Tammy Williams facts for kids

Tammy Kay Williams (born June 21, 1987) is a famous American softball player and coach. She was an amazing player in college and as a professional. Tammy played her main position, shortstop, for the Northwestern Wildcats from 2006 to 2009. She also played for the U.S. National Team and the Chicago Bandits professional team.

Tammy holds many all-time records for Northwestern's softball team. These include the best batting average, most home runs, most hits, and most total bases. She helped the Wildcats reach the national championship game in the 2006 Women's College World Series. After college, the Chicago Bandits picked her tenth overall in the 2009 NPF Draft. With the Bandits, she won two Cowles Cup championships in 2011 and 2015. Later, she worked as a sports broadcaster and an assistant softball coach at Northern Illinois.

Playing Career Highlights

College Softball Journey

Tammy Williams went to Northwestern University. She studied human development and psychological services. She also had a minor in business.

Freshman Year Success (2006)

Tammy started her college career with a bang. She earned honors from both the NCAA Division I and the Big Ten Conference. She was named a Third Team All-American. She also made the All-Big Ten team. Plus, she was the Big Ten Freshman of the Year.

Tammy set a new school record with 14 home runs in one season. She also ranked among the top 5 players for hits and doubles. On April 23, 2006, she got a career-high 4 hits against the Minnesota Gophers.

The Wildcats made it to the Women's College World Series as the No. 4 seed. They won their first three games easily. Tammy started her World Series journey with 4 hits out of 6 tries against the Alabama Crimson Tide on June 1. In the semifinals, she hit an extra-inning home run. This helped Northwestern beat the top-seeded UCLA Bruins. It sent them to their first final against the Arizona Wildcats.

Northwestern lost the final games to Alicia Hollowell of Arizona. Tammy still played well, getting 2 hits out of 4 tries in the last game. She was named to the All-Tournament Team. She hit .333 with an RBI, a home run, and a slugging percentage over .450%.

Sophomore Year Achievements (2007)

In her second year, Tammy was named a First Team All-American. She also received Big Ten honors again. She broke school records for hits and total bases. She was also in the top 5 for batting average, RBIs, home runs, doubles, and slugging percentage. She still holds the season records for 91 hits and 155 total bases.

Tammy had a school record 24-game hitting streak. This lasted from February 25 to April 8, 2007. During this time, she hit .500. She also had 24 RBIs, 7 home runs, and 8 doubles.

Her team returned to the WCWS. Tammy again earned All-Tournament status. She hit .272 with 4 RBIs and two home runs. Her team was eventually eliminated by Monica Abbott and the Tennessee Lady Vols.

Junior Year Honors (2008)

Tammy earned her second First Team All-American award. She was also named Big Ten Player of the Year. She continued to break records. She set new all-time season bests for batting average and on-base percentage. She also ranked in the top 10 for hits and slugging.

On February 17, 2008, Tammy was named National Fastpitch Coaches Association "Player of The Week." She hit .785 that week. The next month, she set a career, school, and conference record. She drove in 8 RBIs against the Minnesota Gophers on March 8. She was perfect at the plate, getting 3 hits out of 3 tries. Two of her hits were home runs in a 17-8 win.

Senior Year Records (2009)

For her final season, Tammy earned more honors. She won her second Big Ten Player of the Year award. She broke her own batting average record with a career best of .448. She also posted top-5 records in both slugging and on-base percentages.

Tammy had an amazing March that year. For the week of March 8, she was again named "Player of The Week" by the NFCA. She hit .545 and drove in two runs. From March 22 to April 1, she had a 5-game home run streak. This was an NCAA record. In one of those games, she hit her 50th career home run.

Tammy holds many Northwestern Wildcats career records. These include batting average, home runs, hits, and total bases. She started every game at shortstop during her four years with the Wildcats. She was also a finalist for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award in 2009.

Professional Softball Career

The Chicago Bandits of the National Pro Fastpitch league drafted Tammy in the second round. In her first year, she hit .340 with 6 home runs and 20 RBIs. She was named "Rookie of the Year" and "Defensive Player of the Year."

In 2011, Tammy returned from playing with Team USA. She hit .299 for the year. The Bandits made it to the Cowles Cup Championship and won their first title. Tammy helped them win. The Bandits returned to the finals in 2012 and won again. Tammy won her third Cowles Cup Championship on August 18, 2015. She scored the only winning run in that game.

Coaching and National Team

On July 21, 2009, Tammy Williams became an assistant coach at Northern Illinois. On January 11, 2010, she was also named to the 2010 USA women's national softball team.

Statistics

See Also

• NCAA Division I softball career .400 batting average list
• NCAA Division I softball career 50 home runs list