Alyssa Michelle Nakken (born June 13, 1990) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Moder ...

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

for the

Cleveland Guardians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. Since , the team has played its home gam ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB). She is the first female full-time coach in MLB history, and the first to coach on the field during a major league game. In 2014 she was an analytical intern for the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

during the postseason, winning a World Series ring. She attended

California State University, Sacramento California State University, Sacramento (CSUS, Sacramento State, or informally Sac State) is a public university in Sacramento, California, United States. Founded in 1947 as Sacramento State College, it is part of the California State Universit ...

, where she played

college softball College softball is softball as played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education, predominantly in the United States. College softball is normally played by women at the Intercollegiate level, whereas college baseball is nor ...

Early life

Nakken is from

Woodland, California Woodland is a city in and the county seat of Yolo County, California, United States. Located approximately northwest of Sacramento, it is a part of the Sacramento metropolitan area. The population continues to grow every year, with a growth ra ...

, and graduated from Woodland High School in 2008. In high school, Nakken played softball, basketball, and volleyball. She attended

, where she played

for the

Sacramento State Hornets The Sacramento State Hornets (also Sac State Hornets) is the team that represents California State University, Sacramento in intercollegiate athletics. The school fields 21 teams including men and women's basketball, cross country, golf, rowing, ...

as a

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

. She had a .304

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

and was named to the All-

Pacific Coast Softball Conference The Pacific Coast Softball Conference (PCSC) was an NCAA Division I conference that only sponsored women's softball. It was founded in 2002, beginning play in spring 2003, with six members in the Western United States. The PCSC expanded to 12 memb ...

all four years, from 2009 through 2012. She was also a three-time all conference selection, and the 2012 conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Nakken graduated with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in psychology.

Career

San Francisco Giants

Nakken joined the

' baseball operations department as an intern in 2014. She worked for the team on health and wellness programs. In 2015, she earned a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

in sports management from the

University of San Francisco The University of San Francisco (USF) is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit university in San Francisco, California, United States. Founded in 1855, it has nearly 9,000 students pursuing undergraduate and graduate degrees ...

, where she also worked as the chief information officer for the baseball team. The Giants promoted her to the major league coaching staff as an assistant coach in January 2020, making her the first full-time female coach in MLB history. On July 20, 2020, Nakken became the first woman to coach on the field in a major league baseball game, during exhibition play. Nakken was first base coach for the Giants' game against the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...

. The Giants won 6–2. Her jersey from the game was sent to the

National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by a private foundation. It serves as the central collection and gathering space for the history of baseball in the United St ...

. Nakken continued to coach in exhibition games in 2021. Nakken became the first woman to coach on the field in a regular season major league game on April 12,

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

, when the Giants substituted her into the game as the first base coach after

Antoan Richardson Antoan Edward Richardson (born October 8, 1983) is a Bahamian-American professional baseball coach currently serving as the first base coach for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played in MLB for the Atlanta Braves and New Yor ...

was ejected during the top of the third inning of a game against the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...

. In 2023, Nakken was interviewed for a managerial position with the San Francisco Giants, making her the first woman to interview for any managerial position with a Major League Baseball team.

Cleveland Guardians

On November 23, 2024, Nakken joined the

as an assistant director for player development.

Personal life

Nakken is married to Robert Abel, who is also a coach at a baseball school that he founded in 2019. Their first child was born January 2024, when Nakken became the first MLB coach to take maternity leave.

References