Courtney Gano

Personal: Gano gave birth to her son, Gregory, in 2020. She is dedicating the 2023 AUX season to her father, Greg, who passed away earlier this year. In 2016, Gano graduated from Washington with a double major in sociology and gender, women, and sexuality studies. She earned a Master’s of Business Administration from DeVry University in 2021. Her mother, Rhonda, was an All-America softball player at Cal Poly Ponoma and won a gold medal with Team USA in the 1987 Pan American Games. Gano has a cat named Chip. She lists her father as a person who has made a difference in her life. As a child, she participated in football, volleyball, soccer, baseball, and gymnastics. Gano enjoys spending time with her son and completing puzzles. Her walk-up songs are “Sky Full of Stars” by ColdPlay and “Brown Eyed Girl” by Van Morrison.

2022 Championship Season: Gano accumulated 656 leaderboard points. She started seven games, scored three runs, and had one walk. In the first week of the season, she went 1-for-2 with a run scored and a walk against Team Chidester. She also scored a run against Team Jaquish in Week Two and against Team Chidester in the season finale.

2022 AUX Season: Gano finished in a tie for 34th place in the league standings with 714 leaderboard points. She was a starter in 9-of-10 games and had a .310 batting average. Gano tallied nine hits, including two doubles and two home runs. During the season finale, she hit a game-winning grand slam in the 10th inning against Team Zerkle. She finished the season with two home runs and a league-high six runs batted in during a 10-6 victory. Gano was one of two players to register a grand slam during the inaugural AUX Softball season. She also joined Sashel Palacios as the only players in the league to drive in five or more runs in a single game. Gano closed the season with a four-game hitting streak, going 8-for-19 with two doubles and two home runs. She had a season-high three hits against Team O’Toole in the first game of a June 25 doubleheader.

2021 Championship Season: Gano compiled 914 leaderboard points.

International Experience: She helped Team USA win a bronze medal at the 2018 USA Softball International Cup and was a member of the gold medal-winning squad at the 2018 Japan Cup.

Other Professional Experience: Gano began her professional career with Forli of the Italian Softball League in 2017, hitting .540 in 18 games. She signed with the Chicago Bandits of NPF in 2018 and registered a hit in her first nine games with the team. She finished her rookie campaign with a .384 batting average, five home runs, and 26 runs batted in.

At Washington: During her college career, Gano was a five-year letter winner at Washington and appeared in 163 games from 2012-16. She played several positions for the Huskies during her career, including catcher, first base, shortstop, and third base. She missed the 2013 campaign due to an injury. Gano posted a .298 career batting average with 24 home runs and 102 runs batted in. She finished her career with 120 hits, including 21 doubles and two triples, while scoring 80 runs. As a junior, she was a Third-Team NFCA All-Pacific Region performer after belting 18 home runs, which are tied for eighth in Washington single-season history. She also received Second-Team All-Pac-12 Conference distinction.