Even as a high school sophomore, Ali Aguilar could tell that no other college softball program on her short list was better equipped than the University of Washington’s to challenge her to become the best player — and the best student — she could possibly be.
With equal parts hope and gratitude, the standout shortstop turned down other offers to become a Husky, accepting the George and Norma Sedlock Endowed Softball Scholarship. Every day since then, she’s worked hard to reach the high expectations that she, her coaches and her professors set for her.
“We really have the best of the best here,” says Ali, a double major in sociology and communications. “We’re learning from amazing professors. The coaching is phenomenal. We get such great support from the Athletic Department.”
Now in her fourth and final season as a Husky, Ali ranks as one of the nation’s leading power hitters. She led the PAC-12 in runs scored last year, led the conference in RBIs and base hits, ranked third in the nation for home runs per game and was fourth for total home runs.
A regular on the Dean’s List, Ali studies as hard as she trains and plays. She walks into every class, every exam, every practice, every game confident that she’s as well-prepared as she can be.
All that preparation paid off last summer, when she seized one opportunity after another to travel and play with the best players across the country, first on the USA Women’s Elite Team and then on the USA National Team. She drove in the game-winning run to push the USA into the World Softball Championship in Surrey, B.C., and then scored the first run of the team’s
7–3 gold medal victory.
Together with her UW teammates, this All-American has her sights set as firmly as ever on the Women’s College World Series.
She’s pondering her options for the future. Will she coach? Will she open a training facility and teach softball lessons? Will she go pro?
Because of you and your support for Husky Athletics, she’s poised for success, no matter what path she chooses.
The best and brightest student-athletes choose UW — because of you
Every year, gifted athletes like Ali Aguilar come to the University of Washington not just because they’re eager to compete at the highest level. They also want a world-class education. They get the best of both worlds because of you and your support of Husky Athletics. When you give to The Game Changer Campaign for Husky Athletics — especially when you support or establish a scholarship endowment — you advance our goal of increasing our scholarship funding so we can continue to recruit and support the best and the brightest student-athletes.
