The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Cat Osterman: Bio
09.18.2006 | Softball
CAREER ACCOLADES
- 2003, 2004 and 2005 U.S. National Softball Teams
- 2004 Olympic Gold Medalist (Softball)
- 2003 Pan-Am Games Gold Medalist (Softball)
- 2005 Honda Award for Softball and finalist for 2005 Honda-Broderick Cup
- Two-time USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year (2003 & 2005)
- 2005 ESPY Award Winner: " Best College Female Athlete" and "Best Female Olympic Performance"
- 2003 ESPY Nominee: " Best College Female Athlete"
- 2003 & 2005 Big 12 Female Athlete of the Year
- Three-time NFCA First-Team All-America (2003 & 2005 First Team, 2002 Second Team)
- Three-time NFCA First-Team All-Midwest Region (2002-03, 2005)
- Three-time Big 12 Pitcher of the Year (2002-03, 2005)
- Three-time First Team All-Big 12 (2002-03, 2005)
- 2002 Big 12 Freshman of the Year
- Two-time Women's College World Series All-Tournament Team
- 16-time Big 12 Pitcher of the Week
- 2003 Verizon/CoSIDA Third-Team Academic All-America and First-Team Academic All-District VI
- Two-time Academic All-Big 12 (2003 First Team, 2005 Second Team)
- Four-time Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll honoree
- First softball player to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated
- Holds three single-season Big 12 pitching records
- Holds 10 UT career pitching records
- Holds 12 UT single-season pitching records
2006 HIGHLIGHTS
- USA Softball National Training Camp Invitee
- Top 10 Finalist for USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year
- Watch List for USA Softball College Player of the Year
- Sportswoman of the Year (Women's Sports Foundation)
- Louisville Slugger/NFCA All-Midwest First Team
- Big 12 Pitcher of the Year for a Big 12-record fourth time
- Only athlete in history of the Big 12 - across all sports - to win a major award four times in a career
- All-Big 12 First Team
- Academic All-Big 12 Second Team
- No. 1 Pick in Pro Fastpitch X-Treme Draft (of 20)
- No. 1 Pick in National Pro Fastpitch Draft (Connecticut)
- USA Softball National Player of the Week (Feb. 28)
- NFCA National Player of the Week (March 1)
- Nine-time Big 12 Pitcher of the Week
- Feb. 14, Feb. 21, Feb. 28, March 14, March 21, March 28, April 17, April 24, May 1)
- Collected 25 career Big 12 Pitcher of the Weeks honors - most ever by any Big 12 athlete in any sport
AS A SENIOR (2006)
- Is 37-2 on the season with an 0.37 earned run average
- Ranked No. 1 in the NCAA national statistics (as of May 21) in ERA (0.37) and strikeouts per inning (15.5) and was second in victories (37)
- Has 590 strikeouts in 266.0 innings, to average 15.5 K's per seven inning
- 44 appearances with 36 starts
- 33 complete games ... has 27 shutouts, while combining with Meagan Denny for two other shutouts
- Has thrown five no-hitters, nine one-hitters and 11 two-hitters
- Has 2,225 career strikeouts, becoming the first student-athlete in NCAA history to surpass the 2,000 strikeout level
- Broke the NCAA career strikeout record on Feb. 25; former record was 1,773 by Courtney Blades (SMU/NSU, 1997-00)
- In the NCAA Division I records books, is tied for No. 2 in career shutouts (85) with Debbie Nichols (Louisiana Tech, 1987-90) ... Cal's Michelle Granger is first (94, 1989-93)
- Enters WCWS ranked No. 4 in NCAA Division I single season strikeouts with 590... With 11 vs. Washington (5/27), surpassing Tennessee's Monica Abbott who had 582 in 2004 ... Osterman herself has the third-highest season strikeout mark (with 593 in 2005)
- Set the Texas season mark for victories (37) in 9-1 Super Regional win over Washington, breaking her former mark of 36 (36-8) in 2002 as a rookie
- Has pitched every inning (34.0) of UT's five NCAA Regional and Super Regional games ... has an ERA of 0.00 in the NCAAs ... has allowed one unearned run off nine hits and totaled 79 strikeouts (16.3 K's per seven innings) to four walks ... 113 batters faced
- Tossed consecutive wins in the Super Regional round against No. 17 Washington (5/26-27) ... pitched Texas to a 1-0 victory in Game 1 with a four-hit, 16-strikeout effort ... in Game 2, allowed two hits and had 11 K's in 9-1, six-inning run-rule finale
