Sam Macken

Classroom

Sam Macken is dedicated to her studies off the field and is a two-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree. To be eligible for Academic All-Big Ten selection, students must be letterwinners who are in at least their second academic year at their institution and carry a cumulative grade-point average of 3.0 or higher. She also was named to Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-District 6 Softball Team in 2016. The honor recognizes the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined performances athletically and in the classroom. She has worked to become a true professional in the marketing field using the resources provided to her through her major. With her class she took a trip to the MLB All-Star Game last summer working on the green team for sustainability. She also spent the summer interning with CBS Radio.

Character

Macken is a true and poised leader. She has been counted on by her teammates both on and off the field throughout her career. She is a leader by example constantly putting in hard work both on and off the field. This is evident by the drastic improvement of her game statistically on the field as her career has gone on along with her academic achievements increasing throughout her time as a student. Macken is willing to do whatever it takes to help out her team. She embodies what it means to be a student-athlete.

Community

Sam Macken has helped grow the game of softball in her hometown, Rochester, Minn. She also has volunteered countless hours coaching, running camps and helping out in anyway she can with the youth there.

Mackey also has taken advantage of multiple volunteering opportunities at the University of Minnesota. One of the most notable was when she teamed up with other Gopher athletes on Gopher Global’s first trip across international borders to Winnipeg, Canada. While there she was able to team up with fellow student-athletes, alumni and staff to work at Siloam Mission, a humanitarian organization, and Winnipeg Harvest, a food distribution and training center. In addition to providing service, Macken was fortunate to tour each of the facilities and to attend an educational session on homelessness.

Competition

Macken is a three-year starter with 147 starts under her belt (as of nomination time). Macken sealed Minnesota’s first Big Ten Tournament Championship in 15 years with a walk-off RBI single against Michigan her freshman season. She stayed clutch as the postseason run went on. She hit a walk-off home run in a run-rule victory over Green Bay in the Gophers’ Minneapolis NCAA Regional opener and hit a go-ahead three-run home run against Auburn in the bottom of the sixth inning of the NCAA regional championship to help send the Gophers to their first-ever super regional.

She went on to start all 60 games as a sophomore, earning second-team All-Big Ten and first-team NFCA All-Great Lakes Region honors that season. She scored 57 runs, tying for the second-most in a single season by a Minnesota player.

Macken had her strongest season yet as a junior. She led the team in essentially every hitting category with a .366 batting average, 71 hits, 22 doubles, 12 home runs, 53 RBI and a slugging percentage of .675. The 22 doubles put her second place all-time in Gophers history for most in a season and she finished top five in the NCAA for extra-base hits with 35. She was named first-team All Big Ten and to the NFCA Great Lakes All-Region First Team.