UNLV Athletics Hall Of Fame
A former two-sport standout at Charter Oaks High School in Covina, Calif., Cyndi Parus chose to play her college ball for UNLV head coach Shan McDonald instead of some other western heavyweights. Now she stands as the top first baseman in school history. The leader of four NCAA-qualifying teams, including arguably the best club in program history in 1995, Parus helped the 1994 and '95 squads to the school's only two conference titles. UNLV's one and only softball player to earn First Team All-America honors more than once in a career, she did it three consecutive seasons (1993 and '94 as a first baseman and 1995 as an at-large player). The 1994 Big West Conference Player of the Year holds the school record for runs batted in for a game with seven and career game-winning runs batted in with 33. She still ranks second all-time in RBI, third in doubles, fourth in hits, eighth in runs and eighth in batting average with a .325 clip. During her senior season, the Rebels won their first outright Big West Championship with a 27-5 record and broke or tied 30 school records along the way. The team, which finished ranked seventh in the nation, advanced to Women's College World Series and came within one game of playing for the national championship. Parus was also voted UNLV Sportswoman of the Year and was the 2005 NCAA Woman of the Year winner for the entire state of Nevada. She is the second UNLV softball player to enter the Hall, following pitching legend Lori Harrigan.