- Pitched three consecutive shutouts to drive Texas to the NCAA Austin Regional Championships (5/19-21) title with wins over UT-San Antonio (4-0, 18 K's, 2 hits), Indiana (3-0, 16 K's, 1 hit) and Utah (3-0, 18 K's, 1 hit) ... fanned 52 of the 69 batters faced while allowing only four hits and two walks
- Nine-time Big 12 Pitcher of the Week in 2006 (Feb. 14, Feb. 21, Feb. 28, March 14, March 21, March 28, April 17, April 24, May 1) and was the USA Softball National Player of the Week and Louisville - Slugger/NFCA National Player of the Week after the Palm Springs Classic (Feb. 28)
- Opened her senior season with back-to-back no-hitters against Syracuse (2/10) and No. 15 Northwestern (2/11), adding 17 strikeouts against the Wildcats
- Followed up the next day with a two-hit shutout victory against No. 7 Stanford (2/12)
- Recorded fourth straight shutout win (2-0) in as many starts in a two-hit, 19-strikeout effort against Sam Houston (2/15)
- Earned fifth straight shutout victory in the 16-0 rout of Oklahoma Christian (2/16); also recorded a double in her first and only collegiate at-bat
- Her third no-hitter of the season extended her scoreless streak to 38.0 innings in the 1-0 victory over Fordham University (2/17); tossed 17 strikeouts with no walks
- Set new team and career record for strikeouts in a seven-inning game with 20 against UT-San Antonio (2/21) breaking her own UT record of 19 set twice in 2005 (at Oklahoma State, 5/1 and vs. UTEP, 3-11) and in 2003 (vs. Texas A&M, 4/9)
- Shutout the Cardinal for the second time this season in the 2-0, 16-strikeout effort against No. 6 Stanford (2/24)
- Became the all-time NCAA career strikeout leader (1,774) with her seven-strikeout effort against UNLV (2/25)
- Moved to 10-0 on the season with a 1-0 shutout victory against top-ranked Arizona (2/26) to hand the Wildcats their first loss of the season
- Went 4-1 with one save at the Judi Garman Classic, defeating three ranked teams (No. 14 Washington, No. 1 Arizona and No. 18 Texas A&M) while holding a 0.40 ERA and an opponents batting average of .064
- Tossed a one-hitter against No. 20 Baylor (3/29) with 15 strikeouts and two walks
- Pitched back-to-back victories against Missouri (4-3, 1-0) in a Big 12 weekend series (4/9-10), fanning 27 Tigers batters
- Allowed two hits in 5.1 innings and 13 strikeouts in a 9-4 victory over No. 19 Oklahoma in the first game of a Big 12 series and pitched her fifth no-hitter of the season with 14 strikeouts in a 2-0 victory in second game (4/14-15)
- Tossed her seventh one-hitter of the season in a shutout, 1-0, win over No. 15 Texas A&M in College Station (4/26) with 12 strikeouts and three walks
AS A JUNIOR (2005)
Finalist for Honda-Broderick Cup ... won the Honda Sports Award in softball (national player of the year) and the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year ... was the first player to earn two USA Softball national player of the year awards ... ESPY Award winner for "Best Female College Athlete" and "Best Female Olympic Performance" ... selected Big 12 Female Athlete of the Year ... earned National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) first-team All-America and first-team All-Midwest Region honors ... voted Big 12 Pitcher of the Year and first-team All-Big 12 Conference ... one of three team captains and shared team MVP honors with Chez Sievers ... made 42 appearances - 33 starts and nine relief appearances - in the circle that included 31 complete games for a total of 272.2 innings pitched ... went 30-7 on the season with a 0.36 ERA and 593 strikeouts ... opponents had a 0.79 batting average against her ... struck out at least 11 batters in each starting appearance ... had 20 games with 15+ strikeouts and four games with 20+ strikeouts ... threw six no-hitters, including three perfect games, nine one-hitters and 11 two-hitters ... finished the season third on the NCAA Division I and all-division career strikeout lists ... led the nation in ERA and strikeouts per seven innings (15.2) ... set the NCAA single-season strikeout ratio record (15.2 strikeouts per seven innings) and had