Amanda Asay

Last updated

Amanda Asay
Amanda Asay 9283.jpg
Asay before a UBC Thunderbirds women's hockey game in 2012
Personal information
Full nameAmanda Karlene Asay [1]
Born(1988-05-16)May 16, 1988
Prince George, British Columbia, Canada
DiedJanuary 7, 2022(2022-01-07) (aged 33)
Nelson, British Columbia, Canada
Height1.76 m (5 ft 9 in) [2]
Weight85 kg (187 lb) [2]
Sport
Sport Baseball, ice hockey
College team Brown Bears
UBC Thunderbirds
Medal record
Women's baseball
Representing Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada
Women's Baseball World Cup
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2006 Taiwan Team competition
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2008 Japan Team competition
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2012 Canada Team competition
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2016 South Korea Team competition
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2018 United States Team competition
Pan American Games
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2015 Toronto Team competition

Amanda Karlene Asay (May 16, 1988 – January 7, 2022) was a Canadian baseball and ice hockey player. She played on the Canada women's national baseball team from 2005 to 2021 and was its longest-serving member at the time of her death. She batted and threw right-handed, and played at catcher, first base, and starting pitcher.

Contents

Asay joined the national team when she was 17 years old. She played in the World Cup one year later, where she was named to the all-tournament team as first baseman and won the national team's Most Valuable Player (MVP) award. She proceeded to compete in six more World Cup tournaments, earning two silver and three bronze medals in total. She was also part of the team that won a silver medal at the 2015 Pan American Games. At the 2016 World Cup, she played as a pitcher, won both her starts by pitching complete games, and again won the team MVP award.

After Asay died in a skiing accident in 2022, Baseball Canada retired her jersey number in her honour at a memorial game. She was inducted into the BC Sports Hall of Fame and the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2024 and 2025, respectively.

Early life

Born in Prince George, British Columbia on May 16, 1988 to parents Loris and George Asay, Amanda was raised with her brother, Brad. [2] Her father worked as a high school science teacher; her mother was a nurse. [3] [4] Asay began playing baseball when she was five [2] [5] and played for Prince George East in Little League Baseball, playing in the boys league, and the Prince George Knights rep team. [6] In hockey, Asay developed her skills in the Northern Cougars female program before transferring to the boys Tier One House. [7]

Asay attended College Heights Secondary School in her hometown [3] where she graduated with honours. [4] She then studied at Brown University on an academic and hockey scholarship, [6] graduating with a Bachelor of Science in 2010. [2] She completed postgraduate studies at the University of British Columbia under the supervision of Suzanne Simard, obtaining a Master of Science in 2013 with a focus on forestry [8] and a Doctor of Philosophy in forestry in 2020. [5] Her research concentrated on kin selection and recognition in interior Douglas fir, as well as the involvement of mycorrhizal networks in that interaction. [9] [10]

Playing career

Collegiate

Brown University, 2007–2010

Asay competed in softball for Brown University from 2007 to 2010 [11] playing as first baseman, outfielder, and designated hitter. [12] She was a right-handed thrower and batter. [13] In her first season, she had the most runs batted in (RBIs) on the team with 16, along with 20 hits and 8 runs scored in 42 games played. Asay was limited to eight games the following year due to an injury that prematurely ended her season, but maintained a .435 batting average with 10 hits and six RBIs. Her 2009 season was also shortened to six games because of another season-ending injury. Asay had 10 hits, two home runs, six RBIs, and six runs scored in 13 at bats. [12] She served as team captain during her senior year. [11]

Asay also played on the Brown Bears women's ice hockey team. She missed only one game during the first hockey season in 2006–07 to receive the Canadian women's baseball player of the year award. During her second year, she played 19 games as defenceman and had nine shots. [1] She sat out a season of play due to an ankle injury. With the Bears she played 62 games and recorded seven points. [7]

University of British Columbia, 2010–2012

Asay competed in women's ice hockey with the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds from 2010 to 2012, playing as a forward. [3] She played 48 games and recorded 20 points. [7] During the 2010–11 Thunderbirds season, she scored 6 goals and contributed 5 assists for 11 points. [14] She also played in the South Coast Senior Women's 'AA' Hockey League for the Northern Penguins team. [15]

Canada national baseball team

Asay joined the Canada national team in 2005. One year later, she made her World Cup debut at the tournament in Taiwan and helped the team win bronze. [6] [16] Asay was a first baseman, designated hitter, and backup as catcher. [4] She had a .500 batting average and nine RBIs, leading to her being named to the tournament all-star team as first baseman and winning the national team's Most Valuable Player (MVP) award. [16] [17] [18] Later that year, she was a finalist for the Tip O'Neill Award, given by the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame to the top Canadian player of the year. [4]

