Jenny Dalton-Hill facts for kids

Jenny Dalton-Hill

Medal record
Women's baseball
Representing  United States
Women's Baseball World Cup
Bronze	2010 Venezuela	2010 Tournament

Jenny Dalton-Hill was born on March 5, 1974. She is a former All-American softball player from college. Today, she is a sports commentator. She is also the general manager for the Bandits team in the new Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL) for its first season in 2025.

Jenny played for the Arizona Wildcats from 1993 to 1996. During that time, she helped her team win three Women's College World Series championships in 1993, 1994, and 1996. She also played baseball for the Colorado Silver Bullets and the United States women's national baseball team. She won a bronze medal at the 2010 Women's Baseball World Cup. Jenny holds records in the Pac-12 and NCAA Division I for RBIs (runs batted in). She is one of only a few NCAA players to have a batting average of .400, with 200 RBIs, 50 home runs, and an .800 slugging percentage in her career.

Playing Career

Arizona Wildcats Softball

Jenny Dalton-Hill started her college career in 1993. As a freshman, she was chosen for the All-Pac-10 conference team. She had a batting average of .318. That year, the Wildcats went to the Women's College World Series (WCWS). Jenny got a hit in her very first turn at bat, helping her team win against the ULL Ragin’ Cajuns on May 29. The team reached the finals against their rivals, the UCLA Bruins. On May 31, Jenny won her first national championship. This was the school's second overall title.

In her second year, Jenny was named First Team All-Pac-10 and All-American. She had the second-highest number of RBIs and doubles in school history. Her doubles also led the conference. Her RBI total was also second all-time for an NCAA season. She also had a career-best 89 hits.

Jenny returned to the WCWS for a second time. She started the tournament by getting two runs batted in. This helped her team beat the UIC Flames on May 26. In the next game against the Fresno State Bulldogs, she was perfect at the plate, getting three hits out of three tries. Against rival UCLA in the semifinals, she hit a three-run home run on May 29. This helped her team reach the championship game. Jenny and her teammates won the title 4-0 against the Cal State Northridge Matadors on May 30. Jenny was named to the All-Tournament Team for her great performance.

Jenny was again named First-Team All-Pac-10 and All-American. She broke school records for walks and runs scored in a season. These numbers also led the conference and the NCAA for that year. Jenny still holds the record for runs scored in a season for her school, conference, and the NCAA. Her home runs (a career high) and RBI totals were, and still are, among the top 5 in school history and top 10 in NCAA history.

On February 18, 1995, Jenny hit three home runs against the Illinois State Redbirds. This tied the school and NCAA record for home runs in a single game. Later that year, on April 28, she did it again against the Oregon State Beavers. This made her the first player to have two games with three home runs, and the only one to do it in the same year. Before the NCAA tournament, Jenny also became only the second player, after her teammate Laura Espinoza, to reach both 50 home runs and 200 RBIs.

At the WCWS, in the Wildcats' second game, she hit a three-run homer. This helped them beat the Cal State Fullerton Titans on May 26. They moved to the semifinals, where she got the game-winning run in the first inning against the UNLV Rebels on May 28. In the final game on May 29, the Wildcats lost 4–2 to the UCLA Bruins. The championship title from that year was later removed by the NCAA.

For her final season, Jenny earned her third straight First Team conference and NCAA awards. She was also named Pac-10 Player of the Year. She became the first player to win the "Triple Crown" in the conference. This means she had the best batting average, RBIs (both career highs), and home run totals in one season. Jenny also won the Honda Sports Award for "Softball Player of The Year." She broke the school record for walks and still holds it. Her season batting average, RBIs, home runs, and career-best slugging percentage are all top 10 school records. She also led the NCAA in RBIs, home runs, walks, and runs scored. Her RBIs, home runs, and runs scored are still among the top 10 all-time NCAA season records.

On March 1, 1996, Jenny had 8 RBIs in one game against the Tennessee Lady Vols. This was a career high for her. On May 17, she hit her 316th career RBI with a grand slam against the Troy Trojans. This broke the record held by her former teammate Laura Espinoza.

On May 26 at the WCWS, Jenny was perfect, getting three hits out of three tries with two RBIs against the Iowa Hawkeyes. She made her fourth straight appearance in the finals on May 27. Jenny hit a three-run home run in the first inning. This helped her team beat the Washington Huskies 6–4 for her third championship. She was later named to the All-Tournament team and was the MVP of the series.

When she finished playing for the Arizona Wildcats, she held the top spots in career RBIs, walks, and runs. She was second in batting average, hits, home runs, doubles, and slugging percentage. Many of these still rank in the top 10 all-time. She also held every career record in the Pac-12 that she did for Arizona, and she still holds the records for RBIs and runs. For the NCAA career records, Jenny led in RBIs, walks, runs scored, and slugging percentage. She also had the second-most home runs. She still has the most RBIs and ranks high in runs (2nd) and home runs (tied 10th) all-time.

Baseball Career

In 1996, Jenny played for the Colorado Silver Bullets. This was their last season. In 2010, she played first base for the United States women's national baseball team at the Women's World Cup of Baseball. She shared this position with her former Arizona teammate Laura Espinoza. In 2012, Jenny also worked as a coach for the United States national women's team.

Athletes Unlimited

In November 2024, Athletes Unlimited hired Jenny Dalton-Hill. She became the general manager for the Bandits team. This is for the first season of the Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL).

Personal Life

Jenny Dalton-Hill could have played for Team USA in the 1996 Olympics. However, she chose to do other things. In 1997, she volunteered to coach for the University of Arizona. They won their 5th national title that year. Later, she moved and joined the Kentucky Wildcats program as an Assistant Coach for two years.

In 2001, Jenny Dalton-Hill was added to the Wildcats Hall of Fame. She had been a member of the baseball Colorado Silver Bullets in 1997. In 2010, Jenny came out of retirement to play for the USA Baseball Women's National Team. They won the bronze medal at the 2010 Women's Baseball World Cup. Today, she coaches high school softball in Kentucky. She is also a staff member for the women's Team USA baseball team. She is also on the USA Board of Directors for softball.

Jenny Dalton-Hill is married to Marc Hill. They have three children: Dalton, Brookelyn, and Cogan. In 2005, Glendale High School (Jenny's old school) built a softball field. They named it Dalton Field in her honor. They also retired her jersey number.

She is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Jenny often provides commentary for the NCAA Division I Softball Tournament and the 7 Innings Podcast.

Awards and Honors

• 1996 Medal of Honor (Pac-10)
• 1996 Honda Sports Award (softball)
• 2016 All-Century Softball Team (Pac-12).

See also

• NCAA Division I softball career .400 batting average list
• NCAA Division I softball career 200 RBIs list
• NCAA Division I softball career 50 home runs list