University of Rhode Island Women's Softball

Mike Coutts was named the Rhode Island softball head coach in August of 2024.  A veteran coach with more than two decades experience at the collegiate level, Coutts was the head coach for six years at Maine before spending the last three seasons with Division II Colorado School of Mines. Coutts was named the head coach at Maine in the summer of 2015 after two seasons as an assistant there. From 2016-21, he won 94 games, which ranks third in Maine history. He led the Black Bears to the 2016 America East title and an NCAA regional appearance, the program’s first NCAA appearance in 12 years. He was an even 42-42 in conference play with the Black Bears. While he was an assistant with the program, the Maine staff was named the 2015 America East Coaching Staff of the Year. Off the field, Maine excelled under Coutts’ watch. The Black Bears consistently ranked in the top quarter of NCAA Division I teams in grade-point average and were recognized by the NCAA as being in the top 10 percent of Division I softball programs in academic progress rate each of his last three seasons.  In three seasons at Colorado Schools of Mines, Coutts improved the team’s win total each season. After going 16-30 in 2022, the Orediggers went 25-26 in 2023 and then 29-23 last season. The 29 wins were the program’s most in seven years. The team had a 65-53 (.551) record in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference action and made two appearances in the postseason. Under his tutelage, the program earned 13 RMAC postseason honors and in 2024, Sadriena Rodriguez became the first player since 2018 to earn All-Region accolades. During the 2024 season, Mines went back to the RMAC tournament behind a 29-win season, their best since before the COVID-19 pandemic and posted a record of 15-1 in true home games at Joe Coors, Jr. Field, including three series sweeps over Fort Lewis, UCCS and Adams State on their way to 25 RMAC wins. Sadriena Rodriguez earned First Team All-RMAC honors while Kendall Aragon was a Second Team selection. Sidney Wilson and freshman speedster Kellan Ton were Honorable Mention honorees with the latter breaking the program's single-season stolen base record with 25 in 27 tries. For the third straight season, Mines improved their defensive numbers, posting a .970 fielding percentage and finishing tied for first in the conference in that metric after leading the RMAC most of the season. Additionally, Wilson was the 2024 NCAA Division II Statistical Champion as the Toughest Batter to Strike Out in the country, going down on strikes just twice in 155 at bats for an average of 77.5 AB/K. After a 16-30 overall record and 16-20 mark in RMAC play in year one under Coutts, the Orediggers made strides in 2023, finishing 25-26 and 24-16 in the RMAC and returning to the RMAC Tournament. The season was highlighted by four-game sweeps of Black Hills State and Adams State and saw the highest overall and RMAC win totals since the 2019 season. Additionally, Mines shattered a 12-year old program record for single season stolen bases of 81 set back in 2011, finishing 2023 with 86. Mines also lowered their team ERA by more than a full run and a half from 5.41 to 3.60, led by Second Team All-RMAC performer Sadriena Rodriguez. Mines also earned a pair of RMAC Gold Glove Award winners in catcher Aubree Karraker and outfielder Renata Boyd, who both fielded 1.000 during the season. Before his softball coaching career began, Coutts was the associate head coach of the Maine baseball program from 1986-97. He helped his alma mater make four NCAA tournament appearances during that span, while also coaching nine players who went on to play professionally. In addition to his collegiate experience, Coutts coached college athletes in the Cape Cod League as the head coach of the Cotuit Kettleers from 1995-2002. He won Cape Cod titles in 1995 and 1999, and he was the 1995 Cape Cod Coach of the Year.  Coutts is married to UMass Lowell Director of Athletics Lynn Coutts. Lynn Coutts has more than two decades experience as a college coach and administrator. Before taking over at UMass Lowell in July, she was the associate vice chancellor, deputy director of athletics and the Senior Woman Administrator at the Division I University of Denver. She was the softball head coach at Maine from 2011-15 before making the switch to administration at Maine. A former Maine baseball player, Coutts was the captain for the Black Bears’ 1981 College World Series appearance. Twice a graduate of Maine, Coutts earned a bachelor’s degree in Health and Physical Education, as well as a master’s degree in Education Administration.   He has a daughter, Maggie, and a son, Jackson. Jackson played baseball at Rhode Island from 2018-20 before beginning a professional baseball career in 2021 with the Washington Nationals' minor league system. Maggie graduated from Colorado State in May of 2024. updated 8/6/2024  

