Oakley tabbed as softball coach

From afar, Eric Oakley watched the North Dakota State softball team make the NCAA tournament twice.

It will now be his goal to duplicate that success 75 miles to the north.

Oakley, who has served as an assistant at Eastern Michigan University for the last five seasons, was hired to lead the Sioux program on Thursday. He will replace Sami Strinz, who resigned at the end of last season.

While at EMU, Oakley helped the Eagles reach the NCAA tournament once. He also served as the interim coach last year, leading the Eagles to their second-best record in program history.

“It’s my intention to come in and coach this team — I’m excited to coach this group,” Oakley said. “I’m thrilled for the opportunity to build a successful program. We’re going to take the people that are already there and take the next step with them.”

Despite being a cold-weather team, Oakley thinks UND can achieve national success. That will be easier once the Sioux enter the Big Sky Conference in 2012-13. They will be able to grab an automatic bid to the NCAAs by winning a postseason tournament.

“I think the goal has to be to go to the women’s college World Series,” Oakley said. “I say that seriously and honestly. I know we can’t qualify for the postseason for two more years, but that’s our goal.

“You absolutely can get talented players to come and you can also be successful in a northern area. I had that experience in Michigan and North Dakota State shows you can do it. We used that as an example for our team. If they can do it, we can do it.”

Oakley graduated from Eastern Michigan in 2001 and coached at the high school level until 2005. This will be the first time Oakley has moved out of the state of Michigan.

“I feel excited about it,” he said. “I thought it would be a unique situation. The program has done pretty well going from Division II to Division I. I get a sense that it’s a place you could be successful. It’s important to have a nice campus that you can recruit to. On my visit there, the campus proved to be that.”

UND athletic director Brian Faison said he’s pleased to find someone with Oakley’s experience.

“Eric brings considerable coaching experience at the collegiate, high school and elite travel levels,” Faison said. “He has demonstrated a strong commitment to balancing academic and competitive excellence by the student-athletes in charge.”

Schlossman writes sports for the Grand Forks Herald

Tags: sports, softball, und, coach, oakley