Lisa Willett Fry

Lisa Willett Fry is one of the most decorated student athletes in Santa Barbara. At Santa Barbara High, she won numerous league, CIF and local honors for her performances on the basketball and volleyball courts. In her basketball career at UCSB, she played in more than 125 games and went to the NCAA Tournament three straight years while maintaining a GPA that earned academic honors from the school and the Big West Conference.

Willett’s Santa Barbara High basketball honors include: four-time All-County Team (1997-2000), two-time County MVP (1999-2000), three-time All-CIF (1998-2000), two-time Round Table Basketball Player of the Year (1999-2000) and a Nike Camp All-American (1999). She averaged 20 points a game as a senior and 16 as junior, and broke Round Table Hall of Famer Kristin Knapp’s career scoring record at SBHS.

She also starred in volleyball, earning All-Channel League, All-County and All-CIF honors three times.

Recruited by several major programs in basketball, Willett chose to stay home and play for UCSB. She was a key player for three consecutive Gaucho teams that made the NCAA Tournament, including the 2003-04 squad that advanced to the Sweet 16 and gave powerhouse Connecticut a battle before losing in Hartford, Conn.

Basketball, however, was just small part of Willett’s college life. She excelled in the classroom and earned several awards for her hard work and diligence: three-time UCSB Women’s Basketball Excellence in Scholarship, three-time Big West All-Academic team, two-time Verizon Academic All-American, two-time Big West Scholar Athlete of the Year and two-time UCSB Golden Eagle Scholar Athlete recipient.

Willett received her Bachelor of Arts degree from UCSB in religious studies, with a minor in sports management. She earned a Masters in Leadership in Educational Technology from Cal State University, East Bay.

Today, she is a 1st grade teacher at Palmer School in Walnut Creek. She is married to Joel Fry, and they have a 2-year-old son, Everett.