Completing its coaching staff ahead of the 2024-25 season, the Boston University women’s basketball program has named Erica Balman as the newest Director of Basketball Operations, Head Coach Melissa Graves announced on Tuesday afternoon.
Balman joins the role after predecessor Jason Pellum was elevated to the position of assistant coach back in April.
“I am thrilled to welcome Erica to the BU family,” remarked Graves. “Erica’s experience and proven success will be a tremendous addition to our staff. She is someone whose energy and passion for mentorship and the game of basketball was evident from our very first conversation. I could not be more excited to get started with Erica and for the BU community to get to know her.”
“I am deeply privileged and grateful to become a part of the Terrier community at Boston University,” said Balman. “From the instant I arrived on campus, I was struck by the familial atmosphere. I greatly admire Coach Graves – she embodies exemplary leadership for student-athletes and serves as a role model. The coaching staff comprises exceptional individuals who have embraced me wholeheartedly, and I am excited to collaborate with each of them. I’m delighted to dedicate myself to this outstanding program to bring continued success.”
Balman most recently served as the lead assistant coach at Houghton University in New York for four seasons. In the Highlanders’ most recent year in 2023-24, the staff was named the NCCAA D1 and Empire8 Coaching Staff of the Year after guiding Houghton to its most wins (23) and highest winning percentage (.821) in a single season. Balman was instrumental in the development of Kayla Camacho, who was selected at an NCCAA First Team All-American, NCCAA Midwest Region Player of the Year, and WBCA NCAA Division III All-American after leading the Highlanders with 15.1 points per game.
Back in 2022-23, Balman helped lead Houghton to its first NCCAA National Championship appearance in 35 years, where the Highlanders finished seventh. Houghton ranked as high as 10th in the nation during that year.
Prior to her coaching career, Balman played professional basketball with DJK Bamberg in Germany. In the 2019-20 slate, she made 17 appearances and scored nearly six points per game as DJK Bamberg captured the DBBL Second League championship.
Balman was a four-year letterwinner at Monmouth University from 2015-19. She played in 108 career games for the Hawks, averaging three points and four rebounds per contest while shooting over 40 percent from the field and registering 127 blocks, the latter ranking sixth in program history. Her best season came as a junior in 2017-18, when she led the MAAC with 61 blocks and set career-highs in points (148), rebounds (6.4 per game), assists (25), blocks, steals (16), and minutes (19.9 per game). She graduated from Monmouth in 2019 with a degree in Psychology.
Balman delved into coaching in 2019, when she participated in the WBCA’s “So You Want To Be A Coach” program at the Final Four. One of 60 student-athletes selected across the country, she developed her coaching and professional skills. Two months later, she attended the NCAA Leadership Development “Career In Sports” Forum at the NCAA Headquarters in Indianapolis.
Before her collegiate career, Balman was a three-star recruit at Marcellus High School in New York. Ranked the No. 65 center by ESPN, she averaged 10.3 points and 5.8 rebounds per game as a senior, earning Second Team All-Onondaga status.
BU comes off a 20-12 campaign in 2023-24 where it tied for second in the Patriot League with 10 conference wins. The Terriers made their second-consecutive appearance in the Patriot League championship game and third in four years. Senior Caitlin Weimar became the program’s first Patriot League Player of the Year and two-time Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year.
In 2024-25, the Terriers return eight letterwinners from a season ago, including First Team All-Patriot League selection Alex Giannaros, who averaged a career-best 14.2 points per game in 2023-24.
