Washington's Plain tabbed 2022 Pac-12 Softball Scholar-Athlete of the Year
PAC-12 SCHOLAR-ATHLETES OF THE YEAR
SAN FRANCISCO - Washington’s Gabbie Plain has been tabbed the 2022 Pac-12 Softball Scholar-Athlete of the Year, the Conference office announced Wednesday. The award, which is presented in each of the 24 sports sponsored by the Pac-12, was established to honor collegiate student-athletes that are standouts both academically and in their sports discipline.
Plain, from Harrington Park, Australia, is a fifth-year senior double majoring with a bachelors degree in psychology and anthropology, and double minoring in diversity and education. While holding a 3.72 grade-point average, Plain has been named to the dean's list for a total of 11 times in her academic career. The two-time NFCA All-America Scholar Athlete honoree (2019, 2021) has been the recipient of four Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll selections. In 2019, Plain was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team in her sophomore season.
A three-time All-American on the diamond, Plain currently ranks second among active career leaders in both victories (164) and shutouts (44), while ranking third in strikeouts (1,047). She has started 125 games for the Huskies, where she has claimed four All-Pac-12 First Team selections. In 2018, Plain was an NFCA National Freshman of the Year Finalist and was also selected to the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team. She is a two-time USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Finalist (2019, 2021) and was voted 2021 Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year. Plain is one of only four active student-athletes with 1,000 career strikeouts and is the second Husky in program history to reach at least 100 career wins. Plain was also named to the Australian Olympic Team in 2020. Entering the postseason, she finished the regular season with an 18-6 record while holding a 2.02 ERA. Washington earned the No. 13 overall seed in the 2022 NCAA Division I Softball Tournament and will host the Seattle Regional, which will begin Friday, May 20.
In order to be eligible for the Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year award, student-athletes must be a senior (in athletics eligibility), on track to receive a degree, have a cumulative grade-point average of 3.0 or higher, participate in at least 50 percent of the scheduled contests in the sport and have a minimum one year in residence at the institution. Each Pac-12 institution may nominate one individual per sport, and the winners are selected by a committee of Pac-12 staff members at the conclusion of each sport’s regular season. The athletics accomplishments of the nominees are a consideration in voting for the award.
A Scholar-Athlete of the Year is named in each of the Pac-12’s 24 sponsored sports: baseball, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, beach volleyball, men’s cross country, women’s cross country, football, men’s golf, women’s golf, women’s gymnastics, women’s lacrosse, men’s rowing, women’s rowing, men’s soccer, women’s soccer, softball, men’s swimming & diving, women’s swimming & diving, men’s tennis, women’s tennis, men’s track & field, women’s track & field, women’s volleyball, and wrestling. The award was first established during the 2008-09 academic year.
ALSO NOMINATED: Katie Faulk, Utah; Hannah Galey, Oregon; Bella Loomis, Arizona State; Mariah Mazon, Oregon State; Briana Perez, UCLA; Emily Young, Stanford.