the third-highest single-season strikeout total in NCAA history ... was a four-time Big 12 Pitcher of the Week (Feb. 22, March 15, March 22 and April 12), two-time USA Softball National Player of the Week (March 15 and March 22) and Louisville Slugger/NFCA National Player of the Week (Feb. 23) ... opened the season against Houston (2/5) in the team's first game of the year, marking her first appearance in a Texas uniform since May 25, 2003, and tossed a one-hitter, striking out 15 Cougars in the complete game shutout ... made her second start the following day, marking the first time she had made starts on back-to-back days since May 2003 ... her six no-hitters came on: Feb. 26 at Texas State (perfect game: 17 strikeouts), March 9 vs. UT-San Antonio (perfect game: 18 strikeouts), March 11 vs. UTEP (19 strikeouts, one walk); May 12 vs. No. 25 Nebraska in the Big 12 Tournament quarterfinals (14 strikeouts, two walks), May 20 vs. Massachusetts at the NCAA Austin Regional (14 strikeouts, one walk), and May 21 vs. Mississippi State at the NCAA Austin Regional (perfect game:17 strikeouts) ... went 1-2 at the Palm Springs Classic (Feb. 25-27), falling in a pair of 1-0 games to No. 1 California (one-hitter, 16 strikeouts) and No. 23 Long Beach State (two-hitter, 16 strikeouts) in eight innings under international tiebreaker rules before defeating No. 4 UCLA, 3-0, in eight innings under ITB rules ... her 19 strikeouts against UTEP tied her own school record for strikeouts in a 7.0 inning game, a mark she also tied later in the season at Oklahoma State (April 30) ... went 3-0 on the team's spring break trip to California: defeated No. 7 UCLA (March 15) in relief with 10 strikeouts, topped previously undefeated and top-ranked Arizona (March 17) with 23 strikeouts while two-hitting the Wildcats in the 10-inning victory at the Kia Klassic, and defeated No. 21 Arizona State (March 19) with an eight-inning, 1-0 victory with 21 strikeouts in the two-hitter ... saw her streaks of 74.1 innings without an earned run and 64.2 scoreless innings snapped in the fourth inning against North Texas (March 23), when she allowed an earned run to score ... threw 9.2 innings of no-hit ball against Texas Tech (April 26) before surrendering her first hit, as the team lost 2-0, in 10 innings under ITB rules ... matched her career-high with 24 strikeouts in that game while not walking any batters ... earned Big 12 Tournament Most Valuable Player laurels for the third time in her career after going 3-0 with an 0.00 ERA, allowing one hit in 15.1 innings of work ... against No. 24 Nebraska (May 12), tossed her fourth no-hitter of the season, striking out 14 and walking two for her 50th-career shutout ... entered in relief in a 1-1 game against No. 10 Oklahoma (May 13), closing out the final 1.1 innings to earn the victory after striking out all four batters she faced ... threw a one-hitter against No. 18 Missouri (May 14) in the championship game, striking out a personal Big 12 Tournament record 16 while walking two ... pushed her career record at the Big 12 Tournament to 11-0 with an 0.00 ERA and increased her scoreless streak to 60.1 innings spanning three tournaments ... went 3-0 in 21.0 innings pitched during the NCAA Austin Regional, tossing a no-hitter against Massachusetts (May 20), a perfect game against Mississippi State (May 21) and a one-hitter against Mississippi State (May 22) in the regional championship game ... pitched nine shutout innings, allowing two hits and striking out 20 against Bethune-Cookman in the NCAA Austin Super Regional (May 28) ... earned Women's College World Series All-Tournament honors after going 2-1 at the WCWS with a 0.72 ERA in 29.1 innings pitched, throwing 54 strikeouts in four appearances ... defeated No. 8 Alabama (June 2) with a one-hit, 17-strikeout, no-walk performance in the opening game, before coming back to throw an 11-inning, four-hitter against No. 3 Arizona (June 5) with 19 strikeouts in an elimination game ... threw 6.1 innings of perfect relief work against UCLA in the elimination game at the WCWS three hours after the marathon Arizona game ... a Second-Team Academic All-Big 12 performer.
