Matt Garcia joined Rich Wallace’s staff in August 2026 as the program's Infield Coordinator.
Garcia brings a youthful energy to the Knights’ coaching staff, as he’s entering his second year of coaching at the collegiate level. While a young coach, Garcia had a diverse playing career, with stops at the SEC, HBCU and JUCO levels.
In 2026, Garcia was a member of Bradley University’s staff, serving as the Director of Player Development and Infield Coordinator. During his lone season in Peoria, the Braves notched 1,372 putouts, a .956 fielding percentage, and turned 38 double plays. Under his tutelage, utility man Landon Lowe was named to the All-Missouri Valley Conference 2nd team, thanks to his team-leading .364 batting average, .453 on-base percentage, .993 OPS, 72 hits, and 20 doubles.
As a player, Garcia spent his final two seasons at Mizzou, appearing in 88 games and starting 80 of them in the infield. While in Columbia, Garcia established himself as a clutch player. In 2024, he finished third on the squad in RBIs, despite missing 11 games due to injury. Overall on the season, Garcia hit .248, tallied nine multi-hit games, and eight multi-RBI performances.
In 2023, Garcia had a .977 fielding percentage, after finishing the season with just three errors in 130 chances. At the plate, Garcia hit an impressive .326 with two outs, a mark that placed him second on the team. The switch hitter posted a .240 batting average on the season and seven multi-hit games.
Prior to Mizzou, Garcia had two separate stints at Bethune-Cookman in 2020 and 2022. In his pandemic-shortened freshman season, Garcia started 18 games at shortstop and was named the MEAC Preseason Freshman of the Year. During his junior season in 2022, Garcia started all 57 games for the Wildcats, logging a career-high in hits with 74, RBIs with 36, slugging percentage with .460, and on-base percentage with .367. He also recorded multiple two-homer games, making up his season total of four.
In between, Garcia spent the 2021 at JUCO powerhouse Chipola College in Marianna, Fla. While there, he notched a .310 batting average and led the team in at-bats with 174, games played with 48, and singles with 43. In his lone season, he earned NJCAA First Team All-Panhandle honors and was recognized as one of the Top 50 JUCO players to watch by Prep Baseball Report.
Additionally, Garcia played three seasons at the summer ball level. He spent 2020 with the Amarillo Sod Dogs of the Texas Collegiate League, 2021 with the Chatham Anglers of the Cape Cod League, and 2023 with the Valley Blue Sox of the New England Collegiate Baseball Level.
Off the field, Garcia was named to the SEC Community Service Team in 2024, after logging the most volunteer hours on the Tigers in his two years with the program. In 2023, he was named to the SEC First-Year Academic Honor Roll and earned his bachelor's degree from Mizzou in 2024 in general studies.
A native of Puerto Rico, Garcia moved to the U.S. at age 12 and played at Avant Garde Academy in Florida. He served as team captain during his 2019 senior season and led his squad to a 28-6 record, hitting .364 with 26 RBIs. For his prep career, Garcia registered a stellar .398 batting average.