New Providence women's coach Erin Batth says Friars need to 'get back to fundamentals'

PROVIDENCE — Erin Batth’s career at Providence got off to an inauspicious start.

The newly hired Providence College women’s basketball coach stepped up to the podium for her introductory speech and, reaching down for a microphone that was set up for guard-size athletic director Steven Napolillo and not the 6-foot-4-inch coach, she accidentally shut it off.

Napolillo quickly stepped up to fix the issue. Once Batth started talking, it took her just as long to show why she’s what the Friars needed.

New head men's basketball coach Kim English may have been the headliner for Wednesday’s press conference but Batth stole the show and left everyone there ready to hear about English's plans for the men's team ready to run through a brick wall for the new women's coach.

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“I wanted somebody that could awake a sleeping giant,” Napolillo said. “Just being around her, she’s what these young women needed, what this program needs. Her passion, her vision, her energy, this is who I wanted to be my teammate.”

“I was really nervous. The crowd, I didn’t expect that,” Batth told The Journal. “It’s not like that — really, it’s not like that at a lot of places. That right there makes me want to work.

“And I’m ready to get to work.”

If Batth brings half the energy she displayed at the press conference and subsequent media interviews following the show, it will invigorate a Providence program that desperately needs it.

She spoke with sincerity about her journey and how she hopes both herself and her fellow rookie head coach can bring a new level of excitement to their programs. Batth joked about enjoying lacrosse but not knowing a thing about it, talked about wanting to be there for her players now and when they’re older with families of their own and choked back tears when talking about her mother, Joyce Dixon, who raised Batth and her two sisters as a single parent.

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“The magnitude she has on my life, I don’t think I tell her enough,” Batth told the crowd. “Thank you, mommy. I did it — and we did it together.”

Providence is Batth’s first head coaching job, but she’s hardly a newbie in the coaching world.

She played four years at Clemson, played a couple of seasons overseas before jumping into coaching in 2004-05. Batth started at Virginia Commonwealth, went to Virginia, Towson, Tennessee Tech, Georgia State and Liberty before being an assistant at North Carolina State from 2018-22. She spent this past season at Michigan.

Being a head coach was always the goal. Along the way, Batth took notes, both mental and physical, as she put together her own plans for what she would do if she had her own program. Even with the opportunity, it’s not as easy as saying, "Do X, Y and Z and we’ll turn things around," something Batth is more than aware of.

“Player personnel is everything,” Batth said. “Some things I learned at other schools may not fit here, so I have to go back, learn everything again and try to utilize it all.”

The women’s game has swung in two decidedly different directions. Every coach wants balance, but the teams that are currently having success are doing so with brute, physical defense where offense is created off turnovers and second-chance points — think South Carolina, LSU or Ole Miss — or by pushing pace with superior athleticism and shooting — like Iowa, Louisville or Utah.

Batth wants to try to do what teams such as Michigan, Ohio State or Virginia Tech have done — find success somewhere in between.

“For them to understand my language and what I want, we have to get back to the fundamentals,” Batth said.

“The physicality of the game, I love it. I want to be the aggressor. I want those women to go out and be the aggressor.”

Batth’s inherits a team that went 13-19 last year and 4-16 in a highly competitive Big East. The team and coach Jim Crowley parted ways this month. Recruiting is going to be crucial, especially in these next two months, and there are more than a few players in the portal who could help change the program.

There are also the players who are now looking to Batth to lead. Batth won’t start from scratch, but she wants her returnees to know things will be different.

“If you’re a Friar, you’re a Friar,” Batth said. “But if you’re going to be here, I want them to be in top shape and I need them to be ready to take in the new concepts.”

“From what she’s told us, this is a new chapter and I think we’re really going to build on this,” said senior Brynn Farrell, who has one year of eligibility left. “I’m excited just to get started.”

“Last year, we were right there. We did fall off a little, but we have a team of girls ready to take the next step and, going into this season, we’re really committed and trying to get to that postseason.”

When can Providence fans expect the Friars to make the leap back to relevancy? It might take some time.

But Batth’s going to make sure it happens. Much like that of Tammi Reiss at URI, Batth’s energy seems infinite and, if players feed off it, it might not be long before Providence is winning more games than not.

“It’s not instant success." Batth said. “Anytime you build a foundation, you don’t go fast. You take your time. We’re going to really get this fundamental stuff down and we’ll make some moves.”

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: New women's basketball coach Erin Batth takes over at Providence College