Jenn Salling

Classroom

Jenn Salling is on track to graduate in December 2011. She is majoring in anthropology and has maintained a 3.06 grade point average. She was on the Dean’s List this past semester and wants to pursue a career as a softball coach. She is a 2010 Academic All-Pac-10 Honorable Mention selection.

Character

Salling’s coach says she is one of the best hitters in the Pac 10 conference. She made a life-changing decision to drop everything she had at Oregon to transfer to Washington. Her grades at Oregon were less than desirable and her path to transferring to Washington included some very difficult circumstances - one of which required her to pass 25 credits in one quarter.  Since she’s been at Washington, she has experienced much personal growth.  She is the first to be about others. Anytime there is a camp or a clinic or something to offer in the community, Salling is the first to volunteer. She has a passion to give to others the lessons she’s learned along the path she has taken. Whether it’s going to speak to high school students to support the T-shirts Across America campaign, or it’s an opportunity to speak with local high school coaches about making their players better people, she feels personally responsible to make a difference in people’s lives.  In the three years her coach has been associated with Salling, she has seen her grow from a person who once worried all about herself into a person who loves herself and has the desire to make everyone around her better.

Community

In the community, Salling works three softball camps each January and eight night-time clinics in October, November and December. She currently provides lessons for young girls and has tutored students at a local elementary school in Seattle in PE and Math/science classes for three months. In Canada, around her hometown, Salling went to approximately 10 elementary schools and promoted sport and exercise. Her message to the children was how big of a positive impact sport/athletics or exercise can have on your life. She also emphasized having fun when playing sports. Salling’s other community service projects include: organizing Special Olympics softball tournaments in her hometown, participating in a run to raise money for cancer research, walking around the Seattle community to raise funds for public schools, and participating in the T-shirts Across America campaign to raise money for those affected by Hurricane Katrina.

Competition

As a junior, Salling appeared and started in all 59 games in her first full season as a Husky. She batted .352, collecting 58 hits in 165 at bats with six home runs, three triples, and 10 doubles. She scored 51 runs, walked 41 times and succeeded in stealing 14 bases in 14 attempts. She led the Huskies in runs scored (51), walks (41), triples (4), sac bunts (5), on base percentage (.481), stolen base percentage (1.00) and tied with four others in starting all 59 games. She was second on the team in batting average (.352), doubles (10), stolen bases (14) and total plate appearances (215) and third on team in steal attempts (14) and hits (58). She recorded eight multi-RBI games and 14 multi-run games. She is sixth in the Husky career record books with an on-base percentage of .453. She was a first-team NFCA/Louisville Slugger All-America, All-Pacific Region, and All-Pac-10 Conference. She was the Husky Offensive MVP and a top 25 finalist for the 2010 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year. She played for team Canada in the World Cup. After becoming eligible mid-season as a sophomore, she helped Washington make the Women’s College World Series. She played her freshman year at Oregon, where she was the Pac 10’s Newcomer of the Year. She is a four-year member of the Canadian National Team and played in the 2008 Summer Olympics.