Hicks selected for Canadian Women’s National Team roster
Former Louisiana Tech softball star Zoe Hicks will play for her home country of Canada on the Women’s National Team in the 2023 WBSC Women’s Softball World Cup. Photo by Tom Morris
OTTAWA, Ontario — Former Louisiana Tech Lady Techster Zoe Hicks was selected for the Canadian Women’s National Team as Softball Canada announced its roster for the 2023 WBSC Women’s Softball World Cup Group Stage that will be held from July 22-26,in Castions di Strada and Buttrio, Italy.
Rosters for the event were decided after three regional identification camps and one final selection camp.
Hicks was a three-year starter at Tech from 2019-2021, making 113 starts and appearing in 115 games. She posted a career batting average of .275, collecting 86 hits, 16 doubles, 5 home runs, and 57 RBIs while drawing 65 walks and scoring 55 runs.
As a sophomore in 2019, Hicks started 42 games as first base posting a .269 batting average with 32 hits, including 4 doubles and a triple, helping Tech clinch the Regular Season Conference USA Championship.
Prior to her time at Tech, The Boissevain, Manitoba, Canada native spent her freshman and sophomore seasons at Iowa Western Community College, where she was a first-team NJCAA All-American in 2018 after batting .488 with seven home runs, 24 doubles, 71 RBIs, 23 walks and 66 runs scored.
After her time in Ruston, Hicks made history, becoming the first woman to play for the Wheat City Whiskey Jacks in the Expedition League, a wood-bat baseball summer league.
On May 29, 2021, Hicks became the first female to reach base and score a run during the fourth inning, then became the first to get a hit and drive in a run in the seventh as she helped the Whiskey Jacks rout the Sioux Falls Sunfish 13-4.
She then went on to play professional softball for Spaarks Haarlem in the Netherlands before moving into her current role as a Baseball Technology Associate for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The 2023 WBSC Women’s Softball World Cup will be the first tournament under the new two-stage format.
A total of 18 teams have been split into three groups, with the top two teams in each group’s final standing advancing to the Finals that will be held in 2024 in Italy.
The two remaining spots will be awarded to wild card entries or the host. Canada will be in Group C, accompanied by No. 2 Japan, No. 8 Italy, No.22 Venezuela, No. 26 Philippines, and No. 28 New Zealand. Live scoring will be available through the WBSC Women’s Softball World Cup website, with live streaming available through GameTime.sport.
