Athletes

Julie Croteau fell in love with baseball during her days in Little League and dreamed of playing professionally. In 1988 Croteau pursued this goal, suing her high school for the right to play on the boys’ baseball team. She would eventually lose the case but never lost her hope of continuing to play the sport she loves. Croteau went on to become the first woman to both play and coach men's NCAA baseball. As a walk-on player, Croteau joined the St. Mary’s College (Division III) baseball team her freshman year. After graduation Croteau stayed involved in baseball by coaching men's Division III at Western New England College and Division I at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Croteau reached her dream of playing professionally when she joined the Colorado Silver Bullets, a women’s professional baseball team (1994-1997). She continued her professional career as one of only two women to play in a Major League Baseball winter league (Hawaiian Winter League). In 2004 Croteau was selected as a coach for the U.S. women's national team, which captured gold at the 2004 Women's World Cup of Baseball in Edmonton,Canada. After a promotion to general manager, Croteau led the 2006 women’s national team to its second consecutive gold medal at the Women’s World Cup in Taiwan.