AMERICUS, Ga. - Georgia Southwestern Athletics hired three new staff members early August, bringing both talent and experience to a rapidly growing department. Katie Roberts and Matt LaMothe has been hired as assistant coaches; Brian Cook will take on athletics communications duties.
Katie Roberts
Roberts, a native of Lodi, Ohio, joins the women's soccer staff as an assistant coach. She comes to GSW after serving as an assistant coach at Mount St. Joseph University in Cincinnati, where she helped coach a 17-4 team that consisted of one All-American player. Proir to St. Joseph, Roberts was a volunteer coach at High Point University where she was responsible for working with the HPU forwards. She also assisted with all aspects of the program including planning training sessions, film breakdown, assisting with gameday operations and the Fit for 90 athlete wellness monitoring system.
"Not only does she have DI playing experience, she also has both DI and DIII coaching experience," head soccer coach Enrique Rodriguez said. "We connected on specific points for her to accomplish this year and she's a very good leader to have both on and off the field."
Roberts was a a four-year letter winner at the University at Buffalo and was named the Mid American Conference (MAC) Offensive Player of the Year as a senior in 2014. Over four years with the Bulls, Roberts played in 79 games with 60 starts and notched 53 points on 23 goals and seven assists. She was named to the MAC All-Freshman Team after leading the team in goals and assists in 2011 and led the team to a MAC Championship as a senior with 12 goals and three assists in 22 games.
Matt LaMothe
LaMothe, a native of Rochester, Mich., enters his first season as the assistant coach to take on pitching and recruiting duties for the baseball team. LaMothe comes from Madison College (NJCAA-DII), located in Madison, Wis., and coached there for one season. He helped the WolfPack finish the season 35-22, sweeping the Regional Tournament and going to the NJCAA-DII World Series in Enid, Okla., where the WolfPack placed 5th. Two years prior to Madison College, LaMothe was a graduate assistant and pitching coach at Central Methodist University where he graduated with his Masters of Education. He assisted the Eagles to their two best seasons in program history, going 44-17 and 42-17 while gaining a bid to the Opening Round of the World Series in both seasons.
"When I first talked to him you could see that he has a passion for pitching," head baseball coach Josh McDonald said. "He's been in the coaching profession for a few years and he's also pitched in the Peach Belt Conference (PBC) so he knows how competitve this conference is; our expectations are high as we're hoping he could help lead the pitching staff."
During his playing career, LaMothe attended Oakland University from 2008-10, before transfering to Georgia College from 2010-13. He was awarded 2nd-Team All-Conference Awards and 2013 PBC Tournament MVP as he pitched two of four complete games to help the Bobcats capture the tournament. He played one independent professional season for the Schaumburg Boomers of the Frontier League, where they won the 2013 Frontier League Championship.
Brian Cook
Cook, a native of Baton Rouge, La., has been hired as the Assistant Director of Athletics Communications. He spent the 2017-18 season as primary contact for the national-ranked women's bowling team at Arkansas State University, where he promoted the 3x NCAA Women's Bowling Player of the Year. Along with serving as the secondary contact for the women's tennis team, Cook assisted the SID staff with game-day operations for the other sports teams and helped with daily updates of the Red Wolves' athletics web site.
"We had a strong pool of candidates with experience from coast to coast, but Brian's resume was one that stood out the most," Assistant Director of Athletics for Communications and Marketing Keith Michlig said. "I loved his experience, background and willingness to work. This is a newly created full-time position for us and I feel that he could help elevate this department."
Cook will serve as a secondary media and publications contact for the athletic department and will also help assist with all marketing and promotions activities.