When Sarah Edwards was a senior at Hofstra University, a mid-major private school on Long Island, she had no idea what she wanted to do with her life. Her identity was softball, and a traditional job never seemed to be part of the equation.
“As a woman, there were limited professional sports opportunities, which made my path even more uncertain,” said Edwards, who was training to become an officer in the United States Marine Corps.
That’s a loaded statement for the woman who has broken down doors and created a path as one of the most sought-after women in baseball. It was a matter of months between not knowing what was in store for her future and creating a life on the diamond as a pioneering female in several countries. Edwards, 28, who hails from Bay Shore, NY, and was an All-Colonial Athletic Association player at Hofstra, is now a visible and evolving baseball brand and a coveted clinician who is building one of the world’s most impressive international baseball resumes. Her latest high-profile gig, after coaching with the Philadelphia Phillies, is working as a hitting coach for the CTBC Brothers in the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL).
The number of women in coaching and front office positions has increased in recent years. Alyssa Nakken was a coach with the Giants in 2020 and joined Cleveland’s front office in 2024. Rachel Balkovec managed the Tampa Tarpons in 2022. Bianca Smith worked for the Red Sox as a minor league coach in 2021. Ronnie Gajownik was a manager in Arizona’s minor league system. Kim Ng was the first female general manager in Major League history. Justine Siegal was the first to be a pro men’s baseball coach and the first to throw batting practice for an MLB team.
Before she graduated from Hofstra, Edwards signed up for Baseball Jobs Overseas, a respected and growing international baseball career database that helps connect players with clubs around the world. Within a year of hitting softballs at Bill Edwards Stadium in Hempstead, NY, she was playing softball for the Lucerne Eagles in Switzerland and later in Italy.
“From there, I never stopped,” she said.
It was off to New Zealand to help the Western Magpies win the Auckland Softball Championship and the New Zealand Club Nationals Championship.
Edwards spent considerable time in Italy, playing six seasons of professional softball in several cities. In 2019, she led Old Parma Taurus in every offensive category. One year later, she helped Inox Team Saronno to a Serie A1 second-place finish. She also played for Bertazzoni Collecchio and Rheavendors Caronno, routinely ranking high in offensive categories and defensive efficiency.
During that period, she obtained Italian citizenship and spent three years competing with the Italian National Team. Edwards participated in the Olympic Trials and was selected for both the World Games and the European Championship rosters in 2022. Her sac-fly helped Italy, then ranked No. 4 in the world, beat Mexico in the World Games. She hit a homer to open scoring in an eventual 11-0 win against Spain at the Euros.
In 2023, a recruiter with the Phillies reached out about a baseball development job, which she leveraged into a one-year contract as a hitting development coach.
“This helped establish my credibility in professional baseball,” she said.
The following season, in 2024, she coached in the Japan Winter League, again the first female to hold such a position. She coached players from Japan, Taiwan, Korea, France, and the United States with ties to the NPB, KBO, and CPBL. If her bachelor’s degree from Hofstra is in sociology, then she’s getting a self-taught experiential master’s in international relations.
In February 2025, she became the first female coach in Taiwan after signing with the Brothers, one of the most successful CPBL teams in history, with 10 championships, including last year’s title. As of Sunday, June 22, the Brothers are 33-24 and in second place in the league. They also have three players in the top 10 in league batting average, including Hsu Chi-hung, who is fourth in the league with a .314 average.
“The focus now is not just to win, but to be even more dominant,” she said.
While the language barrier creates some obstacles, they provide an English-Chinese translator to help. Several American and Spanish-speaking coaches on staff have assisted her with immediate assimilation into the role.
She said the cultural differences in coaching in China compared to the Phillies are noticeable, however.
“In Philadelphia, it was easy to have open, collaborative conversations with hitters,” she said. “In Taiwan, players are more accustomed to listening to the coach without much back-and-forth. Coaching in China is more about offering suggestions and fostering dialogue, especially since many of the players are older, veteran professionals.”
The added cultural dimensions have helped her develop a deeper understanding of biomechanics and the human body, especially with the advanced technology and data analytics available in baseball.
“Much of my early coaching was based on intuition and pseudo-science; now, I can apply real metrics and data to my coaching approach,” Edwards said. “Coaching men has also given me a new perspective, as the differences in center of mass, mobility, and body mechanics between men and women have made me a better, more informed coach.”
Edwards was initially scheduled to play in the Mexican Softball League from January through March. When she received the CPBL offer, it was a no-brainer to keep building her coaching resume at an elite level.
What’s next? On the international level, she submitted a WBSC transfer request to switch her national affiliation from Italian Softball to USA Women’s Baseball. She is waiting for the updated schedule and tournament information to plan her next move.
“Throughout my career, I’ve always been a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants person – walking through the doors that open,” said Edwards, who has played and coached in 11 different countries and visited 21. “It’s been a crazy and incredible journey.”
Now she’s breaking those doors down one country at a time.
