The First Academy hires Elicia D’Orazio as softball coach

D’Orazio, a three-time All-Conference USA team selection and Marshall softball’s all-time stolen base leader, comes to TFA after spending the past two seasons as an assistant at Montverde Academy.

By Sam Albuquerque
| 12:00 a.m. June 16, 2025

Sports
High Schools

The First Academy has announced the hiring of Elicia D’Orazio as its next softball coach. She joins the Royals after spending the last two seasons as an assistant for Montverde Academy.

In her playing days, the middle infielder had an illustrious career for the Marshall Thundering Herd from 2014-18 as a four-year starter, three-time All-Conference USA team selection, Marshall and Conference USA all-time and single-season leader in stolen bases and 2015 Conference USA Freshman of the Year. D’Orazio also won the NCAA Golden Shoe Award in 2017 as the nation’s leader in stolen bases, averaging 1.09 bases stolen per game.

Beyond her success at the collegiate level, D’Orazio also brings international playing experience as a member of the Puerto Rican national team from 2013-2020.

Following her graduation from Marshall in 2018 — with a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Health Science — D’Orazio spent the following season as a graduate manager for Georgia Tech softball.

In 2024, D’Orazio returned to Lake County — where she played her high school ball at East Ridge High and MVA — to join the Eagles coaching staff as an assistant. In her first season coaching at MVA, the Lady Eagles won the Class 3A State Championship and last year the team finished with a 27-3 record, falling in the regional title game. She'll take over a Royals team that finished the 2025 season with a 10-14 record and a first-round regional playoff loss to D'Orazio's Eagles

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Sam Albuquerque

A native of João Pessoa, Brazil, Sam Albuquerque moved in 1997 to Central Florida as a kid. After earning a communications degree in 2016 from the University of Central Florida, he started his career covering sports as a producer for a local radio station, ESPN 580 Orlando. He went on to earn a master’s degree in editorial journalism from Northwestern University, before moving to South Carolina to cover local sports for the USA Today Network’s Spartanburg Herald-Journal. When he’s not working, you can find him spending time with his lovely wife, Sarah, newborn son, Noah, and dog named Skulí.