Regarded by many as the best shortstop in the history of the Westfield State softball program, Cheryl Bassett earned all-conference and Academic All-American honors in her playing career. 

 

A four-year starter at shortstop for the Owls, Bassett was named all-conference her freshman year, and was selected as a GTE-COSIDA Academic All-American as a junior, when she batted .402 with 23 runs batted in while carrying a 3.56 grade-point average.  She captained the Owls as a senior, when she led the team in triples and total bases.  For her career, Bassett batted .308 with 101 hits, 55 runs scored, 44 rbi and 25 stolen bases. 

 

In her playing career, the team had an overall record of 65-43 (.603), won a MASCAC title in her freshman year, and made three appearances in the ECAC tournament, winning the title in 1987 as the #3 seed, when the team matched the then-school record with 20 wins on the season. 

Bassett was also a three-sport high school standout at East Longmeadow, where she was an All-Western Mass pick in softball and basketball, and an All-State selection in soccer. 

She graduated with honors and an overall grade-point average of 3.59 from Westfield with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and a minor in psychology. 

 

Induction into the WSU athletics hall of fame is just the latest in a string of honors for Bassett, who was named the 2018 Westfield State University Alumna of the Year, and in 2017 was inducted into the Westfield State University Criminal Justice Hall of Fame.   

 

In light of her athletic accomplishments, her record after graduating from Westfield is equally as impressive, as Bassett served in a variety of federal investigative roles spanning 28 years, with most of these years as a Special Agent with the US Department of Homeland Security. As a federal investigator, she received multiple awards for her successful investigative work to include the dismantlement of international human smuggling organizations and long-standing document fraud rings. Bassett spent much of her later career years focused on human trafficking, and after retiring from public service, she served as the Director of Human Trafficking Training Initiatives with the McCain Institute for International Leadership in Washington, DC. 

 

Now retired, Bassett dedicates time cultivating and mentoring the next generation of law enforcement leaders. Bassett engages with the WSU President, leaders of the Department of Criminal Justice and the Westfield State Foundation, along with her vast law enforcement contacts, to build internship and scholarship opportunities for WSU students.  Bassett is a lifetime member of the Women In Law Federal Enforcement organization and foundation, and is very active in fundraising for its scholarship fund, with a focus on sponsoring WSU students. 

 

Cheryl splits her active retirement life between the beaches of Delaware and the deserts of Arizona with her wife, Amy. While softball is still a favorite past-time, biking, running, walking, and golfing are now her athletic activities of choice.