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Erin Layton
Position: Head Coach
Experience: 7th Year
Education: B.A., Connecticut '98 M.S., Connecticut '00
The 2013-14 academic year marks head coach Erin Layton's sixth season at the University of Rhode Island.
In 2013, Layton had Kelly Coker earn Senior CLASS Second-Team All-America honors, become the first player in program history to earn the distinction. Coker and junior Jocelyn Mattison also were named to the 2013 Atlantic 10 All-Academic Team honors.
In 2012, Layton coached Rhode Island to a dramatic turnaround from the previous season. After going 7-46 in 2011, the Rams improved by 14 games, finishing the 2012 season with a record of 21-32-1. It was Rhode Island's first 20-win season since 2006. Junior Kelly Coker earned Second Team All-Atlantic 10 honors, as well as Atlantic 10 All-Academic Team honors.
In 2010, Layton led the Rams back to the Atlantic-10 Championship following a seven year absence, guiding Rhody to 19 victories. In addition, the Rams set a single-season school record as they blasted 32 home runs, smashing the previous mark of 19 set back in 2001. Under Layton's direction, the Rams placed a pair of players on the Atlantic-10 All-Conference Team as Melissa Wilson and freshman Erika Szymanski were named to the all-league Second and Rookie Teams, respectively.
Layton came to Kingston after spending two successful seasons as the head coach at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. This May, Layton led the Red Foxes to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championship game. In her two years at Marist, her teams earned back-to-back trips to the league championship tournament, while averaging 22 wins per season.
Prior to her stint at Marist, Layton served as head coach at Saint Francis (Pa.) in Loretto, Pa. from 2005-06 and the College of Saint Elizabeth in Morristown, N.J. in 2004. She also served as an assistant coach at Furman (2002-03) and Brown (2001).
A four-year letterwinner during her playing career at the Connecticut, Layton earned first-team All-Big East accolades as a junior and senior and was a member of two Big East Championship teams. Layton compiled a .297 career average as a catcher and ranks among UConn's Top 10 in five career categories, including games played (209), runs batted in (100), and base hits (211). The Huskies posted a composite record of 127-83-1 during her collegiate career, including a 55-15 mark in Big East play, and advanced to NCAA Regional competition in 1995 and 1996.
After graduation, Layton played professionally for the New Jersey Diamonds of the Ladies Professional Baseball League. In 1999, she was selected as the softball Player of the Decade by the Trenton Times. Layton earned a bachelor's degree in early childhood education in 1998 and a master's degree in sports management in 2000, both from Connecticut.
Updated July 8, 2014