A former standout pitcher for the Rangers and a 2019 inductee in the Drew Athletics Hall of Fame, Erica Mehalick C'03 enters her seventh year as the head softball coach at Drew University in 2023-24. She also enters her fourth year as the school's senior woman administrator and as the advisor of Drew's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).
Under Mehalick, the Rangers posted another successful season in 2023. The team finished with a 25-14 record, marking the third-highest victory total in program history. Individually, the squad set team records for the most players named to the All-Landmark Conference Team with four, including a school-record three first-team selections. Additionally, outfielder Molly O'Brien C'24 and Bailey Comeau C'24 were named Landmark Conference Player of the Year and Pitcher of the Year, respectively, marking the first player of the year and pitcher of the year in program history. Comeau and O'Brien were also named the NFCA All-Region team. The Rangers set a team and Landmark Conference record for stolen bases (82) and also finished among the top-10 in school history in hits (second), pitching strikeouts (second), home runs (tied for second), batting average (fourth), doubles (fourth), walks (tied for seventh), fielding percentage (eighth), and on-base percentage (eighth).
Mehalick also led the Rangers to an outstanding campaign in 2022, when the squad finished 24-15. The Rangers turned in a tremendous offensive season, finishing among the top-10 in school history in runs scored (second), home runs (second), RBIs (second), on-base percentage (fifth), slugging percentage (sixth), and batting average (seventh) while setting team records for walks and stolen bases. The team also made its mark as a strong defensive squad, setting the Drew record for fielding percentage. At the conclusion of the season, outfielder Madi Precht C'23 and pitcher Teagan Bradley C'25 were named First-Team All-Landmark Conference while O'Brien earned second-team all-conference recognition. In addition, both Precht and Bradley landed NFCA All-Region honors, with Precht earning a spot on the first team and Bradley capturing third-team laurels.
During the 2021 season, Mehalick coached a pair of Rangers to All-Landmark Conference status, as Comeau earned a spot on the first team while Precht was a second-team selection.
Prior to her return to the Forest, Mehalick posted a successful nine-year stint as the head coach at Stevens Institute of Technology, where she transitioned the Ducks from a club to an NCAA varsity program on the way to five Empire 8 postseason appearances and 157 victories. She was named the Empire 8 Coach of the Year in 2014 as a result of a 30-13 campaign.
Mehalick made history on March 28, 2001 by throwing the first perfect game in team history, retiring all 15 batters in order in a
9-0, five-inning victory over Delaware Valley in Madison. Including that gem, she fired the first two no-hitters in program history with another no-no coming on
March 23, 2002, albeit an ultra-rare no-hitter loss, 1-0, at home against Lycoming. Mehalick ranks second all-time at Drew with 39 career wins, first in innings pitched with just shy of 500, second in career shutouts (8), and third in career ERA (2.26) and strikeouts (234).
Her degree in economics led to a job in the reinsurance industry for six years. In 2006, she spent her time out of the office coaching club softball teams, including the squad at Stevens, which led to her appointment as the program's first varsity coach in 2010. She completed a masters in sports administration at Fairleigh Dickinson in 2014.
Mehalick was selected twice as a CoSIDA Academic All-District winner, and carried that focus on academics to her coaching career. In 2015, her Stevens squad earned the seventh highest GPA for softball teams in Division III, and in 2017, the program had its first CoSIDA Academic All-District selection and claimed the NJAIAW Team Academic Award for spring sports.
Under Mehalick's guidance, a total of 29 student-athletes have received Empire 8 All-Conference honors, including the conference Rookie and Pitcher of the Year in 2014. Mehalick has also coached six ECAC All-Stars and nine NFCA All-Region performers.
An active member of the National Fastpitch Coaches Association, Mehalick's service also includes a regional advisory committee, a conference softball chair, the Top of the V Leadership Academy and the Stevens Hall of Fame selection committee.
