SOUTH HAVEN, Mich. – On Friday, February 2, 2024 Western Michigan University softball head coach Marlee Wilson was inducted into the South Haven High School Hall of Fame Class of 2024. Wilson earned Hall of Fame recognition for her superior lifetime athletic achievements, her phenomenal academic awards, and her uniqueness as being the first SHHS graduate to be hired as Head Coach for a Major Sport at a Division 1 University.  

Wilson graduated from South Haven in 2013 with a total of seven varsity letters spanning from swimming, golf, and softball. During her four years at the high school level on the field, Wilson was named an All-State player after leading her team as a pitcher to three straight conference championships. Two of her three runs were highlighted by undefeated regular seasons. In the classroom, Wilson earned All-State academic honors as well.

In high school, Wilson's seven varsity letters consisted of: One in swimming, two in golf, and four in softball. As a softball athlete, Wilson was named a member of the All-District, All-Regional, and All-Conference teams in each of her four years at SHHS. Wilson would also be named to the All-State team three times and earned an All-State Honorable Mention once during her four years at SHHS. 

As a softball student athlete, Wilson led SHHS to a 59-3 record during her conference championship runs and a 128-16 record over her four years in high school. In correspondence with her athletic success in high school, Wilson was named to the Kzoo Gazette 2013 SW Michigan All Area Dream Team and was even recognized as the Most Athletic Female graduate by her classmates. During her high school career, Wilson set the softball single season home run and slugging percentage titles at SHHS and claimed six career record titles. Wilson would leave SHHS as the all-time leader in batting average, home runs, RBIs, SLG%, total bases, and walks. 

In the classroom, Wilson saw an abundance of success and graduated sixth in her high school class in 2013 with a GPA of 4.04. Wilson was a member of National Honors society for three years and a member of Key Club for four years. In total, Wilson would earn 16 All-Academic honors throughout high school as a four-time recipient of the All-Academic All-Conference, All-District, All-Regional, and All-State teams. 

In the higher education landscape, Wilson earned her Bachelor's degree at WMU in 2013 with a 3.97 grade point average and earned a Master's Degree from UT Martin in 2018. Wilson is currently leading the WMU softball team this season in her first year at the helm for the Brown and Gold. 

At the collegiate level, Wilson played for WMU from 2014-18 and is featured across the program record books: She is tied for second all-time in doubles during a single season with 15 in 2017 and is also tied for seventh in career home runs (14). Additionally, Wilson's 3.97 GPA awarded her as a member of the Dean's List during every semester at WMU. Wilson was named to the All-MAC Second Team in 2017, was a MAC Distinguished Scholar Athlete, and earned All-Academic All-MAC and NFCA All-American Scholar accolades four times each. 

Wilson noted that the most exciting part of the ceremony was when her team and staff made a surprise appearance on the basketball court."It was hard for me to be present (knowing the team was practicing a week out from opening day), but when I saw them in my high school gym it made it easy to celebrate the moment with them!" said Wilson. 

Along with Wilson, her high school and collegiate teammate (fellow WMU Softball Alum) Christina Pigozzi was also inducted into the SHHS Hall of Fame. Wilson and Pigozzi were two of the four inductees, along with Wilson's older brother Nick Wilson, who were honored at the ceremony. On February 2, Coach Wilson and Nick joined their mother Wilma, as the next generation of Wilsons to be named to the South Haven Hall of Fame.