Hall of Fame
YOLANDA ARVIZU
Hometown: San Diego, Calif.
Sport: Softball
Years: 1979-82
Yolanda Arvizu was a four-year starter at second base and pitcher for Utah State from 1979-82, earned All-American recognition in 1981 and 1982 and is one of just two softball players in school history to earn multiple All-American honors. Arvizu, who was a first-team All-American as a senior, is one of just nine players to be members of both the 1980 and 1981 Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) National Championship teams at Utah State. Arvizu, who also earned all-conference and all-region honors three times during her collegiate career, led USU with a 1.40 earned run average and a .303 batting average in 1979. Arvizu also had 14 stolen bases in 1981 to rank third all-time at USU for a single-season, and she finished her career with 22 stolen bases to rank sixth all-time in school history. Arvizu also spent seven years on the USU softball coaching staff as an assistant and one year as a women's basketball assistant coach. Following her collegiate career, Arvizu earned first-team Amateur Softball Association (ASA) All-American accolades in 1985 and played on the United States team that traveled to Japan. Arvizu was also a member of the U.S. Olympic Sports Festival, helping them to second and fourth-place finishes and was a member of the San Diego Astros team that won six national championships. Arvizu, who was the youngest person to ever play professional softball when she joined the Santa Ana Lionettes in 1976 at the age of 16, also spent time in Australia playing professionally, helping the South Australia club earn the Team of the Year award in 1991. While in Australia, Arvizu also spent three years as the head coach of the South Australia Sports Institute team. During her illustrious career, Arvizu won 10 national championships as a player.