Asay competed in six more editions of the World Cup, helping the Canadian team earn silver in 2008 and 2016, and bronze in 2012 and 2018. [6] During the 2016 tournament, she was a starting pitcher and won her two starts by pitching complete games. [19] She posted a 1.00 earned run average (ERA) and 16 strikeouts. Offensively, she had a .333 batting average with two doubles and three RBIs. [19] She was honoured as the team MVP of the tournament for the second time. [16] [19]

In 2015, Asay was chosen for the Canadian roster at the 2015 Pan American Games as a first baseman and pitcher. It was the first edition of a major multi-sport event to feature women's baseball. [20] [21] The team advanced to the gold medal match of the women's tournament, losing 11–3 against the United States. [22] She pitched 2+2⁄3 innings in relief and recorded an RBI in the final. [23] [24]

In 2016, Asay was again a finalist for the Tip O'Neill Award [19] and won the national team's MVP award. [16] Baseball America ranked her as the seventh-best female baseball player in the world in August 2017. She was the only Canadian to be listed in the Top 10. [25] In 2020, Baseball Canada honoured her with the Ashley Stephenson Award for her leadership on the 2019 team. [26] At the time of her death, Asay was the longest-serving member of the Canadian team, having played for 16 years. [16]

Professional baseball

For the 2017-2018 season, Asay played professional baseball for the Footscray Bulldogs in Melbourne, Australia. She also played in the Prince George Senior Men's Baseball League (PGSMBL) for the Red Sox team as their starting pitcher. [6] In 2014, she won the PGSMBL's Top Pitcher award. [27]

Personal life and death

Asay appeared alongside her supervisor Suzanne Simard in the documentary film Intelligent Trees. [28] [29] She was employed as a forester for the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resources and Rural Development in Nelson, British Columbia. She played hockey there in the winter of 2021–22. [6] Asay died on January 7, 2022, at the age of 33, at Kootenay Lake Hospital in Nelson. [30] She fell into a tree well while skiing at the nearby Whitewater Ski Resort. [6] [16]

Tributes and legacy

Two months after her death, the Prince George Community Foundation created the Dr. Amanda Asay Memorial Award in her honour. It is presented annually to two post-secondary school students, one from School District 57 in her hometown and the other from School District 8 in Nelson. [9] In May 2022, Baseball Canada retired her jersey number 19, from the women's national baseball program. [31] Two months later, the Canadian women's baseball team wore wore a patch bearing the word "Ace", Asay's nickname, on the right sleeve of their jersey in a series of games against the United States. [32]

Baseball Canada organised a memorial game in her honour in September 2022. [33] In 2024, she was inducted into the BC Sports Hall of Fame [34] and the following year she was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame. [35]

