Bubba Nickles-Camarena has worn a variety of jerseys throughout her softball career.
She has suited up for UCLA, the United States Olympic Team, a handful of Athletes Unlimited (AUSL) professional squads and even the Toyota Red Terriers of the Japanese Women’s Softball League.
But her newest team colors are Aztec Scarlet and Black as Nickles-Camarena has now joined the San Diego State women’s softball team as an assistant coach.
The 2024 Transformative Coaching and Leadership (TCL) graduate says making the jump from coaching at UCLA to SDSU was one of the toughest decisions she’s ever made — but also a move that is already proving fruitful.
“At the end of the day, I wanted to grow,” Nickles-Camarena says. “And I recognize that in order to grow you have to be a little uncomfortable.
“I had such a great experience as both a player and on the staff at UCLA and I knew I had the foundation to be successful here, so I came to SDSU to be tested and build on my coaching background.”
The 2020 Olympic silver medalist already had a solid connection with Aztec head coach Stacey Nuveman Deniz heading into the new role. This past summer, Nickles played for Nuveman Deniz’s Athletes Unlimited team, the Bandits, who drafted her with their fourth-round pick.
As SDSU’s new hitting coach, Nickles-Camarena will also work primarily with the Aztecs’ outfielders and assist with recruiting. The team is coming off a sizzling 2025 spring campaign in which it stormed back to defeat Fresno State in the Mountain West Conference Championship, securing an NCAA Tournament berth.
“Coach Stacey also was a Bruin before she came to SDSU,” Nickles-Camerena explains. “So I think that her UCLA background has helped a lot in her leadership and developing the culture here.
“We have five core values: Accountability, Warrior Mentality, Tribe, Aztec Pride and Rise Up.”
Each week this fall, the team has met and players have privately nominated teammates who they felt embodied those values over the previous seven days.
“They plead their case to the coaches as to why that teammate really showcased that type of core value. Then the coaching staff reviews those nominations. And then there’s this buildup before we all get together and they get surprised by the teammate who nominated them.”
The players who are selected then “earn their shirt,” which proudly displays the Aztecs values on it.
“The culture at UCLA was all about family and being able to prioritize,” she says. “We always said ‘Mission First, Team Always.’ And I think that that holds true for SDSU as well.”
A Second At-Bat
Taking an atypical pathway to earn her masters degree from the School of Education and Information Studies, Nickles-Camerena was actually a member of the 2021 TCL cohort before taking a leave to pursue her professional softball career.
She moved to Aichi, Japan, joining the Toyota Red Terriers for a title-winning season before eventually returning stateside to play for Athletes Unlimited.
“I’ve always wanted to be a coach in some fashion,” she says. “But I was playing in Japan and a big reason why I chose not to return there for another season was because I realized that I really wanted to pursue coaching full-time.”
Witnessing the growth of the sport internationally — with both its successes and challenges — sharpened her focus.
“Seeing that in action and helping to develop something that’s both entertaining and sustainable both in Japan and in the U.S. is really what brought me back.”
She returned this past year to complete her TCL degree.
“I enjoy school, but I felt like I was on fire for everything that we were learning about during the TCL program — it was so beneficial being able to live it all out while learning about it.
“Everyone that’s gone through TCL has such a unique opportunity. And I know that even if they don’t remain in the sports space, you develop this ability to understand teamwork and leadership on a different level. You can better grasp what goes on behind the scenes when you’re cultivating a group culture.”
Using Faith as a Vehicle to Grow Softball
Not shy about her faith, Nickles-Camarena has also used her platform as a professional athlete and coach to share the Gospel.
Her personal motto on her Team USA profile is: “Never stress, just do your best, and trust God with the rest.”
This past year, Athletes Unlimited selected her for its 2025 Impact Award in recognition of her community work “to show athletes and coaches the beauty of having their purpose rooted in something greater.”
She has appeared on podcasts to discuss how faith and sports intersect and volunteered with Athletes in Action, a nationwide program that develops student-athletes through faith and faith-based programs.
Nickles-Camarena has also participated in multiple MLB Play Ball clinics benefiting underprivileged communities by introducing them to baseball and softball.
“With Athletes Unlimited, we’re trying to break a glass ceiling vibe about it,” she shares. “But to keep getting there, we have to individually step up.
“We’re building something that is unprecedented,” she adds. “But the crowds that were at our games this past summer were just as big, if not bigger than a lot of college games I’ve ever played in. So we’re seeing success, and I was floored with how many people that weren’t even softball fans heard about the league and wanted to come check it out.
“Now we’ve got MLB backing and brands like Sephora supporting AUSL. So we’re all collectively using different platforms to get attention from people that might have formerly known nothing about the sport softball.”
Named the Gatorade National Softball Player of the Year as a senior at Merced High School in 2016, Nickles-Camarena also won a gold medal with Team USA at the 2022 World Games in Birmingham, Alabama. Earlier in her playing career, Nickles-Camarena won a pair of gold medals in the WBSC Junior Women’s World Championships in 2015 and 2017. During her playing days at UCLA, she led the Bruins to the 2019 NCAA Championship while pacing the team in hits, home runs, RBIs and slugging percentage. She is a three-time All-Pac 12 honoree as well as a two-time member of the NFCA West All-Region First Team and the All-Women’s College World Series team. She earned her undergraduate degree from UCLA in Sociology.
Learn more about UCLA’s Transformative Coaching and Leadership Master of Education program.
Support TCL’s mission to contribute to the creation of a more just, equitable and humane society through enlightened and socially conscious coaching and leadership.