Ranked as one of the top pitchers in all of Division II before the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of the 2020 season, Sam Mulock certainly ended her Chico State softball career on a high note. Though prominently featured throughout the Wildcat record books, Mulock’s talents weren’t limited to just the playing field. As the recent recipient of the Chico State Richard Dahl Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year award, the talented lefthander will also go down in history as a truly exemplary student-athlete. Her outstanding accomplishments make Mulock the latest Wildcat of the Week.
“I was really excited about it,” Mulock said about winning the award. “When I got the e-mail, I was super surprised. I didn’t think I had crazy-good grades to get it. I thought my grade point average was high, but I didn’t feel they were good enough to receive a reward like that.”
The Richard Dahl Female Scholar-Athlete award, sponsored by the Richard Dahl Athletic Scholarship Fund, is a post-graduate scholarship awarded annually to one female Chico State student-athlete who has demonstrated excellence in her academic and athletic pursuits.
Mulock winning the Richard Dahl award comes as no surprise to her longtime head coach.
“Congratulations to Sam for earning this prestigious academic award,” Angel Shamblin said. “All of Sam’s accolades on and off the field are well deserved, and we are so proud of all of her hard work in the classroom and on the field. We know Sam will continue to do big things in her life, and we wish her the very best.”
Mulock’s many achievements, including being named Chico State’s Female Scholar Athlete of the Year, also drew praise from Wildcats Director of Athletics Anita Barker.
“I am so very proud of Sam’s accomplishments during her time at a Chico State Wildcat!” Barker said. “This award is evidence of her tenacity and perseverance in the classroom and on the softball field. Although her softball career was cut short, her legacy will remain. She will always be a Wildcat wherever her next adventures take her! We wish her well.”
As recently as six months ago, Mulock held out hope that there still might be a little more Wildcat softball in her immediate future. Last fall, having already been accepted into the Multi-Cultural Psychology doctorate program at Alliant International University in San Diego, she elected to defer for a year and see if the Wildcat softball team would be able to play some type of competitive schedule in 2021—allowing her to exercise her final year of athletic eligibility. When that didn’t materialize, Mulock decided to receive her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Chico State in December and begin preparing to pursue her doctorate in the fall of 2021.
“When we first got told the (2020) season was done last March, I was heartbroken,” Mulock said. “I knew we were going back to the College World Series [Chico State owned a 19-2 record and was ranked No. 2 in the nation when play was halted], and to have it ripped away so aggressively was very disappointing. When we got the word that there would be no 2021 season, I was kind of away from softball for awhile at that point. I wasn’t too surprised. It still sucked, but I was able to handle the disappointment a little easier. You just have to roll with the punches.”
Effectively juggling the time-consuming demands of studies and sport is a challenge every student-athlete faces. A 2019–20 California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) All-Academic selection, Mulock was able to master that fine balance thanks to organization and making the absolute best use of her time.
“It’s really about the athletic planner. It saved my life,” Mulock said, referring to the spiral-bound day planner given to every Chico State student-athlete in the fall. “I think every semester was different. Sometimes my class load was light, but there were some classes that there was paperwork due every day; I had to post videos on YouTube. A lot of times I’d have to do it from the van (on the way to games) or hotel rooms. It was always hectic.”
During her four years at Chico State, Mulock worked hard to keep her motivation level up to stay on top of classroom responsibilities. Early on, though, she admits she sometimes needed a little prodding.
“Coach Shamblin pushed me a few times,” Mulock remembers. “One of my first online classes, I kept missing assignments, and she told me that I was better than that. I definitely took that to heart.”
While the Richard Dahl Female Scholar Athlete of the Year award celebrates Mulock’s achievements in the classroom, her successes on the softball field are just as impressive. In what turned out to be her final season with the Wildcats, the southpaw posted a perfect 10-0 record and a 0.79 earned run average in 2020—the 11th-best ERA in all of Division II softball. But it’s what she and her Chico State teammates accomplished in 2018 that Mulock is most proud of.
“Going to the (Division II) World Series with Team 50,” she said of Chico State’s 2018 NCAA West Region championship squad. “I really loved playing with those girls. I think each team brought something special, and I’ll remember each of them in my own special way.”
Mulock ends her career ranked fourth in Chico State history in ERA (1.81) and eighth in wins (33), and leaves the program having provided Wildcat softball fans with a long list of memorable performances. She’s made sure to take an equal amount of special memories with her.
“There are so many,” Mulock said. “I think each of the bonds and connections I made with my teammates and coaches are memories I really want to hold on to. Little things like traveling in the van, hotel rooms, winning and losing…and breaking some records along the way.”
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