As the 2024-25 academic year comes to a close, Cal State East Bay saw so many outstanding achievements - it was perhaps the most successful year as a whole for the Pioneers since joining the CCAA. This week's Pioneer Spotlight shines on two phenomenal student-athletes who donned a Pioneer uniform in 2024-25 - Easton Hether from men's golf and Ashlee Toy from softball. 

Hether, a junior out of Fairfield, California, was a driving force for the Cal State East Bay men's golf team, who won the CCAA Championships presented by Under Armour, back in April. It was the first CCAA title for the Pioneers since 2016. Hether's play on the golf course also helped carry the Pioneers to their first NCAA Division II Men's Golf Championship appearance since 2017 and a No. 1 ranking in the West Region. 

The season included other Honors for hether, such as Division II Ping All-West Region, All-CCAA for the second year in a row and a FloCollege/CCAA Men's Golfer of the Week award in March. 

Hether had East Bay's lowest score in the NCAA Championships at -2, placing 12th on the leaderboard. To reach the NCAA Championships, Hether's -9 score and eighth place finish guided the Pioneers into a third place finish at the NCAA Division II West/South Central Regionals to reach the championship tournament. Along the journey to greatness for Cal State East Bay, Hether was the medalist to start the spring season strong at the Nighthawk Invitational. He had three total top three finishes in the season and six top-10 finishes in the 14 tournaments he played in. Hether finished under par in eight tournaments all together. 

Cal State East Bay head golf coach Alan Sue said about Hether: "Easton is a consistent contributor to his team week after week.  Our team goes as Easton goes!"

Toy, a versatile softball star for the Pioneers in a historical season, appearing in every game, was able to command a game from the circle, was a force with the bat and in center field, showed her skills with her glove and arm. She had multiple roles for a Pioneer softball program that will be etched in the record books with 40 wins for the first time since 1992, a No. 1 seed in the West Region for the NCAA Division II Softball Championships and the CCAA Regular Season title. 

In addition to being named Cal State East Bay Female Student-Athlete of the Year, Toy was also named to the D2 CCA All-West Region First Team, NFCA All-West Region, First Team All-CCAA and Academic All-District. 

During the 2025 season, Toy finished with a 2.21 earned run average and 105 strikeouts, both fourth lowest in the CCAA. She had a no-hitter on March 20 at Cal Poly Humboldt on her way to being named FloSports/CCAA Pitcher of the Week. At the plate in the regular season, she had a .324 batting average with 21 RBIs, 13 doubles and a triple. Whether it be in the circle or center field, Toy had a .981 fielding percentage on 108 chances. 

Cal State East bay head softball coach Claire Sua-Amundson said the following about Toy: "Toy is a true athlete in that she can hurt another team in so many ways. In the circle, on the bases at the plate - you can't just pick one. There is no other athlete in our conference who has the ability to win in each of those areas."