Coach Steve Swazo enters his 16th year at the helm of the Lady Trojan Softball program
and looks to add to his 408 victories. Since his arrival, Trinidad State Softball
players have received multiple academic and athletic honors which include (2) NJCAA
All-Americans, (2) NFCA All-Americans, (30) All-Region 9 Players, (3) Region 9 Player
of the Year, (3) Region 9 Freshman of the Year, (55) Region 9 Academic All-Americans
along with (44) NJCAA Academic All-Americans while coaching at Trinidad State.
His 2020-21 team secured the school’s third Region 9 Championship along with the conference
title and finished the season with a 34-14 record. His team hit 108 HR on the season
which puts them second all-time in school history (the 2017 Region 9 Championship
team hit a school record 118 HR that year). He sent his third player to a D1 school
with Jayden Gandert now playing at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley.
The 2019-20 season was cut short due to COVID but his team managed to record 13 wins
and were undefeated in conference play when the season was cancelled.
His 2018-19 team finished third and his sophomore pitcher Teddi Garcia re-wrote the
record books as she left with 307 K’s for her career at TSJC. She also finished second
in total wins over a two year period with 38 victories. Another positive was his team
finished the year with a grade point average of 3.55 and had a total of 12 student
athletes receive Academic All-American status and 17 receive All-Region All-Academic.
His 2017-18 team won its second consecutive Region IX Championship and placed its
second athlete to move on to a D1 school in Katie Glaze who will play at the University
of Northern Colorado in Greeley. The 2017-18 class had nine of its 11 sophomores move
on to a 4-year University to continue their softball careers with either an academic
or athletic scholarship. Also most important was this class had an overall GPA of
3.55 as a team and (10) student athletes made NJCAA All-American Academic Honors and
(14) made Region IX All-Academic Honors. The students excelled not only on the softball
field but also in the classroom.
His 2016-17 team set new records in many categories including winning the Region IX
Conference title and also winning the Region IX Championship. Included in the record
setting year, Swazo collected his 300th collegiate win. His 2017 squad finished second
in the nation in home runs with 118 and Swazo coached his first NJCAA First Team All-American
athlete in Isabella Navarro. Navarro was Region IX Player of the Year her sophomore
year and was Freshmen of the Year. She leaves Trinidad State as the all-time leader
in hits, runs batted in, home runs and batting average and will continue her softball
career at Division I Colorado State University in Fort Collins.
So far, a total of 60 former Trinidad State Junior College softball student athletes
have played softball and furthered their education at a four-year university.
Prior to Trinidad State Junior College, Swazo, a native of Trinidad, was an assistant
baseball coach for Trinidad High School as well as the freshmen boys’ basketball coach.
He also worked with special needs students. From 1985 through 2005, Swazo coached
in Nebraska and has more than 20 years of coaching high school baseball teams. He
also assisted in coaching clinics with the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, Oklahoma
State University, and Northeastern Oklahoma A & M College and was the women’s JV basketball
coach for one year at the University of Nebraska at Kearney.
Swazo holds a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Physical Education and minor in Special
Education from the University of Nebraska at Kearney and also a degree in radio broadcasting.
Coach Swazo helps out with many softball camps and showcases during the summer months
in Utah, California, New Mexico, Nevada, Alaska and Colorado.
