Q&A: Fresno State coach Charlotte Morgan shares her personal and professional motivation
Charlotte Morgan remembers rushing onto campus on June 18, searching for the Josephine Theater where she was about to hold her introductory press conference as Fresno State’s new softball coach.
She wasn’t exactly sure where she was going and her phone was blowing up with calls and texts from various people. Just as she found the building and was about to walk in the door, her phone rang and the caller ID showed a number she didn’t recognize. She answered.
“I just want to say congrats,” said Margie Wright, the legendary former Bulldogs coach who retired as the all-time winningest coach in college softball.
“She was like, ‘I didn’t expect you to answer,’ don’t you have a press conference?” Morgan said. “But I couldn’t hang up on her – it’s Margie Wright!”
During her tenure at Fresno State, Wright led the Bulldogs to 10 Women’s College World Series from 1987 to 1999, including three consecutive runner-up finishes and the 1998 national championship. Prior to that coach Donna Pickle led the Bulldogs to two WCWS appearances, including a runner-up finish in 1982, the first year of NCAA softball.
To this day, Fresno State boasts the all-time NCAA record for a regular-season crowd — 5,724 fans watched Fresno State vs. Arizona on March 14, 2000.
It’s a tradition Morgan is well aware of, and one she aims to bring back.
Morgan became the sixth coach in Fresno State softball history after spending the previous four seasons as head coach at CSUN. She led the Matadors to 109 victories, including a 28-win season in 2023.
She previously served as an assistant coach at Maryland, Georgia Tech, Oklahoma State and UT-Arlington, and was head coach for the Akron Racers pro softball team.
Growing up in Moreno Valley, Morgan became the first California player to ever play at Alabama, where she was a three-time All-American and two-time SEC Player of the Year. She became the No. 1 overall pick in the NPF Senior draft by the USSSA Pride.
Fresno State Magazine sat down with Morgan in her office for an exclusive interview about her vision for the program.
Fresno State Magazine: To start off, tell me about your background, your family and how you got involved in the game of softball.
Morgan: Growing up, my parents put us in everything. I was in gymnastics, tried dance, quit that like four times, didn’t want to do the recital. So my mom finally was like, ‘Okay, I don’t think she’s going to do dance.’ And then I started playing softball. My parents played coed. I think I started around 7 years old. My first memory, I remember we went out to practice, and I hit a line drive and hit the second baseman in the head, unfortunately. The parents were complaining that I was too strong for that division, so they actually moved me all the way up to 12U.
My parents ended up divorcing, but my mom was all about school, and then my dad was all about softball. He worked with me on hitting. My mom did dance with my sister, and then my brother ended up going into hockey. So, you had to do something. I’m very grateful that my parents really forced us to get outside. I was always outside playing in the cul-de-sac. I knew softball was what I wanted to do at the next level. With my mom, if I had an A-, I had to explain why. And then with my dad, I had to hit and pitch every day before I could do anything. So it was very strict.
My parents were two very hardworking individuals, blue collar. My dad’s from Nebraska, grew up on a farm and then moved to Cali. My mom was a waitress, and just worked her butt off for the family. So I think I got those values and structure from my family early on.
FSMag: Do you remember when you first learned about Fresno State?
Morgan: I grew up watching Fresno State. My freshman year at Moreno Valley High School, my athletic director went to Fresno State, and he was also my head softball coach at Moreno Valley. I graduated from Valley View, but I was at Moreno Valley for two years. He gave me a 2XL gray, cotton shirt with the Bulldog on it, and I’m like, ‘I’m going to Fresno State.’
FSMag: What made you eventually choose to play at Alabama?
Morgan: I wanted to be different. I wanted to put them on the map. I wanted to do something that wasn’t easy or normal. I was always against the grain. My mom was obviously really upset because I was the baby and I was leaving. And my dad’s like, ‘Go spread your wings.’
Through the journey, a lot of people see the accolades of things I accomplished, but they don’t understand how hard it was and the sacrifices that I made. But I loved the game. It never looked like I was having fun, but I loved it.
FSMag: How did you get into coaching and what was that experience like?
Morgan: My daughter, Boston, is important to who I am, and my faith is a big piece of who I am. I never thought I’d be back in California. I had my daughter, and decided to come back when I was 30.
I was in Texas at UT Arlington, and she had some health problems. My career is going this way, and I have a daughter and circumstances change. I’m providing, and she had a lot of health issues. I called [Alabama coach] Patrick Murphy and I was like, ‘What do I do?’ I’m at this crossroads. It’s going to be really tough to be a single mom. He goes, ‘Look, the game’s going nowhere.’ You have so much respect. You’ve earned so much respect in the game. Go take care of your kid. And I packed up and moved back to California. I left when I was 18 and didn’t come back until I was 30. And I took about a year off.
I believe God knows. COVID hit, and I would have been in Texas by myself with a kid who has asthma and a lot of food allergies. And God said, ‘I got you.’
To be able to, I got Boston into Loma Linda. Their children’s unit was really good. And that fall, I ended up at Cal State Fullerton, they had a position open for a pitching coach. And so I actually went to Fullerton for a semester, still during COVID, still working part-time. And CSUN opened, and everyone was like, ‘You’re going to be head coach.’
And so, long story, [Cal State Fullerton coach] Kelly Ford said, ‘You need to go.’ Well, I got the job. Kelly Ford is a big mentor for me. She was a single mom, and she showed me she can do it at a high level at Fullerton. It really gave me hope because I didn’t know if I’d do this because nothing’s going to come above my daughter. So, how do I provide a life that I get fulfillment and feel like I get to do what I love, but also provide and be there for her?