Lilli Falconer Deering enters her ninth season with Rhode Island in 2024-25, and her third as head coach. After serving as the interim head coach in 2021-22, she was named the full-time head coach in March of 2022. Following the 2020-21 season, Deering was promoted to interim head coach, becoming just the second head coach in program history. She had served as the Associate Head Coach since August of 2019 after helping lead Rhode Island to one of the best regular seasons in program history. Rhody won its first seven meets of the season - the best start in program history - and finished the season 9-2 for the winningest season ever for URI.  One of the most successful swimmers in URI history, Deering returned to her alma mater on a full-time basis after having served as the Rams' volunteer assistant during the 2015-16 campaign. A native of Chicago, Ill., Deering had one of the most decorated Rhode Island swimming careers in the program's history. A four-time Atlantic 10 All-Conference performer, she was named the A-10's Most Outstanding Performer in 2010. She also received the athletic department's Winifred Keaney Award, which is given annually to the University's most outstanding senior female athlete. When she graduated, Deering held Rhode Island's records in the 200-yard breaststroke, the 200-yard individual medley and the 400-yard individual medley. Her records in the 200- and 400-yard IMs still stand. After obtaining a Marine Biology degree from URI in 2011, Deering furthered her education at Fox College, where she earned a Veterinary Technology degree in 2014. Prior to joining the Rams' staff, she worked as a certified veterinary technician at various animal hospitals in both Providence and Charlestown, R.I. Deering got her start in coaching at the Chicago Latin Swim Club. She later returned to Rhode Island and began coaching the Shawmut Aquatics Club in Kingston. She and her husband Rob ('11) - himself a former URI swimmer - live in Wakefield with their daughter, Penelope, and their dog, Benny.  

Sarah Rainwater Jackson joined the Rhode Island staff as an assistant coach in August of 2025.  Rainwater Jackson comes to the Rams from Eastern Kentucky, where she was an assistant coach and director of softball operations for the 2024 and 2025 seasons. In 2024, Eastern Kentucky won the Atlantic Sun Conference regular-season title. Last Spring, the Colonels won the ASUN Gold Division. While with Eastern Kentucky, Jackson coached outfielder Jeaney Riley, the 2024 ASUN Player of the Year and Scholar-Athlete of the Year. During her two seasons with the Colonels, the team was 80-26. A former team captain for the University of Kentucky softball team, Jackson played in 178 games for the Wildcats from 2016-19. A starting outfielder, she helped Kentucky go 152-82 with four NCAA Championship bids, including three trips to the Super Regionals. Jackson earned both a bachelor's degree and a master's degree from the University of Kentucky. She completed a bachelor's degree in Integrated Strategic Communication with a minor in Coaching in May of 2019. She finished a master's degree in Kinesiology and Health Promotion in May of 2021. Rainwater Jackson is married to Rhode Island football offensive line coach Drake Jackson. updated 9/4/2025

Logan Hellwig joined Lilli Falconer Deering's staff as an assistant coach in June of 2022.  A native of Westerly, Hellwig competed in the Atlantic 10 for St. Bonaventure men’s program from 2014-18. After graduating, he began his coaching career at the club level, working with the Connecticut Aquatic Club in Groton, Conn. He was an assistant coach for Jon Caswell’s program. Among the fellow coaches Hellwig worked with was former URI women’s swimmer Mackenna Dunn, who competed for the Rams from 2016-20. While competing at St. Bonaventure, Hellwig specialized in the butterfly, backstroke and freestyle disciplines. He was a member of several relays for the Bonnies, helping the team place second in the 200-yard freestyle relay in 2016. In 2021, Hellwig made local news when he swam from Block Island to the mainland in Charleston, R.I., covering a distance of 9.72 miles in four hours and nine minutes. Updated 7/12/2022

