Bio

Recognized as one of the most dominating pitchers in the history of the Cowley College softball program, Candice Wilburn-Breshears will be inducted into the Tiger Athletic Hall of Fame on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2015.

Wilburn-Breshears ranks in the top-10 of 11 of the school’s all-time pitching categories. Her 17 strikeouts in a seven-inning game are still a school-record. She pitched 16 career shutouts and posted a pitching record of 53-10 during the 2002 and 2003 seasons. She also recorded 465 career strikeouts to go along with a career earned run average of 1.43.

Wilburn-Breshears was named a Second-Team all-conference selection as a freshman and was a unanimous First-Team all-conference and all-region selection as a sophomore.“She probably threw as hard or harder than any pitcher we ever had at Cowley,” former Cowley head coach Ed Hargrove said. “She had a changeup that was just as good as her fastball and those two pitches together made her pretty lethal on the mound.”

Prior to her collegiate career she attended Lyndon (KS) High School where she tossed seven no-hitters and struck out 419 batters in two years. As a senior, she went 15-5 with a 0.63 earned run average. She stuck out 20 batters in a seven inning game and 30 in a 15-inning game.

Unsure of herself as a freshman at Cowley, Hargrove finally got Candice to trust her pitches. Once she regained her confidence on the mound, she was nearly unhittable as she finished the season with a record of 20-6 and earned Second-Team All-Conference and All-Region honors.As a sophomore, she won her first 30 decisions and finished the season with a record of 33-3 and an earned run average of 0.78. She tossed 12 complete game shutouts and struck out 297 batters, including a school-record 17 in a win over Hutchinson.

“That was probably as dominant a pitching season as we ever had at the school,” Hargrove said.For her efforts, she earned Second-Team All-American honors, while leading Cowley to a Region VI title and a ninth place finish at the 2003 NJCAA National Tournament.

“Softball is a team sport, and I could not have accomplished what I did at Cowley without the support and hard work of the rest of my teammates, Coach Ed and Coach Sandy (Erickson-Wiemers),” Wilburn-Breshears said. “A great pitcher is only as good as the team that stands behind her, and I had a solid team of amazing athletes.”

After Cowley, she signed to play softball at NCAA Division I College of Charleston in Charleston, South Carolina where she tossed a perfect game and went 6-3 with 77 strikeouts in 75 innings. After a year at the College of Charleston, she transferred to the University of Missouri-Rolla (which is now Missouri University of Science and Technology), where she went 19-13 with a 1.94 ERA and 215 strikeouts in 220 2/3 innings. She earned MIAA All- Conference honors and the 19 wins and 215 strikeouts both rank second in school history for a single season.

“I was a part of three different programs and nothing compared to Cowley's support,” Wilburn-Breshears said. “It really felt like home there. Coach Ed took a chance on me, and I'm still very appreciative about that to this day. I would not have had the success I had if Coach Ed hadn't given me the opportunity to be a part of the Cowley program.”She also credits her parents for supporting her through all the years she played softball.“To them I am forever grateful,” Wilburn-Breshears said.

She made lifelong friends from playing softball at Cowley. Her roommate at Cowley, Tiffany Taylor-Johnson, is still her best friend to this day.

“I will forever hold Cowley close to my heart,’ Wilburn-Breshears said.Wilburn-Breshears received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from the university of Missouri-Rolla in May 2006.

After graduating from Missouri-Rolla, she was hired by the Kansas Highway Patrol and has been a State Trooper since July 2006.She married her husband Ricky Breshears in June 2010 and the couple currently live in Gardner, KS with their two young daughters, Reaghan 2, and Ryleigh 1.

Settled into family life, Wilburn-Breshears was taken aback when she received word she was going to be inducted into the Tiger Athletic Hall of Fame.

“This is the highest honor I could ever imagine,” Wilburn-Breshears said. “I was literally stunned when Coach Ed called and told me that I was going to be inducted. I never could have imagined that I would be looked upon as that high caliber of an athlete to receive this honor. To be inducted into the Hall of Fame with the other athletes that are already in there is humbling and I am truly honored.”

For Hargrove the question was not if Wilburn-Breshears belonged in the Hall of Fame, but when she would get in.

“It’s overdue,” Hargrove said. “With the career she had it was inevitable that she would get in. She bleeds Orange and will always be a Tiger.”

It may have been more than 10 years since Wilburn-Breshears toed the rubber for the Lady Tiger softball team, but her love for the school lives on.“I still talk about my experience at Cowley and it will forever be one of the best times of my life,” Wilburn-Breshears said.