Former West Valley Viking Korrissa Aguilar accepts softball head coaching position at Saint Elizabeth University

MORRISTOWN, N.J. - Korrissa Aguilar's ascent up the collegiate softball coaching ranks has been meteoric since she last patrolled the left side of the infield for West Valley in 2015. Aguilar was named the head softball coach at NCAA D3 Saint Elizabeth University in Morristown, N.J., Eagle Director of Athletics Tom Wagenblast announced last week.

This will be the first college coaching job for Aguilar, who most recently was an in-depth mechanics specialist in hitting, slapping, infield, outfield, pitching and catching at Zoned Sports Academy in Bridgewater, N.J.. Before that, she was a fitness and performance coach at Parisi Speed School in Morristown. Saint Elizabeth University (formerly College of Saint Elizabeth) competes in the Colonial States Athletic Conference. The Eagles joined the CSAC in 2020 after ten years in the North Eastern Athletic Conference, most recently a 2019 season in which they were 24-14 overall, 11-7 in the NEAC. 

Aguilar was recruited to West Valley in 2013 by current Viking coach Vicky Piatt and then transferred after a grey-shirt season in Saratoga to NCAA D1 Mercer University in Macon, GA. While at Mercer, Piatt communicated with Aguilar regularly from 3000 miles away. 

"I felt some guilt because I had never played a game under Vicky," Aguilar said about her time at Mercer. "Her texts and calls meant the world to me when I was in Georgia. I looked up to her because, like me, she was a lefty-slapper, small but quick, and her personality was energentic, positive but scrappy, like me!" 

After a single season at Mercer, family finances forced Aguilar to return to California, where Piatt welcomed her back to the Vikings with open arms. At WVC in 2015, Aguilar had an All-Coast campaign, batting .298 with 12 RBI, 15 stolen bases and a .930 fielding percentage at third base. She transferred to MidAmerica Nazarene University in Olathe, KS, where she finished her playing career and graduated in 2018 with a degree in Kinesiology.

Aguilar has fond memeories of her time as a Viking. "I have played from coast to coast and everywhere in between, but WVC will always be home. My teammates who have turned into lifelong friends, the staff that turned into mentors, and the small school feel are just some of my favorite things about West Valley, besides being one of the most beautiful campuses! My teammates from the 2015 season always said we wished WVC was a four-year school because we loved that team so much and winning conferecne was the cherry on top."

Coach Piatt also occupies a special place in Aguilar's heart and mind. "Coach Vicky is not just an incredible softball coach, but the greatest mentor and friend I could have ever asked for," she said of the former Cal star and Olympian who has been at the Viking helm since 2010. "I noticed an incredible jump in my performance on the field and I understood so much more how to lead, how to motivate others and how to be fearless on and off the field. I owe that to Coach Vicky and the way she believes in her players and uses softball as a vehicle to teach and grow the lucky young women in her program."

As Aguilar prepares her Eagles for the 2021 season and a limitless future, she can't help but look back to her time in Saratoga. "The relationships I left WVC with are the greatest gift, and we have softball and Coach Vicky to thank for bringing us together."

(Matt Folsom, West Valley College Athletics)