College
Finding Inspiration at Every Turn
Wake Forest University
Elie decided to get more seasoning and prepared for professional baseball by heading to college. He started at Wake Forest where he entered school playing all positions and shortly after transitioned to catcher. Elie made history when he appeared in a Division I game for the first time. Elie returned to Wake for his sophomore fall semester and had an outstanding fall season but playing time still looked to be sparse, sitting behind older players. Elie left Wake and headed to Fullerton College.
Fullerton College
At Fullerton, Elie slid into the starting catching role and helped the team to the quarterfinals of the California Junior College championships. Elie's .400 plus on base percentage and strong arm behind the plate (40% caught stealing) attracted the attention of Division I schools. Elie accepted a Division I athletic scholarship to Sacramento State University.
Sacramento State University
As the first observant Jew to ever receive a Division I scholarship in baseball, Elie had an outstanding season hitting in the middle of the Hornets lineup. After starting 2 for 20, Elie was red hot for the final 80% of the season starting on March 9, hitting .337 the rest of the way. Overall Elie hit .292 with .434 On Base Percentage. He knocked two home runs on the season - one against Stanford and the other versus Utah Tech. Elie's defense ranked in the top 12% nationally in pitch framing metrics and caught stealing percentage, nailing 36% of would be base stealers.
University of Michigan
Elie entered the NCAA transfer portal after earning his degree in Psychology and landed at Michigan for his graduate and final year of NCAA baseball eligibility. Elie so impressed his teammates and coaches after only a few months on campus, he was voted the team's Co-Captain. Elie helped the team to the Big 10 Championship series with memorable games against Nebraska, Oregon State, Arizona, Kansas State, University of San Diego, and University of Minnesota among others.
