Ariel LaRosa begins her second season as an assistant softball coach at Nichols College in 2020.
The Bison won 17 games in 2019 and won a Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) playoff contest for the second-straight season, defeating Western New England in the opening round. Nichols struck out 169 batters – the third-highest mark in program history – while the team’s 2.77 earned run average (ERA) was the fourth-best mark. The Bison placed six student-athletes on the CCC Academic All-Conference Team while two more – Alexis Ferris and Samantha Kostek – garnered CCC All-Conference honors.
LaRosa came to Nichols after serving as the head coach at Salem State in 2018, where she guided the Vikings to the Massachusetts Small College Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Tournament. Her squad posted a 7-7 mark in conference play and produced nine MASCAC All-Academic Team pics, two MASCAC First Team selections, and one MASCAC Spring Sportsmanship Team honoree.
LaRosa – who also spent two years as the head softball coach at Wheelock College (2016-17) – is a 2015 graduate of Curry College, where she led the Colonels to four Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) playoff appearances. She garnered CCC Second Team honors in both 2013 and 2015. LaRosa graduated with a bachelor's degree in criminal justice and minored in communications.
LaRosa is currently the director of a new AAU program at the Team Boston Baseball/Softball Facility based out of North Reading, Mass. She will serve as the head softball instructor for ages U12 to U18. “We are looking to create a program that takes softball players to the next level,” said LaRosa, who recently stepped down as head coach of the 16U Boston Batbusters.
