Monica Abbott

Monica Abbott
Born	(1985-07-28) July 28, 1985 Santa Cruz, California, U.S.
Occupation	Former professional softball pitcher
Known for	NCAA Division I records in wins, strikeouts, shutouts, innings pitched; Team USA Olympic silver medals (2008, 2020)

Monica Cecilia Abbott (born July 28, 1985) is a former American professional softball pitcher. She earned All-American honors while playing for the Tennessee Lady Volunteers before embarking on a professional career in both the NPF and Japan Softball League. On the international stage, Abbott represented Team USA beginning in 2005, helping secure silver medals at the 2008 and 2020 Summer Olympics. She holds NCAA Division I records in categories such as wins, strikeouts, shutouts, and innings pitched.

Early life and education

Born in Santa Cruz, California and raised in Salinas, California, Abbott attended North Salinas High School from 1999 through 2003. Her family includes parents Bruce and Julie Abbott, along with siblings Jessica, Jared, and twins Bina and Gina.

During her time at North Salinas, Abbott propelled the Vikings to three CIF Central Coast Section Division I championships, averaging more than 300 strikeouts each season. Her accolades encompassed Cal-Hi Softball Athlete of the Year, Sports Focus Athlete of the Year, state large school Player of the Year, as well as multiple MVP recognitions at various competitive levels.

University of Tennessee

Abbott selected the University of Tennessee due to its strong commitment to supporting female athletes. She pitched for the Lady Volunteers from 2004 to 2007 while pursuing a degree in communications.

Freshman

In her first year, Abbott became Tennessee’s inaugural All-American with an impressive 45–10 record, a 1.03 ERA, 44 complete games, 24 shutouts, four no-hitters including a perfect game, and totaled 582 strikeouts over 352 innings. She earned SEC Freshman of the Year honors and became only the third NCAA pitcher to surpass 500 strikeouts in a single season.

Sophomore

Abbott maintained her first-team All-American status with a stellar 50–9 record, a minuscule 0.52 ERA, and 603 strikeouts across 392 innings—the first NCAA Division I pitcher to achieve two seasons exceeding 500 strikeouts. She guided Tennessee to its inaugural Women's College World Series (WCWS) appearance and was named to the WCWS All-Tournament team.

Junior

Continuing her dominance, Abbott secured first-team All-American and All-South Region distinctions once again. She played a key role in leading Tennessee back to the WCWS and earned All-Tournament team recognition for the second consecutive year while recording her third straight season with over 500 strikeouts.

Senior

In her final collegiate year, Abbott shattered the NCAA single-season strikeout record by fanning 724 batters. She amassed 23 no-hitters and six perfect games throughout her career. Her exceptional performance garnered her the 2007 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award as well as the Women's Sports Foundation Sportswoman of the Year for team sports. Additionally, she was honored with the prestigious 2007 Honda Award.

Abbott led Tennessee to its first SEC championship and guided them to a College World Series final appearance where they finished second to top-ranked Arizona. She was named among the all-tournament selections.

Legacy

Abbott’s NCAA career is distinguished by records including 189 wins, 2,440 strikeouts, 112 shutouts, 253 appearances, and 1,448 innings pitched. She was the pioneer NCAA Division I pitcher to record over 500 strikeouts in each of her four seasons and set a single-season strikeout benchmark with 724.

Recognized for her outstanding contributions, Abbott was inducted into the Tennessee Athletics Hall of Fame as Tennessee’s first softball All-American and earned three selections to the All-Women's College World Series team.

US National Team

Between 2005 and 2010, Abbott distinguished herself on the international stage by guiding Team USA to four World Cup of Softball victories, capturing three Canada Cup championships, and earning gold medals at the ISF Women's World Championships in both 2006 and 2010. She also contributed to the team's gold medal performance at the 2007 Pan American Games held in Rio de Janeiro. Abbott retired from the US Softball National Team in 2010 but made a comeback in 2018, playing a key role in securing another World Championship title. Furthermore, she was instrumental in the squads that triumphed at the USA Softball International Cup in 2018 and 2019, as well as the Japan Cup during those same years, and helped clinch gold at the 2019 Pan Am Games.

