Fresno State and garnered second-team All-America honors by Collegiate Baseball and Baseball America.
A four-year letterwinner at Fresno State, Curtis started 155 career games at catcher. He ranks in the top 10 in school history in games played (215), at-bats (761), hits (235), runs (144), doubles (52), walks (116) and RBI (127). His 52 career doubles places him third in Bulldog history highlighted by his WAC-leading 22 two-baggers in 1995.
One of the most versatile players in Bulldog history, Curtis was a two-time WAC Scholar-Athlete and an All-WAC catcher in 1995. He also played third base as a senior and was twice selected for the Bulldog's Student-Athlete Achievement Award. Following the conclusion of his collegiate career, Curtis was selected by the Anaheim Angels in the 28th round of the June 1996 draft. In his first season of professional baseball, Curtis set a league single season record for doubles and was named to Baseball America's Minor League All-Star team. He was also the recipient of the Ray Perry Award, given to Northern California's most outstanding minor league rookie. Curtis played five seasons of minor league baseball, reaching the Double-A level in both the Anaheim Angels and the Cleveland Indians organizations. The Visalia, Calif., native earned an accounting degree from Fresno State in 1998 and a master's in business administration in 2001.
Curtis was born Aug. 14, 1974, in Visalia. He and his wife, Kimberlee, have two children, a daughter Lauren and a son Jacob.