Christo Law joined the Rhode Island Women's Swimming & Diving staff as an assistant coach in July of 2021. He will coach the divers as he enters his first season with the Rams in 2021-22.   Law came to Kingston after a highly successful season at Bryant, where he helped the men’s and women’s teams win the 2021 Northeast Conference championship. As the assistant diving coach, Law worked with Northeast Conference Women’s Diver of the Year Kyri Chambo, as well as Evan Clark and Drew Arnold, who shared the league’s Men’s Diver of the Year award. Law helped guide a women’s diving contingent that placed first and third in both the 1-meter and 3-meter diving events at the Northeast Conference meet, with Chambo winning both. On the men’s side, Bryant swept the top three spots in both events.   While competing for The Ohio State University, Law advanced to the NCAA Championships as a sophomore, junior and a senior. As a junior, Law finished fourth (1-meter) and eighth (3-meter) at the Big Ten Championships and advanced to the NCAA Championships with a fourth and fifth-place finish, respectively, at the zones. He closed his career with another appearance in the NCAA Championships, finishing 22nd on the platform with a score of 307.50. Law took up the sport of diving in San Antonio 2006 with the Alamo Area Aquatics Diving program, where he was coached by Stan Randall, as well as his uncle, Tommy Law. He has been able to attend and compete in the Fina Grand Prix Canada Cup; Youth Olympic Games Qualifier Selection Event; AT&T National Diving Championships; Speedo Junior National Diving Championships; USA Diving Senior Winter Trials; FINA World Junior Diving Championship; Junior Pan American Championship; Fina Grand Prix Puerto Rico; World Cup Synchronized Trials; USA Diving Junior National Championships; and the USA Winter National Championships. During his career, he has competed internationally in Germany, Russia, Puerto Rico, Australia, Canada, and all over the United States. Law earned a degree in Economics from Ohio State in 2019. updated 7/8/2021    

Caitlyn Fallon is in her first year as the pitching coach for the Rhode Island softball program. She joins the Rams after a successful playing career at the University of Maine, where she was a team captain. In five seasons, she appeared all over the field for the Black Bears as a pitcher, designated player and first baseman. She pitched 317.1 innings throughout her career and was a member of the America East All-Championship Team in 2024. Fallon was twice named the University of Maine Strength & Conditioning's Female Athlete of the Year (2023, 2024). During her time at Maine, Fallon was a student-athlete peer tutor, a student-athlete peer mentor, a summer camp counselor and a student-athlete academic support assistant. She finished her undergraduate degree in 2023 (business administration) and is currently pursuing her MBA.  A Warwick, R.I. native, Fallon was a two-time team captain at Pilgrim High School and helped her team to a third place finish in the Rhode Island DI State High School Tournament. Along with her 1.34 ERA and .490 batting average during her senior year, she was named the Rhode Island Softball Player of the Year, Warwick Beacon All-City Player of the Year, First Team All-City, First Team All-State, and First Team All Division. Also a successful basketball player, Fallon was named the 2015-16 Warwick Basketball Player of the Year.

Emily Piergustavo is in her first year as the Rhode Island Softball Hitting Coach and Recruiting Coordinator.  She joins the Rams following a stint with Tufts, where she served as the Jumbos' assistant coach. Piergustavo worked as the team's hitting coach while helping to plan practices, clinics and travel.  From Milford, Mass. originally, Piergustavo was a member of the softball team at the University of Connecticut as an undergraduate. She played for the Huskies from 2019 to 2022 before graduating with a degree in sport management. An infielder for the Huskies who primarily played the corner positions, Piergustavo appeared in 75 games with 45 starts during her career. She was also a member of UConn's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. Piergustavo then played one season at Atlantic 10 foe St. Bonaventure University in 2023 while earning a Master's degree in sport administration. There she made made 45 starts between shortstop and third base for the Bonnies. At Milford High School, Piergustavo played for the 2017 Massachusetts Division I State Championship squad and was the Hockomock League MVP that season. She was a senior captain in softball, she was also a two-time captain of the basketball team and played volleyball as well.