Gwen Svekis

Personal: Svekis enjoys hobbies such as yoga, shopping for records, reading, and journaling. She is motivated to be the very best and believes that by doing her part, she can pave the way for the next generation to dream bigger than they currently can. Svekis is the daughter of Holly and Steve Svekis and has an older sister named Jackie.

2023 Championship Season: Svekis secured fifth place on the final leaderboard with 1,658 points, matching her career-high finish. She was named to Athletes Unlimited Softball All-Defensive Team for the second time in three years, and authored a 12-3 game win record, tying Odicci Alexander and Alyssa Denham for tops in the league. Svekis tied for second in the circuit with Denham after securing 750 inning win points. She was a three-time Game MVP honoree and was a starter in all 15 games, fashioning a .209 batting average with nine hits, including two home runs. Additionally, Svekis drove in seven runs and scored six times. She earned MVP 2 notice against Team Garcia on August 5 after belting a two-run home run to lead Team Zerkle to a 13-4 victory. She also drove in two runs with a home run against Team Gibson on August 26 to secure MVP 2 distinction. Svekis also garnered MVP 3 accolades against Team Davidson on August 12. She closed the season with a hit in four of the final six games and authored 10 games with 100 or more leaderboard points, including the final seven outings in a row.



2022 Championship Season: Svekis finished in 14th place in the leaderboard with 1,426 points. She ranked sixth in the league with 1,100 win points and tied for ninth with three home runs. Svekis started in all 15 games, hitting .279 with 12 hits and eight runs batted in. Her season-high three hits came against Team Jaquish in Week Three. She also hit home runs in back-to-back games against Team Chidester and Team Mulipola in Week Five, as well as in the Week Two opener against Team Mulipola.

2022 AUX Season: Svekis earned 520 leaderboard points in 12 games. She posted a .200 batting average with seven hits, including two home runs. Svekis also drove in seven runs and scored four times. She made history by hitting the first extra-inning home run in Athletes Unlimited Softball history against Team Zerkle on June 25. She hit a two-run shot to left field in the ninth inning. Svekis also hit a home run against Team O'Toole in the first game of the June 25 doubleheader, driving in a season-high three runs. She started the season with a four-game hitting streak, going 5-for-12 with two runs batted in and two runs scored. 

2021 Championship Season: Svekis finished in 10th place on the leaderboard with 1,464 points and 354 stat points. She tied for fifth with 140 MVP points and was named to the inaugural Athletes Unlimited Softball All-Defensive Team. Svekis hit .347 while starting 14 of 15 games. She ranked fourth in the league with 49 at-bats and tied for third with 17 hits, including four home runs. Svekis drove in nine runs, earning a share of eighth place in the league. She accumulated 34 total bases, finishing second in Athletes Unlimited.

2020 Championship Season: Svekis tied for fifth place on the league leaderboard with 1,710 points. She shared top honors with Cat Osterman after accumulating 1,380 win points. Svekis batted .262 with 11 hits and nine runs scored. She also hit three home runs and drove in 11 runs. Svekis ranked third in the league with eight walks and was one of 11 players to register a sacrifice fly. She posted two sacrifice flies, earning a share of second place in the league.

International Experience: Svekis has international experience as a member of the USA Women's Elite Team in 2016. She also served as an alternate for Team USA at The 2022 World Games in Birmingham, Alabama. Svekis helped Team USA finish in first place at the 2023 WBSC World Cup Group A event in Dublin, Ireland.

Other Professional Experience: In terms of other professional experience, Svekis made her professional debut in 2018 in the NPF with the Chicago Bandits. She had a .269 batting average with one home run and six runs batted in as a rookie. Svekis earned All-NPF recognition in 2019 and spent the 2023 season with Toda Medics of the Japanese Diamond League.

At Oregon: Svekis was a four-year letter winner for the Ducks. She started 197 of 217 career games from 2015-2018. Svekis finished her career with a .337 batting average, 45 home runs, and 169 runs batted in. She also registered 189 hits, including 26 doubles and four triples, while scoring 132 runs. Svekis ranks among Oregon's career leaders in runs batted in, home runs, and walks. In her senior year, she was named to the NFCA All-America First Team after hitting .324 with 17 home runs and 60 RBI. Svekis was also selected as the 2018 NFCA Catcher of the Year and was a three-time NFCA All-Region honoree. She received All-Pac-12 Conference honors twice, including First-Team distinction in her senior campaign. Svekis was a member of the 2015 Pac-12 All-Freshman Team and earned a spot on the 2018 Pac-12 All-Defense Team. She holds the Oregon single-game record with nine RBI against Oregon State on March 15, 2015, and ranks second on Ducks' single-season list with 17 home runs during the 2018 season. Svekis led Oregon in home runs as a junior and senior.