UNLV Athletics Hall Of Fame
Softball Athlete (1990-91)
Women’s Basketball Athlete (1991-92)
A rare modern two-sport collegiate athlete who earned All-America honors at two different softball positions and went on to play the sport professionally and internationally, Christine Parris made a big impact all over the field at UNLV. A three-sport star at her high school in Ontario, Canada, before taking an offer to play softball at Crowder Community College in Missouri. Lured to Las Vegas by a fellow-Canadian, UNLV Hall of Fame head coach Shan McDonald, Parris both pitched and played infield for the upstart Rebel program. She was the team’s shortstop in 1990, earning Third Team All-America and Second Team All-Region honors after batting .398 with a school-record 13 triples as the Scarlet & Gray made it all the way to their first College World Series. As a senior the next season, Parris moved to third base and hit for .356 average with 35 RBI. Named the Big West Conference Field Player of the Year, she again was named a Third Team All-American despite changing positions. Her 1991 team rose to as high as fourth in the nation and returned to the College World Series. One of five multiple-season All-Americans for Rebel softball, the speedster ranks third in school history with a career batting average of .377, holds the school and conference record for career triples with 19 and currently ranks eighth at UNLV with 37 all-time stolen bases. Parris returned to her hoop roots in her final year, playing one season for the Lady Rebel basketball team under then-head coach Jim Bolla. She eventually worked at her alma mater in the athletics department and as an assistant coach under McDonald. Her softball career continued after college, however. She was a 10-year veteran member of the Canadian National Softball Team competing in 1996 Olympic Games, three World Championships and two Pan American Games, winning two silver medals. She also suited up for the Tampa Bay Firestix franchise of the Women’s Professional League and more recently served as executive director of Softball Ontario. Now she joins her 1991 teammates in being inducted into her alma mater’s Hall of Fame.
PARRIS CAREER SOFTBALL STATS
YEAR G/GS AB R H RBI 2B 3B HR BB AVG
1991 67/67 219 30 78 35 10 6 0 13 .356
1990 66/66 211 28 84 25 10 13 1 11 .398
TOTAL 133/133 430 58 162 60 20 19 1 24 .377
PARRIS CAREER BASKETBALL STATS
YEAR G/GS MIN FG-FGA FT-FTA REB A BLK PTS AVG
1991-92 9/0 26 2-3 5-6 5 3 1 10 1.1