2008 Olympics

Abbott earned a spot as one of three pitchers on Team USA’s final 15-player roster for the 2008 Olympics. She made her Olympic pitching debut on August 11, 2008, delivering the closing inning against Venezuela. Subsequently, Abbott pitched a flawless five-inning game with eight strikeouts against the Netherlands, leading to an 8–0 victory—marking the first perfect game ever recorded in Olympic softball history.

Throughout pool play, Abbott was pivotal in a 7–0 win over Japan and later secured a 4–1 victory against them in the semifinal round, propelling Team USA into the gold medal match. In the championship game, Team USA fell to Japan 3–1, with Abbott pitching the final two innings. She concluded the Olympics with an outstanding 0.29 ERA, a perfect 3–0 record across 24 innings pitched, and amassed 32 strikeouts.

2020 Olympics

Abbott rejoined Team USA for softball’s Olympic return in 2021 after its postponement due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She started three group-stage games facing Canada, Australia, and Japan and appeared as a relief pitcher against Italy and Mexico, as well as in the gold medal contest versus Japan. Over 20.1 innings pitched, Abbott maintained a flawless 0.00 ERA while striking out 31 batters and surrendering only seven hits. Team USA secured a silver medal following a narrow 2–0 defeat to Japan in the final. Abbott’s exceptional performance earned her a place on the WBSC All-Olympic softball team.

Professional career

Abbott has been part of five NPF championship-winning teams, receiving MVP accolades each time. Additionally, she finished as a runner-up twice—in both 2009 and 2013.

NPF

Abbott made her National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) debut on August 2, 2007, recording a career-high of 18 strikeouts during a ten-inning victory over the Rockford Thunder. Her team captured the NPF Championship that year after she pitched a no-hitter in the final game.

In 2009, Abbott competed with the USSSA Pride, finishing as runner-up before being traded to the Tennessee Diamonds in 2010. Between 2011 and 2015, she signed with the Chicago Bandits as a free agent. On July 23, 2015, Abbott delivered her second perfect game while with the Bandits during a commanding 10–0 win over the Dallas Charge.

In May of 2016, Abbott inked a six-year deal with the Scrap Yard Dawgs valued at approximately $1 million—setting a record for the highest salary ever awarded by a professional women's sports franchise in the United States.

Abbott stands as the most decorated pitcher in NPF history, having earned five Pitcher of the Year awards alongside nine selections to All-NPF Teams. She holds career records for wins and strikeouts—being uniquely first in both categories—as well as six no-hitters and more than fifty shutouts. Additionally, she ranks within the top ten for ERA, WHIP, innings pitched, and maintains an impressive strikeout ratio of 10.1.

Japan Softball League

Abbott began competing in the Japan Softball League (JSL) in 2010, where she dominated by leading in strikeouts and ERA, earning MVP recognition while steering the Toyota squad to a league championship. In the final game, she delivered a perfect game and followed up with a no-hitter during the next year's title match, achieving consecutive championships. The Toyota team clinched three straight JSL titles from 2010 through 2012, adding further championships in 2014, 2016, and 2018. Abbott was honored with five MVP awards (2010, 2011, 2012, 2016, 2018) and remained active in her 11th season by 2020.

Miscellaneous

Abbott is known for wearing jersey Number 14 throughout her career; during her time at Tennessee, she sported #7, which was later retired by the university in her honor.

She established the Monica Abbott Scholarship Fund aimed at supporting female athletes excelling in multiple sports who demonstrate leadership both academically and athletically. Each year, Abbott conducts around sixteen instructional clinics for young athletes across the United States and plans to introduce an online academy offering lessons on pitching techniques such as the rise ball, power pitching, and mechanics emphasizing leg drive.

Her supporters are affectionately called Moniacs.

Career records

Abbott holds several NCAA Division I records including Victories (189), Shutouts (112), Strikeouts (2,440), Single-Season Strikeouts (724), along with innings pitched. During her senior year, she set the Division I record for strikeouts in a single season.

In National Pro Fastpitch, she leads all players in career wins, strikeouts, no-hitters, and shutouts.

Within Japan’s league, Abbott earned six championships and five MVP titles. She currently pitches for the independent team "This is Us."

Abbott also possesses the Guinness World Record for the fastest softball pitch ever recorded at 77 mph during a 2012 NPF game.

