Sashel Palacios

Personal: Palacios has been playing softball since the age of four. She lists qualifying for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics with Team Mexico as her proudest athletic accomplishment. Her hobbies include spending time with family, traveling, and going to the beach. Palacios is inspired to work hard by her family, especially her parents. Her younger sister, Sharlize, is a catcher on the UCLA softball team after playing three years at Arizona. Their father, Kiko, was selected by the Cleveland Indians in the 1992 Major League Baseball Draft and was picked by the Detroit Tigers in the 1993 MLB Draft. Palacios wears No. 13 because it is her favorite and lucky number. She has a Maltipoo named Sophie.

2023 Championship Season: Palacios completed her sixth Athletes Unlimited campaign with 870 leaderboard points. She appeared in four games, with one start, but unfortunately did not record a hit in six at-bats. Despite this, Palacios posted six games with 100 or more leaderboard points.

2023 AUX Season: Palacios earned a total of 776 leaderboard points, which secured her 22nd place on the final leaderboard. She also earned 710 win points. On June 24, she received MVP 3 recognition in Team Garcia's 6-3 victory over Team Warren. In that game, Palacios went 1-for-3 with a double and two runs batted in. Throughout the season, she started in five out of six games and recorded two hits in 10 at-bats.

2022 Championship Season: Palacios accumulated 1,102 leaderboard points while starting 12-of-14 games. She had a .282 batting average with nine hits, including a double, and three runs batted in. Palacios drove in three runs and contributed a double against Team Chidester to close Week Three. She ended the season with a hit in four of her final five games and collected two hits against Team Mulipola on August 6.

2022 AUX Season: Palacios compiled 720 leaderboard points during the inaugural AUX Softball season. She was a starter in 10 games and tallied two hits, including a home run, with six runs batted in. Palacios belted the first grand slam in AUX Softball history in the fourth inning against Team Mulipola on June 19. She joined Courtney Gano as the only players in the league to drive in five or more runs in a game with five RBI against Team Mulipola on June 19. Palacios also joined Gano as the only players to record a grand slam during the season.

2021 Championship Season: Palacios finished with 934 leaderboard points in her second Athletes Unlimited campaign. She had a .206 batting average while starting 13-of-14 games and tallied seven hits, including two home runs, in 34 at-bats.

2020 Championship Season: Palacios tallied 670 points on the inaugural season leaderboard. She had a .250 batting average with six hits in 24 at-bats while starting 10-of-13 games. Palacios ranked second in the league with nine walks.

International Experience: Palacios is a member of Team Mexico. She played in the World Cup of Softball in 2014 and 2015. She recorded seven hits with a home run and four runs batted in during the 2017 Canada Cup. Palacios also competed in the 2017 and 2019 Pan American Games with Team Mexico and won a Silver medal during the 2018 Central American and Caribbean Games. She led Team Mexico to a fourth place finish at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, hitting .222 in five games.

Other Professional Experience: Palacios began her professional career with the NPF’s Chicago Bandits in 2018, batting .275 with one home run and six runs batted in. She played for the Cleveland Comets during the 2019 campaign.

At Arizona State: Palacios was a four-year letter winner and started 146-of-163 games from 2014-17. She posted a .322 career batting average for the Sun Devils with 18 home runs and 88 runs batted in. Palacios tallied 133 hits, including 19 doubles. She earned First-Team All-Pac 12 honors as a senior after hitting .322 with 10 home runs and 40 RBI.