Expectations are high with successful athletic programs. It’s a challenge that will need a leader who is ready to keep and even improve on the successful traditions set in place. Luckily for the Colorado Mesa University softball team, they didn’t have to look far for a new leader. After losing former Head Coach Ben Garcia, the Mavericks looked from within and found their man in Erik Kozel. 

After working as an assistant for the past six years, Kozel was named the interim Head Coach last September after Garcia left for the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley. CMU decided to keep Kozel in the same position heading into the new season.

“As a coach, I am going to do everything in my power to make sure we have more success then we have had in the past,” Kozel said.   

The CMU alumn has a game plan this season to make sure he puts his mark on the Mavericks team that was one of the best in the nation in 2018. Kozel was the assistant coach when CMU was ranked number one nationally for seven weeks and won their third straight Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) Regular Season title as well as their second straight RMAC Tournament Championship.

“I want to continue the legacy that coaches prior to me have started,” Kozel said.   

Kozel has served as a secondary and primary assistant coach for those years and his main focus throughout the years was helping out with the catchers and the outfielders while also serving as the hitting coach. When he went to CMU, Kozel was a catcher for the baseball team in 2012 and 2013 while earning all-region honors as a catcher.

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After college, Kozel played some independent professional baseball for three seasons and played for the Taos Blizzard and Santa Fe Fuego in the Pecos League. In 2014, the Fuego won the Pecos League Championship and Kozel was named the league MVP as well as MVP of the championship series. He would then return to CMU to assist in coaching softball full time.

“I did not know really what to expect coming in from a baseball background,” Kozel said.“But I have seen that the difference between baseball and softball is the pace in the game in which softball is faster than baseball. There also I think is less room for errors.”   

Kozel is very dedicated and passionate about this team. He helped recruit the mass majority of the women on the team and has seen them grow to the dominant force they have come to be. The players trust him and show constantly they have full trust in Kozel’s abilities.

“I care a lot about this team. I want the girls to understand that softball is important but their education is always the first priority.”   

Not to mention Kozel has built up a suitable coaching staff in which the trust is mutual.

“The other coaches and I make sure to stay on the same page. We are always open to everyone’s suggestions on what to make this a better and stronger team. The coaching staff is really an extension of each other and we are one unit.”   

Expectations may be high with a team coming off a season where the women broke several school records and started the season on a 34-game winning streak. Either way, this marks a great opportunity for Kozel to show his skills as a head coach in what should be another quality season for women’s softball at CMU.   

The 2019 season will kick off when the Mavericks face Cal State East Bay on Feb. 7 in St. George, UT. The first home series will take place on March 2 when newly founded RMAC rival Dixie State comes to town. The Trailblazers are picked to finish in first in the RMAC, barely beating out the Mavericks by a single vote.