This is the second part of a series highlighting this year’s inductees into the Baylor Athletics Hall of Fame. Posts will be published weekly on baylorbears.com.

Sitting in the Baylor softball coach Glen MooreWhitney Canion Reichenstein, who joined Reagan Washington’s office at the end of the 2013 season that ended with a loss to Texas A&M in the College Station Regional, was “ready to give up” after her fifth year with the program.

“I felt so out of shape and my knee was still giving me problems,” she said. “And I told him I didn’t know if I wanted to come back. He told me, ‘I want you to do what you want, but I don’t want you to regret not playing. I don’t want you to live through the what-ifs.’

“Think about it, the last pitch I ever threw in a real game was in the Women’s College World Series. And I wouldn’t have done that if he hadn’t given me the advice that day. I trusted him with everything and he didn’t let me down. He didn’t beg me to play, he just didn’t want me to regret it.”

Whitney, who already held school records for wins (92) and strikeouts (1,167), didn’t disappoint Coach Moore either, leading the Bears back to the Women’s College World Series for the second time in four years, going 31-12 with a 1.63 ERA and 306 strikeouts in 2014.

Canion Reichenstein, a two-time All-American and two-time Big 12 Pitcher of the Year, has been elected to the Baylor Athletics Hall of Fame and is part of a class that will be inducted at the Hall of Fame Banquet on November 1.

“The Hall of Fame wasn’t really on my radar until Chelsi was inducted,” Whitney said of her sister-in-law Chelsi Lake Reichenstein, a softball All-American who was inducted in 2018. “Just between the (Big 12) Alumni Council and this one, it’s been a really cool year to think back to my time at Baylor and kind of relive it all in my head. … I get teary-eyed just thinking about it.”

Canion was named the 2008 Gatorade Player of the Year when she led Aledo High School to the Class 4A state championship. She was Baylor’s top striker from day one. As a freshman, she had a 27-17 record with a 1.80 ERA and a school-record 415 strikeouts in a season, helping Baylor to a Super Regional in Michigan.

“We were two wins away from the World Series and I had no idea,” she said. “I didn’t realize we were that close until we actually went to the World Series.”

At the beginning of the 2009 season, Whitney made her first taste of college softball, starting two of three games in the season opener against No. 1 Florida, pitching a three-hit, 10-strikeout shutout in a 1-0 victory over the Gators in game three.

“I remember being so nervous that I was almost sick,” she said. “Before we left for Christmas break, Coach Moore told me I was going to start the first game against Florida. I’ll never forget how naive I was, thinking, ‘Man, I didn’t know you could be so nervous a month before a game,’ and just not really understanding the mental and physical toll college sports take on you.”

Whitney had to undergo surgery to repair a fracture in her left forearm and missed most of the 2010 season before leading the Bears to their second World Series, posting a 31-12 record, a 1.28 ERA and 339 strikeouts.

Baylor was a clear underdog in a Super Regional at No. 6 Georgia, bringing two wins and a couple of huge home runs to Canion’s Georgia Pines. They also survived a scary incident involving catcher Clare Hosack, who broke a bone in her face when she was hit by a foul ball.

“You have to remember that I’m the one throwing to her and she was also my roommate on the road,” Whitney said. “I was playing the game wondering what was going on with her… it was the unknown of not getting any real updates. I still have a picture on my phone that I took of her cheek that night and it was her profile picture every time she called.”

The 2011 World Series included two memorable 1-0 overtime victories against Oklahoma State and Missouri, when Kelsi Kettler and Holly Holl hit walk-off home runs.

“After watching the World Series on TV as a kid, I get goosebumps thinking about running to a game that Thursday night to start the World Series,” Whitney said. “‘Clear the mechanism’ was always my motto because I thought, ‘Okay, there are so many people here, but don’t look.’ That was the most people I had ever played in front of.”

Whitney’s 2012 season ended prematurely when she tore her ACL on her way to first base during a tournament at Getterman Stadium.

“It was like a swinging bunt,” she said. “The first baseman stepped in my path and I tried to go to the right. I didn’t even make it to first base. … I’ll never forget that pop in my head. When I watch football and other sports, I throw up. … When I watch the replay, I think, ‘No, don’t play that again!’ That pop, I’ll never forget what happened to my knee.”

When he returned in 2013, Whitney was 24-9 with a 1.94 ERA and 269 strikeouts, but a promising season ended with a loss to the Aggies in the regional tournament.

After deciding to return for a sixth year, she had arguably the best season of her amazing career. On one memorable day, Canion Reichenstein threw 305 pitches and dropped a 11-run home run in the 11th.^thinning of a 1-0 loss to Tulsa and then went the distance with a 3-1 victory over the Golden Hurricane to win the Waco Regional.

“I remember being in the locker room and chatting, but I was upset because that might be my last game,” she said of the first game loss. “Coach Moore came in and said, ‘You’re throwing again. You brought me here; we’re putting you in the circle.’ We ended up beating Tulsa 3-1 and went to the President’s house for dinner that night. There are so many cool things about the Baylor family and the atmosphere that I remember very vividly.”

After sweeping Georgia in the Super Regional, Baylor suffered losses to eventual national champion Florida, interspersed with an astonishing win over Kentucky, when the Bears overcame a seven-run deficit to beat the Wildcats 8-7 in eight innings.

“Our offense in 2014 was insane,” she said. “I came to the World Series and was a little exhausted. I had thrown every pitch in the regionals and super regionals in Georgia. (Against Kentucky) I’m kind of blaming myself in the dugout and thinking this is my last game. In 2014 I didn’t feel like the whole world was on my shoulders, like in 2011. In 2014 I didn’t feel like I had to do everything. This team was just really special in the fight we had, we never gave up.”

Whitney is married to fellow Baylor alum Luke Reichenstein, and her No. 11 Baylor jersey was retired in 2015. She is the CFO at R&L Electric, a family-owned business in Weatherford, and the mother of two children: a 6-year-old son, Nolan, and a 4-year-old daughter, Reagan.

“I have a daughter now and I just hope that one day she understands and that I can share this story no matter what sport it is,” she said. “I don’t think people realize how special these times are in college sports. Some of these things are taken for granted. I just think the time I had at Baylor and the experiences we had are truly unique.”

In addition to Canion Reichenstein, the Baylor Hall of Fame Class of 20024 includes Brittney Griner and Odyssey Sims from women’s basketball, Ekpe Udoh from men’s basketball, Michael Griffin from baseball, Mark Cochran from football, Nina Secerbegovic from women’s tennis and Ronnie Allen from track and field.

The Hall of Fame Banquet will be held at 6:30 p.m. on November 1 in the Grand Ballroom of the Hurd Welcome Center on the campus of Baylor University. Tickets are $50 per person, and table sponsorships are available for $600 (green tier) or $800 (gold tier).


Registration will be open at the 2024 Baylor Hall of Fame Banquet.