Sharlize Palacios

Personal: Palacios is a member of the Athletes Unlimited Softball League’s Player Executive Committee. She is the daughter of Soida and Francisco Palacios. Her father was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the 1992 Major League Baseball Draft and was later selected by the Detroit Tigers in the 1993 MLB Draft. Her sister, Sashel Palacios, played college softball at Arizona State, competed for Mexico in the 2020 Olympics, and was part of the inaugural Athletes Unlimited Pro Softball season in 2020. Palacios majored in sociology at UCLA and has a dog named Sophie. She credits her father as someone who has made a significant impact on her life and models her game after her sister, Sashel. She wears jersey No. 13 in honor of Sashel, who wore the number throughout her career. One of Palacios’ proudest accomplishments was hitting a grand slam on Senior Day. She also served as a game analyst for the Big Ten Network during the 2025 college softball season. In the offseason, she completed a half marathon. Her hobbies include traveling, shopping, exploring coffee shops, and spending time at the beach. She also played soccer growing up. Palacios is a fan of the San Diego Padres and lists seeing Fernando Tatis as a moment when she felt starstruck. Her favorite TV show is The Challenge, and she names Michael B. Jordan as her favorite actor.

2024 Championship Season: Palacios compiled 1,098 leaderboard points while making her professional debut. She registered 680 win points and ranked seventh in the league with 298 stat points. Palacios earned three Game MVP selections throughout the season. She started in all 15 games and batted .233 with 10 hits, including five extra-base hits. Palacios tied for the league lead with three home runs and added two doubles. She ranked second in the league with 12 runs batted in and also drew seven walks. Palacios was a three-time Game MVP honoree. She earned MVP 1 honors against Team McQuillin after blasting a two-run home run, which led to a season-high 200 leaderboard points. She also garnered MVP 2 accolades after driving in five runs against Team Lorenz on August 12, earning 180 leaderboard points. Palacios claimed her first career Game MVP award with MVP 2 recognition against Team Alexander on July 27. She hit safely in seven of her first nine games and closed the season with a 2-for-4 performance against Team Lorenz. Palacios posted six games with 100 or more leaderboard points and was one of 15 players selected in the 2024 Athletes Unlimited Pro Softball College Draft.

International Experience: Palacios helped Team USA win the 2022 Canada Cup, hitting .571 (8-for-14) with two home runs, six runs scored, and a 1.143 slugging percentage. She also competed for Team USA at the 2022 Japan All-Star Series, posting a .471 batting average (8-for-17) over 10 games with two home runs, a triple, and five runs batted in.

College Experience: Palacios was a two-year letter winner at UCLA after playing three seasons at Arizona from 2020-22. She earned a starting assignment in 228 of 229 games during her college career and compiled a .338 batting average with 69 home runs and 218 runs batted in. Palacios slugged seven grand slams during her career and also had six games with multiple homers. She tallied 213 hits, including 16 doubles and three triples. Palacios was a four-time All-Pac-12 Conference honoree, including receiving three First-Team commendations, and earned three Pac-12 All-Defensive Team certificates. As a redshirt senior at UCLA, she was a consensus All-America honoree, garnering First-Team distinction from D1Softball and Second-Team All-America plaudits from NFCA and Softball America. Palacios authored a .341 batting average over two seasons at UCLA while starting 99 of 100 games and belted 30 home runs with 90 runs batted in with the Bruins. She was UCLA’s second-leading hitter with a .366 average during the 2024 campaign and became the eighth different player in program history to hit 20 or more homers in a single season. Palacios also ranked second on the team with 57 runs batted in and did not commit an error in 321 chances behind the plate during the 2024 campaign. She was named the Pac-12 Tournament MVP after hitting a go-ahead home run in the semifinal win over Arizona and the championship game victory against Utah. Palacios was a Second-Team All-Pac 12 performer as a senior, starting 45 games during her first season with the Bruins, and garnered First-Team NFCA All-West Region status after hitting .311 with 10 home runs and 33 runs batted in. She logged eight multi-hit games while posting 10 multi-RBI efforts. Palacios was a starter in 129 of 144 games over three seasons at Arizona and totaled 122 hits while driving in 128 runs. She led Wildcats to a pair of NCAA Women’s College World Series appearances and was a two-time All-Pac-12 First Team and NFCA All-West Region Second Team honoree. Palacios posted a .326 batting average with 20 home runs and 64 runs batted in during the 2022 campaign and belted 18 home runs, including three grand slams, as a redshirt freshman in 2021.