AS A SOPHOMORE (2003)
USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year; was the first player from the Big 12 to earn the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award as the top player in college softball ... finalist for the Honda Award in softball ... one of three collegians nominated for the ESPY for Best College Female Athlete ... Big 12 Female Athlete of the Year ... earned National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) first-team All-America honors and first-team NFCA All-Midwest Region honors ... elected Big 12 Pitcher of the Year and was a first-team All-Big 12 performer ... finished the season as one of the premier pitchers in softball ... posted a 32-6 record in 40 appearances that included 36 starts ... threw 27 complete games, including 18 shutouts ... tossed 242.2 innings, allowing 18 runs (13 earned) and striking out 488 while allowing only 39 walks ... opponents owned a .090 batting average against her ... finished her sophomore season as the all-time collegiate softball career strikeout ratio leader (13.3 per game) and 16th on the Division I softball career strikeout chart with 1,042 ... led the nation in strikeouts per seven innings (14.1) and ERA (0.38) while also leading the Longhorns to the best team ERA (0.61) in the country ... had double-figure strikeouts in 30 of 40 appearances and had 15 games with 15 or more strikeouts ... was a five-time Big 12 Pitcher of the Week (Feb. 11, Feb. 18, April 1, April 15 & April 28) ... became the first Big 12 player to receive the USA Softball Player of the Week award after shutting out No. 18 Texas A&M and No. 4 Oklahoma during the week of April 7-13, then received the honor again (April 28 - May 4) after leading UT to its second Big 12 Tournament title in a row ... was one of four players in the nation to win the USA Softball and NFCA National Player of the Week award in the same week (April 28-May 4) when she went 4-0 in Big 12 Tournament with a 0.00 ERA in 26.0 innings while allowing seven hits, three walks and striking out 44 of 87 batters ... also earned MVP honors at the conference tournament and was selected to the All-Big 12 Tournament Team ... earned her first NFCA National Player of the Week honor earlier in the season (March 24-30), when she struck out a season-high 23 batters, surrendering three hits and earning the win in the team's 10-inning, 1-0, victory over No. 4 Nebraska; earlier in that week, she led the team to a 6-1 victory over Baylor when she allowed three hits and one unearned run with 11 strikeouts ... became the first pitcher in Big 12 history to record 1,000 strikeouts in her first two seasons ... broke the UT career pitching records for ERA (0.63), wins (68), shutouts (35), strikeouts (1,042) and opponents batting average (.105) ... allowed only one earned run the entire conference season - a home run at Texas A&M (April 22) ... pitched a perfect game against No. 15 Fresno State in addition to three other no-hitters (Feb. 12 vs. UT-Arlington, March 1 vs. Florida and March 20 vs. Houston) ... named to the Fastpitch Express College Classic All-Tournament Team after surrendering three hits in 17.0 innings and striking out 40 batters while leading the team to a 3-0 record in her starts at the tournament ... voted Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Region 3 Tournament when she threw four-consecutive one-hitters against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, LSU and Southwest Texas (twice) ... struck out a total of 49 batters in 25.0 innings in the Regional ... also selected to the Women's College World Series All-Tournament Team after starting all four of the team's games, earning a 2-2 record and striking out 46 batters in 24.2 innings, including a 17-strikeout performance against Cal (May 23) ... broke her own record for consecutive innings without giving up an earned run at 65.0 innings of work, beginning April 22 (at Texas A&M) and ending on May 22 (vs. Louisiana-Lafayette) ... also went 60.2 innings without giving up an earned run earlier in the season ... appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated along with three other Texas athletes for the Best Sports College in America issue in September 2002 ... a Verizon/CoSIDA third-team Academic All-American and a first-team All-District VI honoree ...also garnered first-team Academic All-Big 12 accolades.
AS A FRESHMAN (2002)
One of 10 finalists for USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year ... an NFCA second-team All-American ... earned NFCA first-team All-Midwest Region honors, as well as Big 12 Pitcher of the Year, Big 12 Freshman of the Year and All-Big 12 First Team accolades ... was the Dallas All-Sports Association Big 12 Female Athlete of the Year ... was a two-time Louisville Slugger/NFCA Player of the Week (April 3 and April 17) ... led the Longhorns in virtually every pitching category as she posted a 36-8 record and 0.83 ERA ... her 554 strikeouts ranked second on the NCAA single-season list ... set the (then) NCAA freshman, Big 12 and UT single-season mark for strikeouts in a season ... led the nation in strikeouts per seven innings (12.7) and tied for first in wins ... ranked ninth nationally in ERA ... a seven-time Big 12 Pitcher of the Week (Feb. 19, March 5, March 19, April 2, April 16, April 23 and April 30), the most-ever by a player in the league's seven-year history ... UT single-season leader in wins (36), innings pitched (304.1), games started (40), shutouts (17) and appearances (51) ... tied the UT single-season record for complete games (27) ... ranked first among Big 12 pitchers in wins, strikeouts, shutouts, innings pitched, appearances, complete games and games started; also ranked in the top five in ERA and saves (3) ... threw five no-hitters, including three perfect games ... hurled the first perfect game in UT history against Stephen F. Austin (Feb. 26) ... posted double-figure strikeouts in 32 of her 51 appearances ... posted the second longest stretch in school history by not allowing a run to be scored in 60.1 consecutive innings (Feb. 16 - March 13) ... also set a UT's longest mark for innings without allowing an earned run with 79.2 innings (Feb. 13 - March 13) and then followed that with a 74.2-inning run (April 20-May 18) ... selected to the NCAA Regional V All-Tournament Team and was named MVP of the Big 12 Tournament while also garnering All-Big 12 Tournament accolades.
