University of Massachusets Athletics
Hall of Fame
Allyson Rioux
- Induction:
- 2002
- Class:
- 1984
Allyson Rioux earned second team all-America honors in 1983 as a shortstop for legendary head coach and fellow hall of fame inductee Elaine Sortino.
A two-time all-New England shortstop (1981 and 1983), Rioux earned all-Atlantic 10 honors as a senior in 1984, when the Minutewomen won a then-school-record 29 games.
As a senior captain, Rioux hit a team-high .372, while also leading the team in doubles (six), home runs (three) and RBI (30), and ranking second in walks (15).
Rioux hit .301 as a junior in 1983 with 10 RBI and six doubles, did not play as a sophomore in 1982 due to a broken ankle and hit .282 as a freshman in 1981 with six RBI.
A native of Stamford, Conn., Rioux ranks among UMass' all-time leaders in slugging percentage (.452), on-base percentage (.410) and walks (51). For her career, she hit .328, with 87 hits, 46 RBI and 59 runs scored, as the Minutewomen posted then-school record win totals in her junior (28) and senior (29) seasons.
Rioux, who graduated from UMass in 1984 with a communications degree, played 10 seasons with the Raybestos Brakettes, helping the team to 10 American Softball Association Tournament appearances and five ASA national championships at second base.
Rioux earned six ASA All-America awards (three first team, three second team), and received the Most Valuable Player of the 1985 ASA National Championship and the Erv Lind Award as the outstanding defensive player in the championship game (1.000 fielding percentage / 36 chances and no errors).
A member of United States' silver-medal winning team at the 1983 Pan American Games, Rioux won the Pan American Games batting title with a .549 average. A two-time World Games participant who earned all-Tournament and all-World honors in 1986, Rioux died of a brain tumor in 1989 at 27 years old.
Rioux was inducted into the UMass Athletics Hall of Fame in 2002.
A two-time all-New England shortstop (1981 and 1983), Rioux earned all-Atlantic 10 honors as a senior in 1984, when the Minutewomen won a then-school-record 29 games.
As a senior captain, Rioux hit a team-high .372, while also leading the team in doubles (six), home runs (three) and RBI (30), and ranking second in walks (15).
Rioux hit .301 as a junior in 1983 with 10 RBI and six doubles, did not play as a sophomore in 1982 due to a broken ankle and hit .282 as a freshman in 1981 with six RBI.
A native of Stamford, Conn., Rioux ranks among UMass' all-time leaders in slugging percentage (.452), on-base percentage (.410) and walks (51). For her career, she hit .328, with 87 hits, 46 RBI and 59 runs scored, as the Minutewomen posted then-school record win totals in her junior (28) and senior (29) seasons.
Rioux, who graduated from UMass in 1984 with a communications degree, played 10 seasons with the Raybestos Brakettes, helping the team to 10 American Softball Association Tournament appearances and five ASA national championships at second base.
Rioux earned six ASA All-America awards (three first team, three second team), and received the Most Valuable Player of the 1985 ASA National Championship and the Erv Lind Award as the outstanding defensive player in the championship game (1.000 fielding percentage / 36 chances and no errors).
A member of United States' silver-medal winning team at the 1983 Pan American Games, Rioux won the Pan American Games batting title with a .549 average. A two-time World Games participant who earned all-Tournament and all-World honors in 1986, Rioux died of a brain tumor in 1989 at 27 years old.
Rioux was inducted into the UMass Athletics Hall of Fame in 2002.
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