Monica Abbott facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Monica Abbott |
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| Team USA – No. 14 | |||
| Pitcher | |||
| Born: July 28, 1985 Santa Cruz, California, U.S. |
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| debut | |||
| 2007, for the Tennessee Diamonds | |||
| Teams | |||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||
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| Medal record | ||
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| Women's softball | ||
Representing  United States |
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| Olympic Games | ||
| Silver | 2008 Beijing | Team |
| Silver | 2020 Tokyo | Team |
| ISF Women's World Championship | ||
| Gold | 2006 Beijing | Team |
| Gold | 2010 Caracas | Team |
| Gold | 2018 Chiba City | Team |
| World Cup of Softball | ||
| Silver | 2005 Oklahoma City | Team |
| Gold | 2006 Oklahoma City | Team |
| Gold | 2007 Oklahoma City | Team |
| Gold | 2009 Oklahoma City | Team |
| Gold | 2010 Oklahoma City | Team |
| Gold | 2018 Irvine | Team |
| Gold | 2019 Columbus | Team |
| Pan American Games | ||
| Gold | 2007 Rio de Janeiro | Team |
| Gold | 2019 Lima | Team |
| World Games | ||
| Gold | 2022 Birmingham | Team |
Monica Cecilia Abbott (born July 28, 1985) is a retired American professional softball player. She was an amazing pitcher for the Tennessee Lady Volunteers in college. Later, she played professionally in the NPF league and in Japan. Monica also represented Team USA from 2005. She helped the national team win silver medals at the 2008 and 2020 Summer Olympics. Monica Abbott holds many records in NCAA Division I softball, including the most wins, strikeouts, and shutouts.
Monica Abbott: A Softball Legend
| Top - 0-9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z |
Early Life and High School Success
Monica Abbott was born in Santa Cruz, California, and grew up in Salinas, California. She went to North Salinas High School from 1999 to 2003. Her parents are Bruce and Julie Abbott, and she has four siblings.
During her time at North Salinas, Monica was a star pitcher. She led her high school team, the Vikings, to win three big championships. She often had more than 300 strikeouts each season, which is a huge number!
Monica won many awards in high school. She was named Cal-Hi Softball Athlete of the Year and Sports Focus Athlete of the Year. She also received MVP trophies from her school, conference, county, and section.
College Softball Journey at Tennessee
Many colleges wanted Monica to play for them. She chose the University of Tennessee because of how well they treated their female athletes. Monica played for the Lady Volunteers softball team from 2004 to 2007. She studied communications while there.
Freshman Year Success
In her first year, Monica became Tennessee's first All-American softball player. She won 45 games and had an amazing 582 strikeouts. This made her one of only three pitchers in NCAA history to get over 500 strikeouts in a single season. She was also named SEC Freshman of the Year.
Sophomore Season Records
As a sophomore, Monica continued to shine. She won 50 games, breaking her own record for single-season wins. She also had 603 strikeouts, becoming the first NCAA Division I pitcher to get over 500 strikeouts twice. She helped her team reach the Women's College World Series (WCWS) for the first time.
Junior Year Achievements
Monica was again named a first-team All-American in her junior year. She led the Lady Volunteers back to the WCWS. For an incredible third year in a row, she had over 500 strikeouts.
Senior Year and National Recognition
In her senior year, Monica set an NCAA record with 724 strikeouts in one season. She pitched 23 no-hitters and six perfect games. A perfect game means no opposing player reaches base at all! She was named the 2007 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year. She also won the Honda Award, which is a top honor in college sports.
Monica helped her team win their first SEC title. They also made it to the College World Series championship game.
A Lasting College Legacy
Monica Abbott set many NCAA records during her college career. She holds records for 189 wins, 2,440 strikeouts, and 112 shutouts. She was the first pitcher in NCAA Division I history to get 500 strikeouts in all four years of college.
Because of her amazing achievements, Monica was inducted into the Tennessee Athletics Hall of Fame. She was also named to the All-Women's College World Series team three times.