FSMag: And five years later, you interviewed again at Fresno State? What was it that attracted you to the job?
Morgan: For me, when [Fresno State athletics director] Garrett Klassy approached me about the opening, Fresno State was the only other job I ever thought about. I think Fresno State aligns with who I am. I grew up watching Fresno State softball when Margie Wright was coaching. I believe in the higher power, I believe God doesn’t make mistakes, and I thought, ‘Why was my first shirt a Fresno State shirt?’
I believe the Valley is about good, hard-working people who believe in strong values and morals and work ethic. They’re good people, and they put their noses down. I was raised that you work hard. I didn’t come from much, so you earn it. You also share it and you take care of others and be a good person. To me, that’s what Fresno State and the Valley has always been about.
And then knowing what Fresno State softball was about, I’m big on history. Tradition doesn’t graduate. We have to do a really good job with keeping alumni engaged in the program and make sure people don’t forget about what the program is about.
FSMag: I’m sure it’s a little comforting for you to see that stadium and know the investment and blueprint is there.
Morgan: Correct. And it’s my job to keep building it up. On top of those things, you have to make sure, from the business side of it, you’re going to an athletic department that is investing and is understanding the times of change. Honestly, it just checked all the boxes. I’m here because of who I am, I’m not here because of what I’m going to get. And I’m going to win. That’s not a question. I’m competitive, super competitive.
I’m excited to have the community and get that involvement, the pride back, the standards back. I know they want to win, but we’ve got to do it the right way, and that’s how we’re going to do it.
FSMag: It seems like popularity-wise, softball is booming right now. Have you seen growth over the years? Do you think it’s going to continue that way?
Morgan: I think so. Media coverage got bigger and our game is fun, our game is exciting. It’s affordable for families to come out to. I love baseball, but softball is faster, it’s quicker. So I think that you’ve seen the level of commitment from the networks, especially ESPN, of making sure games are accessible to anybody. All over the country, softball is so big, and I don’t think that’s not going to change. It’s a great time for women in sports, women’s basketball is taking off, and I think what’s helped for females and women is the social media aspect. They have the most viewership.
For gymnastics, for basketball, softball, it really has taken off, and that gets on people’s scrolls and gets them to think, ‘Dang, she’s cool.’ That’s why I think there’s been more interest. In that respect, NIL has helped us because it’s reached a lot of different people.
FSMag: You’re not bashful about saying you’re going to win here. What can you accomplish at Fresno State?
Morgan: The foundation has been set from the past, and I know that. I’m not here to destroy it, to start it over. It’s my goal to continue to lay the foundation that has been set before us, but understand, I want it done the right way, and I’m not going to cut corners. I’m going to do things right, and I’m going to do things because I want to be here. When I retire and hand it over, I want it to be like [former Bulldogs coach] Donna Pickle and Margie Wright. They just kept it going. That’s my goal – to bring that pride back, have more local players and have the standards to continuously win by building on the foundation and you have to have the culture.
Culture is first, and that’s something that I’m big on is making sure that internally our culture is set. I want the values, our pillars, what we’re about as a program, and then getting those right pieces and players and coaches that fit that.
The facility is great. We have good bones. There are things that we need to update, like the scoreboard. For me, it’s doing it the right way. And if we do that, winning takes care of itself because the players are going to play harder. They’re going to play for the right reasons.
FSMag: What do you want recruits to know about the program?
Morgan: I don’t ever recruit a player hoping that they’re not here for four years. My goal is to find the right players who fit Fresno State and what we’re about and where we’re located. That’s how we can sustain the culture, the values, the traditions to continuously put us in a position to win. Ultimately, making sure that they’re graduating, they’re set up for their degrees, they’re networking and they’re doing things off the field.
We tell them they’re not going to get any better coaching. I’m going to make sure we have the best coaching staff. We have mental performance. I’m not afraid to bring in people. I’m not afraid to continue to learn.
We will win. That’s the goal. I know it’s not easy and there’s going to be bumps. I don’t believe in rebuilding. It’s now. Yeah, there’s a new era with me here. But why do I have to rebuild? I don’t want you to be OK to lose. I want to be the best in everything we do. The only way to do that is to learn and to fail and to make a choice to either go this way or learn from it. That’s how I’ve always been. I don’t hide from the truth. I don’t hide from hard.
FSMag: In recruiting, how much are you able to leverage that pride and tradition here?
Morgan: Definitely the history. I mean, we have one of the largest stadiums in the country. Just what Fresno State’s about, the pride, what the university offers. It has such a wide variety of majors. I was at Georgia Tech where it was like all engineers. You really can do anything here. There’s so much opportunity going to Fresno State. Just the connections and the opportunities that our student-athletes have after they graduate. And so that’s a big piece of the recruiting process. You’re getting to come to a place that is home. Whatever you want to do, you can do it here.
FSMag: What do you need from the community and fans to reach your potential here?
Morgan: Just the support. Obviously we have a lot of financial needs, we have a lot of work to do from scholarships to facility enhancements. We need to make sure our players are taken care of. And we need fans to show us what the pride of the Valley is. Love us and give us energy. We want to feel it. We want to hear it. We need support. We need people in the stands. We need selling out. We need donors. We need all of that.
Also, if there’s anything we can do, let me know. I want to go talk to people. We went to the blood bank this fall. I want to be out there, and I want to be in the community. So if there’s anyone or anything that I can do, I’m learning how special this place is.
Written by Eddie Hughes (‘05); Photos by Cary Edmondson (‘03)
