(We made a list. We checked it twice. From now until New Year’s Eve, we are counting down the top ten headlines of 2019. Today, we look at #2 on our list.)
2. Geri Ann Glasco memoralized
The softball world awoke to shocking news on January 24th: Former Oregon and Georgia star Geri Ann Glasco had passed away after a multi-vehicle accident in south Louisiana.
At the time, Geri Ann was serving as the volunteer assistant coach at Louisiana-Lafayette under her father, Cajuns’ head coach, Gerry Glasco. A 2016 graduate of Oregon, Geri Ann was just beginning her coaching career following a year as an assistant coach at a community college in Oregon, and was the latest in the Glasco family tree to join the coaching profession.
Geri Ann’s passing shook the corners of the softball world. Former teammates, ex-coaches, Cajuns players, and more who knew her took to social media to share their memories and memorialize the 24-year-old who left an indelible mark on the game.
A two-way player that began her career at Georgia before transferring to Oregon, Geri Ann went on to play in the Women’s College World Series for the Ducks in 2015 and spent one season playing professional softball after college. Many of her former teammates – Bulldogs, Ducks, and Racers alike – shared one common memory: Geri Ann was one of those people that could simply be described as a “Light.”
Physical tributes to Geri Ann took place all throughout the collegiate season – in the Sun Belt conference teams wore tribute stickers on their batting helmets; teams that hosted the Cajuns organized memorials and tributes at various points in the season; and some teams even arranged memorial presentations for Geri Ann’s sister Tara Archibald, then an assistant coach at Illinois State, when they played the Redbirds.
Later in the year, Oconee County High School in Georgia retired Geri Ann’s #12 jersey. The National Fastpitch Coaches Association partnered with the Natasha Watley Foundation to create the Geri Ann Glasco Memorial Scholarship, which was created “to honor [Geri Ann’s] memory and encourage and inspire young softball coaches and their pursuit of education.”
