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A champion on the international stage, Natalie Wideman was dynamic offensively and defensively at California from 2011-14. She was named the 2014 Diamond Sports NCAA Division II Catcher of the Year after helping the Vulcans capture their first PSAC Championship since 2000. Wideman was named both the PSAC West Athlete of the Year and PSAC Tournament MVP as a senior, as she became the 11th player in program history to collect 200 career hits. The Ontario native started all 174 games over the course her career, shifting from catcher to second base back to catcher while maintaining a .377 average. Wideman has since continued her playing career as a member of the Canadian National Team, winning the bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the gold medal at the 2019 Pan American Games.
In 2011, she received All-PSAC West First-Team honors as a freshman while hitting at a .348 clip to help the Vulcans finish first in the PSAC West standings for a fourth-straight year. Wideman transitioned to second base the following spring and again was an All-PSAC West First-Team selection, as well as a NFCA First-Team All-Region honoree. She led the team and ranked third in the league with a .416 average and finished second in the PSAC with a .503 on-base percentage. As a junior, Wideman returned to behind the plate and helped Cal post its winningest season in over a decade. The Vulcans lost in extra innings in the PSAC Championship after winning three-straight elimination games while in Quakertown. In 2014, she was the catalyst for the program’s championship run at the PSAC Tournament by going 12-for-19 and boasting a 1.682 OPS from the leadoff spot. Wideman delivered the go-ahead homer in the sixth inning of the PSAC Championship against Shippensburg, as the Vulcans won three elimination games on the final day of the tournament. She finished the year as the PSAC leader with a .454 average, 535 on-base percentage and 49 runs scored. Wideman also collected 22 steals to rank as the most by a Cal player in over two decades. In 2014, she helped lead the program to an undefeated 23-0 record in PSAC West play to set the record for most divisional wins in school history. Following the year, Wideman became the program’s first NFCA All-American at catcher since 1998 and was selected an Academic All-American for the second time in three years.
Wideman earned her bachelor's degree in sport management with a concentration in wellness and fitness in 2014 and graduated summa cum laude. She is one of three softball inductees into the Athletic Hall of Fame this year, the most in program history. Wideman becomes the fourth catcher in school history selected to the Athletic Hall of Fame, and the first since 2017.
updated April 20, 2024
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