Softball has been UMBC redshirt senior outfielder Erin Behel’s first love since she was a kid.
She grew to love the sport and excelled at it, but at the same time, she pursued that passion while seeing corners of the globe that not many get to see since her father, Doug, served in the United States Marine Corps for two decades.
“The idea of service had always been in the background for me,” Behel said.
Her sister, Emma, decided to take the service route entirely, heading to the United States Coast Guard Academy. She is set to graduate this spring and officially begin her service in the U.S. military.
Erin, however, stuck with softball, even as her family moved to Australia, where she was a two-time member of the Australian Junior National Team in 2017 and 2019 and one of the best players on the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) State Team.
When she moved to Ellicott City, Behel continued that success at Mt. Hebron High School, earning an offer to play softball at UMBC.
“When I first was applying to colleges and deciding where to go, I had debated playing at the academies, but I decided I wanted to do the normal college thing and live life as an adult for a bit before making a decision from there,” Behel said. “… I had made the decision to play softball in college well beforehand.”
Behel’s decision to attend UMBC has been a great one. The 5-foot-5 outfielder has appeared in 70 games the past three seasons, hitting .248/.377/.320 in 125 career at-bats and contributing to an America East championship as a freshman in 2023.
However, the idea of service never left her. She eventually applied for the Coast Guard’s College Student Pre-Commissioning Initiative (CSPI) Scholarship Program, a “program for motivated college juniors and seniors who demonstrate academic and leadership excellence and a desire to serve in the Coast Guard,” according to the USCG website.
“I was mostly focused on balancing academics with softball as I’m currently studying mechanical engineering,” Behel said. “Having that along with all the responsibilities that come with a D-I sport, that’s what I was focused on balancing. By the time I applied to the program, I felt like I had a pretty good handle on it.”
That’s a lot on anyone’s plate, especially someone on a quest for another conference title on the softball diamond, but once Behel found balance and comfort in her college schedule, the decision to apply for the Coast Guard program became a no-brainer.
It’s also been quite the conversation starter among teammates and coaches, especially first-year head coach Angie Nicholson, who came to UMBC from Norfolk State ahead of the 2026 season.
“When I got hired, I brought them all in to tell me a little bit about themselves,” Nicholson said. “… I could tell right away she was going to be different than any kid I’ve dealt with in my 25 years of coaching. You could tell there she had some sort of military training. She’s very regimented in how she does things, her responses, her body language.
“The cool thing is because of that background and the way she does things, it’s how she carries her entire life and everything that she does. She likes to have structure, likes to have a plan, likes to know what she’s doing. It’s just how she’s built.”
Outside of a boot camp she participated in during her first summer with CSPI, the program itself doesn’t affect her time on campus outside of four hours a week spent at her recruiting office.
Any significant training happens when class isn’t in session. That allows her to focus on her classes and her work on the softball diamond, where she comes into her redshirt senior season as a key returner for UMBC.
“Most places wouldn’t allow these things to take place,” Nicholson said. “They would make them make a decision, but I welcome and I allow these things to be able to take place because all these things are what makes these young ladies who they are and who they’re going to be.”
Behel has remained unapologetically herself throughout her softball career, which has allowed her to reach this point where her post-graduate career is taken care of. After completing a successful academic and athletic college career, she will continue working toward becoming an officer in the Coast Guard.
However, Behel’s final college season awaits, a campaign both she and her teammates hope ends with donning rings as the champions of the America East.
“I’ve had a lot of reminiscing moments, thinking back to my freshman year,” Behel said. “… I’m really excited to play as hard as I can in my last season. Once that last game happens, that’s going to be it for me. Trying to savor every moment and enjoy the little things with my team, taking each day one step at a time.
“Still going to try to get that ring. I would love to get a ring.”
Photo Credit: Jon Koontz