A veteran of the game with more than 35 years of experience both as a player and a coach, Chris Bartels joined the NSU softball coaching staff in May of 2025.
“We’re excited to bring Chris on staff,” Fuller said. “He brings a wealth of experience and has a strong track record as a recruiter that will be an asset to our program. He has a keen eye for identifying top-tier talent and his ability to connect with student-athletes and their families on a personal level really sets him apart.”
He makes his way to Natchitoches after spending the previous two seasons as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Weatherford College, a junior college program located in Weatherford, Texas just west of Dallas/Forth Worth.
During his time with the Coyotes, Bartels recruited over 35 players in the 2023 through 2027 high school graduating classes to WC where they won more than 60 games across the past two seasons.
Bartels helped develop those players to continue their careers at four-year programs, sending nine from the 2025 team to their next stop including five to Division I programs, the most in one season for the Coyotes.
The Coyotes reached as high as the No. 16 ranking in the National NJCAA Poll this past season and finished the year ranked No. 20 with wins over five teams that advanced to the NJCAA Division I World Series.
Prior to his time at Weatherford, Bartels served in the same role he did for the Coyotes while at Arkansas Rich Mountain. There he helped the Bucks earn a spot in the top 25 national rankings for the first time in program history, success they maintained in each of the two seasons after his departure.
Bartels has not only seen success at the junior college level but also during his time as a travel ball coach. While coaching with Centex Buzz Fastpitch, Texas Glory and American Freedom and others he amassed over 300 career victories while working with some of the top high school talent in Texas.
A 1988 graduate of Texas State Technical College in Waco, Bartels is also an experienced player having seen action in more than 1,700 games during his time playing nationally in the Men’s Open USSSA and ASA Class A leagues.
He won multiple state titles during his time as a player for teams like the Waco Mullets, Texas Thunder San Angelo, Broncos DFW, Stingers and Holy Angels in the 1980s through 2000s.
Bartels also served eight years in the Texas State Guard as a staff sergeant and worked more than 20 years in corporate America at Pitney Bowes Inc.
