KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- On Tuesday, November 31, Western Michigan head softball coach Marlee Wilson, announced the official hiring of assistant softball coach, Erika Whittington.

"We are extremely excited to finalize our staff with Erika! She brings coaching and training experience from multiple areas and will strengthen our staff dynamic." said head coach Wilson.

Growing up, Whittington was a dominant four-year multi-sport athlete. At Lawton high school, she would letter in three varsity sports: volleyball, basketball, and softball.

Later during her college career, Whittington pitched a total of 208 innings, threw 153 strikeouts, and posted a 2.27 ERA during her two years at Kalamazoo Valley Community College. In her freshman year at KVCC, she would post a career-high .403 batting average along with 10 home runs. Later, in her sophomore season, Whittington hit a .374 average and added 44 hits. Whittington would also play one year at Aquinas College where as a pitcher, she struck out 84 batters and posted a 3.31 ERA.  

As a coach, Whittington spent seven seasons as an assistant coach at Kalamazoo Valley Community College. As an assistant, she was in charge of recruiting, practice plans, instructional work with pitchers and infielders, and orchestrating youth camps. Whittington would lead KVCC to an overall conference record of 128-54 with five NJCAA (National Junior College Athletic Association) Regional tournament appearances.

Whittington also helps manage Starting Lineup LLC with Coach Morgan VanderBor-Fleetwood since 2017. The two have coached together at KVCC from 2017-2022.

Erika is the sister of Shane Whittington, who played for the WMU men's basketball team from 2011-2014.