Single-game accomplishments

• Achieved the tied-second highest number of strikeouts over seven innings in NCAA Division I history with 20 strikeouts as a freshman
• Registered six games with at least 17 strikeouts within seven innings—a rare feat in NCAA competition

Season accomplishments

• Named USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year in 2007
• The sole player to have two seasons with over 50 wins and four seasons exceeding 40 wins
• Only athlete with four seasons recording more than 500 strikeouts, including two surpassing 600 strikeouts
• Set single-season strikeout record at 724 in 2007
• Holds record for most games pitched in a season with 69 in 2005
• Established freshman season records for wins (45) and strikeouts (582)

Career accomplishments

• NCAA Division I all-time leader in strikeouts (2,440), wins (189), shutouts (112), games pitched (253), games started (206), and innings pitched (1,448)
• Ranks second all-time for complete games (178) and no-hitters (23)
• Third place all-time for strikeouts per seven innings average (11.80)
• Career winning percentage stands at .848 with 16 saves—tied for tenth all-time
• Recorded six perfect games—second highest in NCAA history

Career highlights

• Six-time Japan Softball League Champion (2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018)
• Five-time Japan Softball League MVP (2010, 2011, 2012, 2016, 2018)
• Silver medalist at the 2008 Olympics; pitched the first-ever perfect game in Olympic softball history
• Three-time World Champion gold medalist; two-time Pan American Games gold medalist
• Five National Pro Fastpitch titles (2007, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017)
• Four-time NPF MVP; five-time NPF Pitcher of the Year; multiple All-NPF team selections
• Awarded Women's Sports Foundation Sportswoman of the Year (2007) and Honda Award for Softball (2007)
• Four-time All-American and first Division I pitcher to record over 500 strikeouts each collegiate year

Career statistics

Team USA

YEAR	W	L	GP	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA	WHIP
2004	5	1	8	5	3	2	1	32.0	19	4	2	3	46	0.43	0.68
2005	2	0	2	2	0	0	0	7.0	6	4	4	2	8	4.00	1.14
2008	6	0	12	5	1	0	0	37.0	10	3	3	6	71	0.56	0.43
2020	6	0	7	4	1	1	1	31.2	5	0	0	2	68	0.00	0.22

YEAR	W	L	GP	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA	WHIP
2004	45	10	59	47	44	24	4	352.0	165	72	52	57	582	1.03	0.63
2005	50	9	69	56	47	34	3	392.0	162	37	29	45	603	0.52	0.53
2006	44	10	62	51	42	25	4	345.2	186	64	47	48	531	0.95	0.68
2007	50	5	63	52	45	29	5	358.1	136	36	35	63	724	0.68	0.55
TOTALS	189	34	253	206	178	112	16	1448.0	649	209	163	213	2440	0.79	0.59

YEAR	NPF Team	W	L	GP	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA	WHIP
2007	Washington Glory	2	0	—	3	2	—	2	23.2	19	10	5	2	37	1.51	0.90
2009	USSSA Pride	2	3	—	6	5	—	0	45.1	30	15	10	9	69	1.55	0.86
2010	Tennessee Diamonds	7	11	19	17	17	3	0	127.1	89	30	19	13	161	1.04	0.80
2011	Chicago Bandits	15	4	22	14	12	5	1	125.0	58	25	20	17	170	1.12	0.60
2012	Chicago Bandits	16	3	26	17	15	7	4	140.0	72	25	21	37	209	1.05	0.78
2013	!Chicago Bandits	!18	!5	!25	!18	!17	!9	!1	!142.2	!99	!25	!21	!25	!207	!1.03	!0.87
2014	!Chicago Bandits	!10	!7	!20	!—	!—	!4	!3	!105.2	!62	!24	!16	!30	!144	!1.06	!0.87
2015	!Chicago Bandits	!16	!1	!20	!15	!15	!13	!2	!112.1	!39	!6	!5	!26	!175	!0.31	!0.58
2016	!Scrap Yard Dawgs	!19	!3	!26	!20	!13	!8	!3	!142.2	!81	!23	!20	!33	!185	!0.98	!0.80
2017	!Scrap Yard Dawgs	!21	!4	!26	!19	!16	!7	!2	!144.0	!68	!27	!24	!36	!269	!1.16	!0.72

External links

• Monica Abbott profile at USA Softball