Haley Gilham Tapped as 2017-18 CCAA Female Athlete of the Year
All-Time CCAA Athlete of the Year winners
SAN RAMON, Calif. – The Chico State Wildcats continue to amass team, individual and institutional acclaim after a stellar 2017-18, and the awards continue to roll in. Pitcher Haley Gilham can boast yet another accolade to her name, voted on as the 2017-18 CCAA Female Athlete of the Year.
The senior from Norco, wrapped up her Chico State career as the winningest pitcher in Wildcats softball history with 87 career victories as she led the squad to their second-ever NCAA Championship Finals appearance in Salem, Va., and a program-best 55-win season.
Gilham capped her stellar career as a Wildcat leading all NCAA Division II pitchers in shutouts (16) including a March 9 no-hitter. In 2018, she paced the CCAA in wins, earned run average, complete games, shutouts, strikeouts and opponent batting average en route to CCAA Pitcher of the Year accolades.
Chico State’s Female Athlete of the Year, Gilham earned National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) and Division II Conference Commissioner’s Association (D2CCA) second-team All-America status in 2018, along with first-team All-West Region honors from both organizations, and a second-straight year as an NFCA National Player of the Year Top 25 Finalist.
Along with CCAA Pitcher of the Year honors, she was recognized as a first-team All-CCAA performer, Most Valuable Player of the CCAA Championship Tournament and earned Pitcher of the Week accolades five times throughout her senior campaign.
Gilham leaves the Wildcats also ranking first in program history in appearances (145), shutouts (32), innings pitched (780.2), earned run average (1.71), and tied for most complete games (89).
She is the first Chico State woman and the sixth softball player to earn CCAA Female Athlete of the Year in the 37-year history of the award.
The CCAA’s Athlete of the Year awards are voted on annually by the 13 Sports Information Directors from around the conference. Both the male and female winner coming from the same institution is a rarity, as 2017-18 marks the sixth time in the CCAA history to see such a feat.