Amanda Asay

Canadian baseball and ice hockey player (1988–2022)

Amanda Asay
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
SportBaseball, ice hockey
College teamBrown Bears
UBC Thunderbirds
Medal record
Women's baseball
Representing  Canada
Women's Baseball World Cup
Bronze medal – third place 2006 Taiwan Team competition
Silver medal – second place 2008 Japan Team competition
Bronze medal – third place 2012 Canada Team competition
Silver medal – second place 2016 South Korea Team competition
Pan American Games
Silver medal – second place 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,[3] and played at catcher, first base, and starting pitcher.

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 two bronze medals in total. She was also part of the teams 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 was again bestowed the team MVP award.

Asay died in a skiing accident in 2022; Baseball Canada retired her jersey number in honour of her 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

Asay was born in Prince George, British Columbia, on May 16, 1988.[2] Her father worked as a high school science teacher; her mother was a nurse.[4][5] Asay began playing baseball when she was five.[2][6] She attended College Heights Secondary School in her hometown,[4] where she graduated with honours.[5] She then studied at Brown University on an academic and hockey scholarship,[7] 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[8] and a Doctor of Philosophy in forestry in 2020.[6] Her research concentrated on kin selection and recognition in interior Douglas fir, as well as the involvement of mycorrhizal network in that interaction.[9][10]

Playing career

Brown University

Asay competed in softball for Brown University from 2007 to 2010,[11] playing as first baseman, outfielder, and designated hitter. 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. She 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. She 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 her first 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]

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; the team secured bronze.[7][13] Asay was a first baseman, designated hitter, and backup as catcher.[5] 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.[13][14][15] 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.[5]

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.[7] During the 2016 tournament, she was a starting pitcher and won her two starts by pitching complete games.[16] 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.[16] She was honoured as the team MVP of the tournament for the second time.[13][16]

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 games to feature women's baseball.[17][18] The team advanced to the gold medal match of the women's tournament, losing 11–3 against the United States.[19] She pitched 2+2⁄3 innings in relief and recorded an RBI in the final.[20][21]

In 2016, Asay was again a finalist for the Tip O'Neill Award[16] and won the Canadian women's baseball team's MVP award.[13] 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.[22] In 2020, Baseball Canada honoured her with the Ashley Stephenson Award for her leadership on the 2019 team.[23] At her death, she was the longest-serving member of the Canadian team, having played for 16 years.[13]

Ice hockey

Asay competed in women's ice hockey with the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds from 2010 to 2012, playing as a forward.[4] During the 2010–11 Thunderbirds season, she scored 6 goals and contributed 5 assists for 11 points.[24] In her final year, she was second on the team in points scored with four games remaining.[25]

Personal life and death

Asay appeared alongside her supervisor Suzanne Simard in the documentary film Intelligent Trees.[26][27] 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.[7] Asay died on January 7, 2022, at the age of 33, at Kootenay Lake Hospital in Nelson.[28] She fell into a tree well while skiing at the nearby Whitewater Ski Resort.[7][13]

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.[29] Two months later, the Canadian women's baseball team wore a patch on the right sleeve of their jersey that stated "Ace", Asay's nickname, in a series of games against the United States.[30]

Baseball Canada organised a memorial game in her honour in September 2022.[31] In 2024, she was inducted into the BC Sports Hall of Fame[32] and the following year she was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame.[33]

References

  1. ^ a b "Amanda Asay – Women's Ice Hockey". Brown University Athletics. Archived from the original on January 10, 2022. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Amanda Asay". Toronto: Canadian Olympic Committee. May 12, 2015. Archived from the original on January 10, 2022. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  3. ^ "Amanda Asay Bio" (PDF). Baseball Canada. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  4. ^ a b c "Amanda Asay". UBC Thunderbirds. Archived from the original on January 10, 2022. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  5. ^ a b c d 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.
  6. ^ a b "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.
  7. ^ a b c d e Clarke, Ted (January 9, 2022). "Canada's 'PhD pitcher' Asay was a true student of the game". The Prince George Citizen. Archived from the original on January 10, 2022. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  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. ^ a b Petersen, Hanna (March 11, 2022). "Prince George Community Foundation announces Dr. Amanda Asay Memorial Award". The 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. ^ a b "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. ^ "Amanda Asay – Softball". Brown University Athletics. Archived from the original on January 10, 2022. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  13. ^ a b c d e f "Longtime Canadian women's baseball team member Amanda Asay dead at 33". CBC News. The Canadian Press. January 9, 2022. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  14. ^ Pawliw, Brendan (July 17, 2019). "Asay to represent Canada once again on the world stage". My Prince George Now. Vista Radio. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  15. ^ Staffieri, Mark (July 16, 2015). "Former Brown and UBC Forward Amanda Asay Versatile Member of Canadian Baseball Team". Women's Hockey Life. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  16. ^ a b c d 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.
  17. ^ Kilkenny, Carmel (May 18, 2015). "Pan Am Games welcome Women's Baseball". Radio Canada International. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
  18. ^ Clarke, Ted (May 17, 2015). "Asay making history at Pan Am Games". The Prince George Citizen. Archived from the original on January 13, 2022. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
  19. ^ "Baseball – Event Overview – Women". Toronto2015.org. Pan American Games. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved January 13, 2016.
  20. ^ Kennedy, Brendan (July 26, 2015). "Canada takes silver in first-ever Pan Am women's baseball". Toronto Star. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
  21. ^ Couto, Melissa (July 26, 2015). "U.S. beats Canada for women's baseball gold at Pan Am Games". Global News. The Canadian Press. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
  22. ^ Peters, Jason (August 24, 2017). "Top of the world". The Prince George Citizen. Archived from the original on January 10, 2022. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  23. ^ Balzer, Kyle (April 3, 2020). "Prince George's Amanda Asay wins national baseball award for leadership". Prince George Citizen. Retrieved December 29, 2025.
  24. ^ "Amanda Asay – #6 – F". Canadian Interuniversity Sport. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  25. ^ "The final weekend for two UBC women's hockey T-Birds". UBC Thunderbirds. February 3, 2012. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  26. ^ "Intelligent Trees – The Documentary". Intelligent Trees. Retrieved January 25, 2022.
  27. ^ "The Intelligence of Trees". Buddhist Film Festival Europe. Archived from the original on January 25, 2022. Retrieved January 25, 2022.
  28. ^ 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.
  29. ^ "Baseball Canada to honour Amanda Asay, retiring No. 19 from women's national team". CBC News. The Canadian Press. May 14, 2022. Retrieved December 29, 2025.
  30. ^ Vis, Matt (July 30, 2022). "Canadian women's baseball team honours late longtime player during Friendship Series against USA". CBC News. Retrieved January 10, 2026.
  31. ^ Corea, Anthony (September 26, 2022). "First annual Amanda Asay Memorial game a success". CKPGToday. Retrieved January 10, 2026.
  32. ^ Bennison, Sam (October 25, 2023). "Local Athlete Amanda Asay has been inducted to B.C. Sports Hall of Fame". CKPGtoday. Retrieved December 29, 2025.
  33. ^ Clarke, Ted (February 12, 2025). "Amanda Asay to be inducted into Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame". Prince George Citizen. Retrieved December 29, 2025.
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