UMass Lowell Athletics

UMass Lowell Women's Basketball Head Coach Jon Plefka has revealed the addition of new assistant coach Erica Balman prior to the 2025-26 season. Balman enters the program after serving one season at Boston University as the director of basketball operations for the Terriers. 

"I'm happy to welcome Erica to UMass Lowell as an assistant coach," said Plefka. "Her experience as a professional player and collegiate coach, combined with her proven ability to develop talent and contribute to winning cultures, makes her a tremendous asset to our staff. Erica's passion, energy and commitment to student-athlete growth will have a lasting impact on our program."  

During her time at Boston University, Balman's duties included overseeing team travel, coordinating logistics for recruiting visits and managing the community outreach. She also handled day-to-day program operations, such as budget tracking, purchasing and scheduling for practices. 

"I'm truly excited to be a part of something special here at UMass Lowell," said Balman. "The opportunity to help build this program alongside Coach Plefka is an incredible honor. I'm grateful for his leadership and vision, and I look forward to contributing to the culture, development and long-term success of our team." 

Balman's coaching career began in 2020, taking on the role as the lead assistant women's basketball coach at Houghton University for four seasons. She helped the program to three winning seasons, including a seventh-place finish in the NCCAA National Tournament in 2022-23 and a 23-5 overall record in 2023-24. During her tenure with the Highlanders, Balman was responsible for practice planning, game execution, scouting, recruiting and player development. 

As the recruiting coordinator at Houghton, she acquired the University's first ever NCCAA Player of the Year, Empire8 Rookie of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year. Some other achievements during her career at Houghton include being part of the 2023-24 NCCAA and Empire8 Coaching Staffs of the Year. 

Balman signed her first professional basketball contract in 2019 with DJK Bamberg in the DBBL second league in Bamberg, Germany. She then helped lead her team to the DBBL second league championship in 2020. 

Before her professional playing career, Balman earned a full academic scholarship to play basketball at Monmouth University. She played all four years for the Hawks, averaging three points and four rebounds per contest while shooting over 40 percent from the field and registering 127 blocks, which ranked sixth in program history. 

Balman earned her bachelor's degree in psychology from Monmouth in 2019.