Matt Boykin, a four-year letterwinner at Barton College in Wilson, N.C., is in his sixth season as an assistant coach at Appalachian State University. He coaches Appalachian’s hitters and infielders and serves as the program’s recruiting coordinator.   

The senior member of head coach Chris Pollard’s staff, Boykin came to ASU on Aug. 26, 2004 and has been an integral part of Appalachian’s turnaround from back-to-back 10-win seasons to the program’s first string of three-straight 30-win seasons in over 20 years.

Boykin came to ASU after spending the 2004 season as an assistant coach at Barton, helping lead the Bulldogs to a 27-26 overall record and a fourth-place finish in the highly regarded NCAA Division II Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference.

As a player at Barton, Boykin enjoyed a standout career as a pitcher, infielder and outfielder. He enjoyed his best season as a senior in 2003, putting together a .340 batting average and hitting safely in 22-of-29 CVAC contests while also compiling a 6-2 record and 3.36 ERA on the mound. He earned all-CVAC Tournament honors as a junior and senior and collected academic all-conference accolades in 2001 and ‘03.

In addition to spending the 2004 season as an assistant coach at his alma mater, Boykin was the head coach of the Asheboro Copperheads of the Coastal Plain League and served as an assistant coach with the CPL’s Wilson Tobs in 2004. He has also gained experience working at several camps throughout the Southeast and has been an assistant coach for American Legion squads in Wilson and Apex, N.C.

Boykin earned a pair of bachelor’s degrees in business administration and sports management from Barton in 2003 and a master’s degree in sports coaching from the United States Sports Academy in 2005.