References

  1. 1 2 "Amanda Asay – Women's Ice Hockey". Brown University Athletics. Archived from the original on January 10, 2022. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Amanda Asay". Toronto: Canadian Olympic Committee. May 12, 2015. Archived from the original on January 10, 2022. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 "Amanda Asay". UBC Thunderbirds. Archived from the original on January 10, 2022. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Hawthorn, Tom (December 27, 2006). "A baseball diamond is this girl's best friend". The Globe and Mail . Archived from the original on January 10, 2022. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  5. 1 2 "Forestry Alumna Achieves Top Ranks in Academics and Athletics". UBC Faculty of Forestry. November 2, 2020. Archived from the original on March 20, 2023. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Clarke, Ted (January 9, 2022). "Canada's 'PhD pitcher' Asay was a true student of the game". Prince George Citizen . Archived from the original on January 10, 2022. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  7. 1 2 3 Pawliw, Brendan (February 20, 2019). "Asay rediscovering scoring touch with Northern Penguins". MyPrinceGeorgeNow. Retrieved January 30, 2026.
  8. ↑ Asay, Amanda Karlene (2013). Mycorrhizal facilitation of kin recognition in interior Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii var. glauca) (Thesis). Vancouver: University of British Columbia. doi: 10.14288/1.0103374 . hdl: 2429/45400 .
  9. 1 2 Petersen, Hanna (March 11, 2022). "Prince George Community Foundation announces Dr. Amanda Asay Memorial Award". Prince George Citizen. Archived from the original on March 12, 2022. Retrieved April 10, 2022.
  10. ↑ "Students". The Mother Tree Project. Archived from the original on April 10, 2022. Retrieved April 10, 2022.
  11. 1 2 "Off the Field with Brown Senior Captain Amanda Asay". Brown University Athletics. February 25, 2010. Archived from the original on July 17, 2015. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  12. 1 2 "Amanda Asay – Softball". Brown University Athletics. Archived from the original on January 10, 2022. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  13. ↑ "Amanda Asay Bio" (PDF). Baseball Canada . Archived (PDF) from the original on January 24, 2022. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  14. ↑ "Amanda Asay – #6 – F". Canadian Interuniversity Sport. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  15. ↑ Balzer, Kyle (July 15, 2019). "Prince George pitcher named to Canada's 2019 national women's baseball team". Prince George Citizen. Archived from the original on July 9, 2025. Retrieved January 30, 2026.
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Longtime Canadian women's baseball team member Amanda Asay dead at 33". CBC News. The Canadian Press. January 9, 2022. Archived from the original on November 1, 2023. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  17. ↑ Pawliw, Brendan (July 17, 2019). "Asay to represent Canada once again on the world stage". My Prince George Now. Vista Radio. Archived from the original on April 18, 2022. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  18. ↑ Staffieri, Mark (July 16, 2015). "Former Brown and UBC Forward Amanda Asay Versatile Member of Canadian Baseball Team". Women's Hockey Life. Archived from the original on February 3, 2023. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  19. 1 2 3 4 Crawford, Scott (November 18, 2016). "Votto, Saunders Head List of Candidates for Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame's Tip O'Neill Award". St. Marys, Ontario: Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on January 10, 2022. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  20. ↑ Kilkenny, Carmel (May 18, 2015). "Pan Am Games welcome Women's Baseball". Radio Canada International. Archived from the original on July 2, 2022. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
  21. ↑ Clarke, Ted (May 17, 2015). "Asay making history at Pan Am Games". Prince George Citizen. Archived from the original on January 13, 2022. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
  22. ↑ "Baseball – Event Overview – Women". Toronto2015.org. Pan American Games. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved January 13, 2016.
  23. ↑ Kennedy, Brendan (July 26, 2015). "Canada takes silver in first-ever Pan Am women's baseball". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on June 3, 2023. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
  24. ↑ Couto, Melissa (July 26, 2015). "U.S. beats Canada for women's baseball gold at Pan Am Games". Global News. The Canadian Press. Archived from the original on June 1, 2023. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
  25. ↑ Peters, Jason (August 24, 2017). "Top of the world". Prince George Citizen. Archived from the original on January 10, 2022. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  26. ↑ Balzer, Kyle (April 3, 2020). "Prince George's Amanda Asay wins national baseball award for leadership". Prince George Citizen. Retrieved December 29, 2025.
  27. ↑ Balzer, Kyle (May 1, 2019). "Play Ball; Prince George Senior Men's Baseball League releases 2019 schedule". Prince George Citizen News. Archived from the original on May 25, 2025. Retrieved January 30, 2026.
  28. ↑ "Intelligent Trees – The Documentary". Intelligent Trees. Archived from the original on January 19, 2022. Retrieved January 25, 2022.
  29. ↑ "The Intelligence of Trees". Buddhist Film Festival Europe. Archived from the original on January 25, 2022. Retrieved January 25, 2022.
  30. ↑ Harper, Tyler (January 7, 2022). "'A terrific person': Canadian baseball star remembered after tragic death at Whitewater Ski Resort". Nelson Star. Archived from the original on January 10, 2022. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  31. ↑ "Baseball Canada to honour Amanda Asay, retiring No. 19 from women's national team". CBC News. The Canadian Press. May 14, 2022. Archived from the original on August 8, 2023. Retrieved December 29, 2025.
  32. ↑ Vis, Matt (July 30, 2022). "Canadian women's baseball team honours late longtime player during Friendship Series against USA". CBC News. Archived from the original on August 11, 2023. Retrieved January 10, 2026.
  33. ↑ Corea, Anthony (September 26, 2022). "First annual Amanda Asay Memorial game a success". CKPGToday . Retrieved January 10, 2026.
  34. ↑ Bennison, Sam (October 25, 2023). "Local Athlete Amanda Asay has been inducted to B.C. Sports Hall of Fame". CKPGtoday. Archived from the original on October 25, 2023. Retrieved December 29, 2025.
  35. ↑ Clarke, Ted (February 12, 2025). "Amanda Asay to be inducted into Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame". Prince George Citizen. Archived from the original on February 14, 2025. Retrieved December 29, 2025.
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