Veronica Gajownik

Veronica Rose Gajownik (born August 4, 1993) is a former American softball and baseball player, and an American baseball manager. She was a member of the United States women's national baseball team which won a gold medal at the 2015 Pan American Games.[1][2] In 2023 she was named the Hillsboro Hops’ manager for the 2023 season;[3] this made her the first woman to manage a High-A team,[4] and the first openly LGBTQ manager in minor or major league baseball history.[5]

Veronica Gajownik
Personal information
NationalityAmerican
Born (1993-08-04) August 4, 1993
Winter Park, Florida
Height5 ft 7 in (170 cm)
Sport
College teamIndian River CC Pioneers
South Florida Bulls
Medal record
Women's baseball
Representing  United States
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place 2015 Toronto Team competition

Biography

Veronica Gajownik was born in Winter Park, Florida, on August 4, 1993.[6] She is the daughter of Marcel Gajownik and Glenn Richards, a chief meteorologist for WOFL.[7] Veronica was introduced to baseball by her father and started to play baseball with boys in Oviedo recreation leagues.[7]

Gajownik started playing softball when she attended Paul J. Hagerty High School in Oviedo, Florida.[7] She played for the Hagerty Huskies and has a .531 batting average as a junior with a .694 on-base percentage.[8] She also competed in summer competitions for Team North Florida, the Tampa Mustangs and Team Florida.[8]

Gajownik attended Indian River State College in 2013 and University of South Florida during 2014–2015 where she played softball for the South Florida Bulls.[9]

Gajownik joined the Arizona Diamondbacks organization as a video assistant with the Hillsboro Hops, their High-A affiliate, in 2021.[3] In 2022, Gajownik served as a coach for the Amarillo Sod Poodles of the Double-A Texas League[10] and for the Salt River Rafters of the Arizona Fall League.[11] In 2023 she was named Hillsboro's manager for the 2023 season;[3] this made her the first woman to manage a High-A team,[4] and the first openly LGBTQ manager in minor or major league baseball history. She is married to a woman.[5]

References
  1. "GAJOWNIK, Veronica". Toronto2015.org. Pan American Games. Retrieved January 13, 2016.
  2. "Baseball - Event Overview - Women". Toronto2015.org. Pan American Games. Retrieved January 13, 2016.
  3. "Ronnie Gajownik named High-A Hillsboro manager". January 21, 2023. Archived from the original on 2023-01-21.
  4. "Diamondbacks affiliate Hillsboro names woman as manager". Laredo Morning Times. January 21, 2023.
  5. Schultz, Ken (February 2, 2023). "Ronnie Gajownik becomes the first out LGBTQ manager in MiLB". Outsports.
  6. "Veronica Gajownik profile". Team USA. Archived from the original on September 6, 2015. Retrieved August 15, 2015.
  7. Bedell, John (July 20, 2011). "Diamond Girl". Seminole Voice. Retrieved August 15, 2015.
  8. "Veronica Gajownik". South Florida Bulls website. South Florida Bulls. Retrieved August 15, 2015.
  9. "Gajownik Named to USA Women's Baseball National Team". GoUSFBulls.com. May 26, 2015. Retrieved August 15, 2015.
  10. Liska, Larissa. "One base at a time, Gajownik makes Sod Poodles coaching history".
  11. "The Official Site of Major League Baseball". MLB.com.


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