Albany, NY—The Sage Colleges' department of athletics has selected Erica Li (Troy, NY, formerly of Salt Lake City, Utah) as the newest member of the coaching staff. Li, a 2016 graduate of Williams College, arrives at Sage after serving as the softball coach and the coordinator of academic success and diversity at nearby Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts.
"I am extremely excited to be joining the Sage athletics department," commented Erica Li. She continued, "I am very grateful to Sandy Augustin-Collins and the entire search committee for the opportunity to lead Sage's softball program and bring them to the next level of success in the Empire 8 Conference."
Director of Athletics Sandy Augstein-Collins commented, "I am delighted to announce that Erica Li will be joining the Sage Athletic Department as our next softball coach." Augstein-Collins continued, "She brings a wealth of experience to our softball program as a former student-athlete at Williams. I am looking forward to the program impact that Erica will have as a coach for our softball team and also her impact at a department-wide level."
Li was named the head coach at MCLA in May of 2018 after serving as the team's interim coach during the 2018 season.
Li came to MCLA from Williams College three years ago to serve as the College's coordinator of academic success and diversity under the NCAA Ethnic Minorities and Women's Internship Grant. She served as the softball team's assistant coach, before moving into the interim head softball coach position in January.
She enjoyed a decorated softball career at Williams College. While an Eph, Li was a four-year letterwinner for the program, serving as captain during her senior season. She was named an All-American in 2016, and was also tabbed as the New England Small College Athletics Conference (NESCAC) Player of the Year.
Her teams at Williams competed in the NCAA Tournament during her final three seasons, which included trips to the regional finals in both 2015 and 2016. While Li was an accomplished softball player, she was also an active member of the campus community. She served as a junior advisor at Williams, which is a mentoring program for first-year students. She was selected out of a pool of 120 candidates for the advising position at Williams. The program entailed living amongst the first-year students, mentoring them academically, and assisting them with the transition to Williams.
Li arrived at MCLA having garnered the NCAA's NCAA Ethnic Minority and Women's Internship Grant. The grant ran for two years and concluded in the spring of 2018.