Playing for Team USA
Monica had great success playing for the US National Team. From 2005 to 2010, she helped Team USA win many championships. These included four World Cup of Softball titles and gold medals at the 2006 and 2010 ISF Women's World Championships. She also won gold at the 2007 Pan American Games.
Monica took a break from the national team in 2010 but returned in 2018. She helped the USA win another World Championship. She also won gold medals at the 2018 and 2019 USA Softball International Cup, the 2018 and 2019 Japan Cup, and the 2019 Pan Am Games.
Olympic Moments
Monica was chosen for the 2008 Olympic team. She made history by pitching the first perfect game in Olympic softball history against the Netherlands. She helped Team USA reach the gold medal game, where they won a silver medal. She finished the 2008 Olympics with an amazing 0.29 ERA (Earned Run Average).
Softball returned to the Olympics in 2020 (played in 2021 due to the pandemic). Monica was again part of the team. She pitched incredibly well, with a 0.00 ERA in the group stage and the gold medal match. Team USA won another silver medal, and Monica was named to the WBSC All-Olympic softball team.
Professional Softball Career
After college, Monica became a professional softball player. She played in the NPF league and the Japan Softball League. She has won five NPF championships and was named MVP in all of them.
NPF League Highlights
Monica started her NPF career in 2007. In her first game, she struck out 18 batters! She helped her team win the 2007 NPF Championship by throwing a no-hitter in the final game.
She played for different NPF teams, including the USSSA Pride, Tennessee Diamonds, and Chicago Bandits. On July 23, 2015, she pitched her second perfect game in the NPF.
In 2016, Monica signed a huge six-year contract with the Scrap Yard Dawgs. It was worth $1 million, which was the highest salary ever paid by a professional women's sports team in the U.S.
Monica is one of the most successful pitchers in NPF history. She has won five Pitcher of the Year awards. She also holds the NPF career records for wins, strikeouts, no-hitters (6), and shutouts (56).
Japan League Adventures
In 2010, Monica also started playing in the Japan Softball League (JSL). In her first season, she led the league in strikeouts and ERA. She was named the league MVP and led her Toyota team to the championship.
She pitched a perfect game in the final that year. The next year, she threw a no-hitter in the championship game. Toyota won three JSL titles in a row from 2010 to 2012. They also won titles in 2014, 2016, and 2018. Monica was named MVP five times in Japan.
Beyond the Field
Monica Abbott always wears the number 14. At the University of Tennessee, she wore number 7, and it was so special that the university retired it.
Monica cares about helping young athletes. She started the Monica Abbott Scholarship fund to help female athletes who are leaders in school and sports. She also hosts softball clinics across the United States. She teaches young players about pitching, including her famous rise ball and power pitching techniques. She plans to create an online academy to reach even more kids.
Her biggest fans are called "Moniacs"!
Amazing Career Records
Monica Abbott holds many impressive records. She is in the Guinness Book of Records for the fastest softball pitch ever. On June 16, 2012, she threw a pitch at 77 miles per hour!
She holds the NCAA Division I records for:
- Most career wins (189)
- Most career strikeouts (2,440)
- Most career shutouts (112)
- Most strikeouts in a single season (724)
She is the only player to have more than one season with 50 wins. She is also the only player to have four seasons with over 500 strikeouts in college.
In professional softball, she holds the NPF career records for wins, strikeouts, no-hitters, and shutouts. In Japan, she was a 6-time champion and a 5-time MVP.
Career Highlights
- 2x Olympic Silver Medalist
- Pitched the First Perfect Game in Olympic History
- 3× World Champion Gold Medalist
- 2× Pan American Gold Medalist
- 6× Japan Softball League Champion
- 5× Japan Softball League MVP
- 5× National Pro Fastpitch Champion
- 4× NPF MVP
- 5× NPF Pitcher of the Year
- Women's Sports Foundation Sportswoman of the Year (2007)
- Honda Award Winner in Softball (2007)
- 4× All-American in college
- First pitcher in Division I college softball to record 500 strikeouts in all 4 seasons.
See also
In Spanish: Monica Abbott para niños
