Danielle (Cassara) Thacker

A native of Long Beach, CA, Danielle Thacker (maiden name Cassara) has been playing softball since the age of 6. At the age of 13, Thacker was invited to compete in Europe with a hand-selected team of All Stars. They ran clinics and played in several exhibition games in Belgium, Holland, Denmark, Madrid and Seville before participating as an official exhibit in the 1992 Expo World’s Fair in Seville, Spain.

Thacker was a four-time All-Conference selection, a four-time All-City selection, a three-time All-Dream Team selection, Co-MVP, and the Female Athlete of the Year at R.A Millikan High School.

A 4-year letter winner at The University of New Mexico, Thacker was arguably one of the best players in UNM history. She made her mark in the record books, being among the top 10 players in 16 single season categories and 23 career categories, in both pitching, hitting and fielding. This included duplicate appearances in several single season categories. Thacker’s biggest accomplishment at UNM, was throwing a perfect game in 1999; the first for the program since 1978. Thacker was honored as Conference Player of the Week 5 times, Conference Pitcher of the Week 5 times, and was awarded First-Team All-Conference honors in 1997 and 2000.

After finishing her college career, Thacker was invited to play professionally in Forli, Italy.  Forli made the Championship Tournament, where Thacker earned the honors of MVP and Best Hitter.  Other International play included a summer in Canada, where she competed against the Chinese, Canadian, Australian, and US National teams in the Canadian Cup Tournament. After graduating from UNM with a Bachelor’s Degree in University Studies, Thacker played in the Colorado Semi-Pro League for two years, at one point shutting out the National Professional Fastpitch (NPF) All-Stars.

Thacker has been a private pitching/hitting instructor for over 15 years, training such athletes as the Dominican Republic National Team (2003). She has given lessons in California at Diane Lewis School of Softball, Colorado at Triple Crown Sports, and privately in New Mexico, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

In 2003 Thacker served as the pitching coach for her alma mater, UNM.  Shortly thereafter, Thacker took a hiatus from softball to start a family.  She has 2 beautiful children with her husband, Chad Thacker.  Danielle and her family currently reside in Martinsburg, WV.

Currently, Thacker is bringing her expertise to the Wilkes University softball program, as an assistant coach. Her main efforts will be spent with the pitching staff.