Aug. 28, 1997
Gillian Boxx Named Assistant Softball Coach at Cal
BERKELEY, Calif. -- Gillian Boxx, a member of the 1996 gold medal-winning
U.S. Olympic team and a four-time All-American catcher for the Bears, has joined the
Cal staff as an assistant coach, head coach Diane Ninemire announced Thursday.
?We are excited to have Gillian become a part of our staff,? said Ninemire. ?She is
one of the greatest players in Cal history and her experience from being an Olympian
will certainly pay dividends for our team.?
Boxx, who played at Cal from 1992-95, ended her career with a .369 batting average and
school records for runs (156), base hits (274) and total bases (372). She also had 12
home runs, 44 doubles and 146 RBI despite batting as Cal?s lead-off hitter as a junior
and senior.
Boxx?s best season came in 1995 when she hit .466 with 90 base hits, 56 runs, 13
doubles, seven homers and 38 RBI. A four-time first team All-Pac-10 player, she was
one of five finalists for the Honda Sports Award in 1995, which is given to the
national player of the year.
In 1996, Boxx was selected to the first ever Olympic team, helping the squad to a
gold medal in Atlanta. This past summer, she was a member of the U.S. National team
that competed in the American Challenge Series and went a perfect 10-0 in games
against Olympic silver medalist China and Australia.
After graduating from Cal in 1996, Boxx served as an assistant coach at Notre Dame
in ?97 before deciding to return to her alma mater this year. Boxx?s hiring completes
the Cal staff, which also includes assistant coach John Reeves, who begins his fifth
season with the Bears this spring.
