DAWN ELSER

BASKETBALL/SOFTBALL

Born: December 7, 1966; Belleville, IL
Position: Guard/Shortstop
Played For: St. Louis University – Baketball (1985-1989) and Softball (1985-1989)

Three-sport high school athletes are almost non-existent today.  Dawn Elser was one of the few female athletes to star in three sports in high school. She starred in volleyball, basketball, and softball at Belleville West.  She also excelled in softball and basketball at Saint Louis University, where she still holds several records in both sports.

Dawn started playing ball at the age of 6 when she would go in the outfield and shag fly balls or catch line drives hit off the bats of her late father Barney Elser’s American Legion baseball team. Dawn started her basketball career in junior high where she was the only female on the boys’ basketball team. She started every game in seventh and eighth grade and was the point guard for future Mizzou and NBA star Gary Leonard.

Dawn continued her athletic career at St. Louis University playing shortstop for the Billiken softball team and point guard for the Lady Billikens basketball team from 1985-89. In softball, Elser earned team MVP honors as a sophomore, junior, and senior. She was selected 1st team all-conference in softball her sophomore and junior years, and she was an academic All-American in softball her senior year.

Elser’s name is found throughout the Billiken softball record book. She is SLU’s career co-leader in triples (16) and ranks eighth in batting average (.314), ninth in runs (99), assists (322), slugging percentage (.489), and stolen bases (48); and tied for 10th in doubles (30). Her 20-game hitting streak in 1987 is still the program record. In 1986, Elser set the single-season standard for SLU freshmen with a .524 slugging percentage, a mark that stood until 2015. As a senior in 1989, Elser set SLU season records for batting average (.405) and slugging percentage (.570). The batting average mark now ranks third in Billiken record books.

Not to be outdone in softball, Dawn is also in the top five for assists and steals for the Lady Billikens basketball program. Elser was named SLU’s Outstanding Female Athlete for the 1988-89 academic year and holds the distinction of the first softball player inducted into the Billiken Hall of Fame in 2000.

Following her collegiate career, Dawn spent 15 years coaching volleyball, basketball, and softball at the junior high level, 5 years coaching softball at Belleville East and Althoff Catholic High School, and 5 years coaching select softball. She also played 20 years with the Whiz Kids slow-pitch team where they won 12 State titles and finished 2nd in Nationals.

Ms. Elser earned her Master’s Degree in 2008 and her Specialist Degree in 2017 from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. She spent her entire career at Central School District #104 in O’Fallon where she began as a paraprofessional, taught first grade for 17 years, served as the principal for 10 years, and was the district superintendent for 6 years.

Dawn recently retired after 34 years in education. Last year, the Central School Board passed a resolution. They renamed the school “Dawn Elser Elementary School” as a tribute to her exemplary service and commitment to the district, an honor she said is extremely humbling.

Dawn Elser achieved success in and out of the classroom and serves as a role model for many. She is excited to be inducted into the St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame, and particularly honored to follow in the footsteps of her late father, Barney Elser, who was inducted into the St. Louis Hall of Fame in 2018.