This is the fourth in a seven-part series profiling the six inductees and one special award winner that will be honored on April 18 at the Pacific Lutheran University Athletics Hall of Fame Banquet inside Olson Gymnasium. Today's feature is on 2026 Hall of Fame inductee Kaaren Hatlen who played on the Lute softball team from 2010-2013.
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One of the best hitters to ever don the Lute uniform, Kaaren Hatlen enters the PLU Athletics Hall of Fame after guiding the Lutes to a national title in 2012.
Hatlen followed in the family footsteps and attended PLU after the countless visits to campus. Whether it was to see her older sister Rachel or to attend a pitching clinic or softball camp, PLU always felt like home.
Early on, the Lute coaching staff knew they had something special in the third generation Lute.
"My coaches saw more in me than I ever thought possible. In my meeting after fall ball of my freshman year, I was just hoping to make the team and Erin Van Nostrand and Greg Seeley told me that I could be an All-American by the time I was done at PLU. Those two and all the other coaches throughout my career, challenged me and held me accountable every day to be my best."
The Woodinville, Washington native was a Second Team All-Northwest Conference selection as a first year in 2010 after finishing the season with a .333 batting average with nine extra base hits.
Hatlen was even better in 2011 as a sophomore, collecting First Team All-Conference honors as a utility player while earning Second Team NFCA All-West Region honors at first base. Hatlen was on fire in mid-April at the plate, securing NWC Hitter of the Week on April 12 and again on April 19, helping the team finish the season with a 31-13 overall record and a 23-5 mark in conference play. Hatlen finished the season hitting .410 at the plate with 44 RBIs and 24 extra base hits, including eight home runs.
Hatlen was a NFCA First Team All-American as a junior and a First Team CoSIDA Academic All-American, helping the Lutes win the program's third ever national title and first in NCAA Division III. Hatlen was named both the NWC Hitter of the Week and NWC Pitcher of the Week on March 13, leading the Lutes to doubleheader sweeps of both Willamette University and reigning NCAA Champion Linfield College. Hatlen and the Lutes continued to best the Wildcats as the season wore on, winning six of the nine meetings, including taking the NWC Tournament title and winning the NCAA title against the conference rivals.
"I'm most proud of my team and our 2012 National Championship because I would not be the player I was or the person I am today without each person on that team. We challenged each other to be better each day at practice or workouts, supported each other on and off the field, and celebrated one another's success. We weathered the highs and the lows to come together as a team to accomplish what we had worked so hard for."
As a senior in 2013, Hatlen blasted a career-high 12 home runs, finishing with 53 RBIs and a .378 batting average for a team that went 27-17 overall and 18-10 in conference play. Hatlen was named First Team All-NWC for the third straight season, was Second Team All-West Region from the NFCA, and was tabbed CoSIDA First Team Academic All-American for the second year in a row. Hatlen was named the NWC Woman of the Year, was an NCAA Post Graduate Scholarship Recipient, and was one of nine finalists for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award.
Hatlen's name is still etched in the record books, sitting second all-time in program history in walks (72), third in RBIs (171), fourth in career home runs (32), and fifth in hits (188). Over her four seasons, the Lutes won 126 games, including 82 in NWC play.
"In every memory I have, I can still hear the cheers, chants, and songs that our team performed during rain delays or karaoke, created from inside jokes, adapted from songs or other cheers, and used throughout our time at PLU."
Graduating in 2013 with a degree in mathematics, Hatlen continued a family legacy as a Lute. Her family members who are also Lute graduates include her parents Mark '82 and Mary '84, siblings Rachel Danforth '09, Michael Hatlen '15, and Kathryn Jarvis '19 along with their spouses Jeff Danforth '08, Emma Hatlen '20, and Nate Jarvis '19.
Hatlen currently is a math and leadership teacher at Centennial Middle School where she also coaches both softball and volleyball. Hatlen also served as an assistant softball coach at Woodinville High School with her sister Kathryn.
