Tufts University head softball coach Lauren Ebstein has guided the Jumbos to a pair of College World Series appearances and victories in 77.2 percent of its games over nearly eight seasons.
More importantly, the Chicago native hopes to impact her players through community service, in the spirit of tikkun olam, to connect with the community and broaden their own horizons.
Both Ebstein and Tufts assistant softball coach Marly Becker are Jewish. They’ve also had several Jewish players over the years. Regardless of a specific faith, community service is a cornerstone of the program’s success. “It helps our kids understand that it’s a little bit bigger than softball,” Ebstein said. “It helps them spend some time together and realize that their chemistry test isn’t the biggest deal in the world.”
The Tufts softball team started “Jumbos Be The Match” two years ago after a player’s mother was in need a bone marrow transfer. Their efforts led to a successful match for an elderly man who was battling leukemia. Ebstein said the Jumbos will continue the bone marrow drive, even after the player who spearheaded it graduates. “We also have a home run derby for a local food bank and a community day where youth softball teams watch our doubleheader, meet the team, run the bases, get autographs and eat pizza.”
The Jumbos (28-13) have set the standard for success on the diamond for much of the 21st century. Ebstein is 196-58, including 75-11 in the New England Small College Athletic Conference regular season, with three NESCAC titles and a 14-3 record in the NESCAC tournament.
Last spring, Tufts reached the College World Series tournament in Marshall, Texas before losing to Belhaven in the Super Regionals. “We try to be the best team in New England year-in and year-out and try to make a run on the national stage,” Ebstein said.
Tufts previously made the eight-team College World Series in Salem, Virginia in 2021. “The 2021 group had dealt with so much adversity and uncertainty,” Ebstein said. “Last season, the seniors were the freshmen from the 2021 team. They had a chance to end their career exactly where it started, which was super meaningful for them. To get to the College World Series was the culmination of their hard work.”
Ebstein said her early years growing up in Chicago, along with visits to family in the Detroit suburbs, strengthened her connection to Judaism. She played softball at Tufts from 2004 to 2007 for Cheryl Milligan, serving as team captain as a senior. A dozen years later, Ebstein succeeded Milligan as head coach. “I chose Tufts because I was looking to go somewhere that would challenge me academically and somewhere that I could compete for softball championships,” Ebstein said.
During her time at Tufts, Ebstein wrote for the Tufts Daily, interned at the Boston Globe and traveled to Israel on the Birthright trip, along with Tufts classmates. After Tufts, Ebstein earned a master’s in print journalism at Boston University but remained with the Jumbos softball program as an assistant coach for two years.
“In 2010, I went back to Chicago, went skydiving, bought a puppy and was bartending across from Wrigley Field while I decided what to do,” Ebstein said. “I coached at Colgate and Valparaiso before I decided that Tufts was the place for me.”
Ebstein’s return to Milligan’s Tufts staff was timed perfectly. The Jumbos went 98-4 in winning consecutive Division III National Championships in 2014 and 2015, respectively. By 2018, Ebstein was the program’s associate head coach.
Balancing rigorous academics and collegiate athletics is a challenge at a university that only admits 10.5 percent of applicants. “The toughest part is getting in,” Ebstein said. “Once the students are here, they have to figure out their strengths. Then, it’s just about time management, and most of them have no problem with that. It is a balancing act. We have days when we miss school for softball and days when we miss softball for school.”
As she approaches 200 career victories, Ebstein understands the significance of the approaching moment. “It’s a testament to the kids who have played for me and the coaches who have worked for me,” Ebstein said.
