Margaret Yerdon-Grange
Head Softball Coach

​Margaret Yerdon-Grange was named the head softball coach in July of 2009 and is entering her twelfth year at the helm of the Rochester program in 2021.  Prior to her appointment, she was an assistant coach for five seasons.

Since taking the helm of the Rochester program, Yerdon-Grange has guided the Yellowjackets to ten straight 20+ win seasons, including a 32-win year in 2014 and a 35-win year in 2021.  In both of these seasons Rochester reached the NCAA Finals.  In her time, Rochester has made the Liberty League playoffs eleven times and qualified for NCAA postseason play in five seasons.

Yerdon-Grange has coached a total of three NFCA All-American's, with Brittany Grage earning the honor in 2015 following a 2014 season in which Nina Korn and Tayler Fravel earned the honor.   Grage and Korn were both 1st Team Selections, the only in the history of the program.
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Her overall record leading the Yellowjackets is 307-197, while her record in the Liberty League is a sparkling 114-35.

In her time as an assistant coach, Rochester posted an overall record of 144-68, made three consecutive NCAA playoff appearances, won four conference titles, and set single-season victory record for three straight seasons (28 in 2007, 32 in 2008, 33 in 2009).

Yerdon-Grange has been a part of the Coaching Staffs of the Year in the University Athletic Association in 2007 and in the Liberty League in 2007, 2009, 2015, 2021 and 2022.  In 2014 and 2021 Yerdon-Grange and staff were named the NFCA Regional Coaching Staff of the Year.

Since taking over in 2010, she has coached five Liberty League Players of the Year, four Pitchers of the Year, five Rookies of the Year.

Yerdon-Grange was a graduate assistant coach at Binghamton in 2003 while pursuing her master’s degree in Social Sciences with a concentration in Public Administration. She earned a BA in English and Sociology in 2001 from Binghamton.

She participated in BU’s transition from Division III (1997) to Division I status (in 2000) receiving accolades for her playing skills at every level. She was a Division II NFCA All-Region selection in 1999 plus the NECC All-Conference Pitcher of the Year in 1999 and 2000.

In 2002, she was named the America East All-Conference Designated Player. Yerdon was selected as the team MVP in 1999 and 2002. She is Binghamton’s career record holder in strikeouts (431) and earned run average (1.40).

She received a Graduate Certificate in Women and Gender Studies in May, 2009 from the Susan B. Anthony Institute of the University of Rochester. She is pursuing her PhD in Education with a Concentration in Educational Policy and Theory.
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Yerdon-Grange is an alumnus of Sandy Creek (N.Y.) High School. She was selected as one of the Top 100 North Country athletes by the Watertown Times in 2007.  She is also being inducted into the New York State High School Hall of Fame in 2020.

Eric Kraut
​Assistant Coach

​Eric Kraut joins the Rochester softball coaching staff in the fall of 2022.
 
Kraut brings with him a wealth of experience at the NCAA Division I and II levels along with several years at the club level.
 
Prior to joining the Yellowjackets, Kraut served as Head Coach and Athletic Academic Success Coordinator at the College of Staten Island. While at CSI, Kraut helped transition the Dolphins softball program from Division III to Division II. His first season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with Staten Island going 5-17 in 2021. The Dolphins had two All-Conference selections that season.
 
Kraut was an assistant coach at Yale University from 2016-19. During his time in New Haven, the Bulldogs program saw increases in key offensive stats including batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage and RBI’s, while decreasing the teams strikeout rate at the plate by over 30%.
 
He also worked as Director of Player Development at Eden Prairie Fastpitch Association and the Arctic Blast Club Program in Eden Prairie, Minnesota from 2009-16.
 
Kraut attended Saint Anselm College in Manchester, NH and earned a bachelors degree in Business Administration in 1994.
 
He was a 4-year starter on the baseball diamond for the Hawks. Kraut finished his collegiate career with 15 home runs, ranking sixth all-time at Saint Anselm. During the 1994 season, he held the NCAA Division III single-game record with four home runs in a single game.