INTERNATIONALLY
Member of the 2003, 2004 and 2005 U.S. National softball teams ... took an Olympic waiver redshirt to play the entire 2003-04 academic year with the U.S. National and U.S. Olympic team ... selected to the 15-member 2004 U.S. Olympic softball team that won the gold medal at the Athens Olympics ... tossed the gold-medal game at the 2005 International Sports Invitational, throwing a one-hitter with 10 strikeouts and no walks against Australia ... threw a no-hitter against China in the opening round of the 2005 Japan Cup ... at the 2004 Olympics, appeared in three games, did not allow a run (0.00 ERA) in 14.2 innings (second-highest total on the team) and led the U.S. in strikeouts with 23, the fourth-highest total at the Games ... tossed an 8.0 inning, one-hitter with 11 strikeouts as the U.S. defeated Japan in the preliminary round ... went 6.0 innings against Chinese Taipei, surrendering one hit while striking out 10 and walking four in the victory ... went a team-best 16-0 on the 2004 Olympic Team's "Aiming to Athens" Tour with an unblemished 0.00 ERA and 170 strikeouts in 74.2 innings pitched, while allowing a team-low 16 hits ... helped U.S. win the gold medal at the 2003 Pan Am Games, tossing a perfect game against Canada in the championship game ... member of the 2002 Canada Cup team that finished second at the tournament ... was named Best Pitcher at the 2002 Canada Cup following pool play ... member of the 2002 USA Elite Team ... led the 2002 USA Elite Team in ERA (0.66), wins (4-1), saves (1), innings pitched (27.1) and strikeouts (39) ... member of the 2001 U.S. National Elite team, playing for Team USA Red ... pitched a one-hit shutout to help Team USA Red to win the U.S. Cup over China in Honolulu, Hawaii in June 2002 ... finished with a 0.64 earned run average and led Team USA Red with 108 strikeouts while posting a 6-2 record in seven starts, pitching 65.2 innings and earning two saves.
NATIONALLY
Helped the Katy Cruisers Gold claim the ASA 2000 and 2001 National Championships in the Gold Under-18 division ... the Cruisers became the first team outside of California to win the Gold Championship and the first time to capture back-to-back titles ... pitched the Stratford (Conn.) Brakettes to the 2002 ASSA Women's Major Fast Pitch National Softball Championship ... named ASA All-American in 1999 and 2000 ... played in an exhibition with the Cruisers against the gold medal-winning 2000 U.S. Olympic Team in Fort Worth, Texas, with the national squad winning 1-0 in eight innings ... led the Katy Streamliners to a runner-up finish in the Under-16 class at the AFA Nationals ... also played for the Cy-Fair Slammers in Cypress, Texas (1995-1998).
HIGH SCHOOL
2001 Gatorade National Softball Player of the Year and Texas state Gatorade softball Player of the Year ... National High School Coaches Association Softball Athlete of the Year ... Texas Girls Coaches Association Softball Athlete of the Year ... claimed National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) all-region honors in 1999 and 2000 ... first-team all-state in 1999, 2000 and 2001 ... a three-year varsity letterwinner at Cypress Springs High School for head coach Carol Adcock ... selected as 1999 and 2001 District 16-5A Most Valuable Player ... led the Houston area in strikeouts in 2000 and 2001 ... member of the 2001 Texas Girls Coaches Association all-star Team ... a 2001 first-team All-Greater Houston and 1999 second-team All-Greater Houston ... helped Cypress Springs to the 16-5A District title and regional semifinals in 2001 ... also lettered three years in basketball ... involved in Peer Assistant Leadership (PALS), National Honor Society, Senior Women and Leadership Council.
PERSONAL
Full name is Catherine Leigh Osterman ... born on April 16, 1983 in Houston, Texas ... daughter of Gary and Laura Osterman ... has two younger brothers, Craig (19) and Chris (11) ... received the 2001-02 Jill A. Sterkel Leadership Award, the 2002-03 Darrel K Royal Presidential Scholarship and the 2004-05 V.F. "Doc" Neuhaus Endowed Presidential Scholarship (highest UT Athletics award) at the annual Texas Women's Athletics Banquet ... is a psychology major ... named to the Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll for Fall 2001, Spring 2002, Spring 2003 and Spring 2005 semesters ... was the first softball player to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated (Oct. 7, 2002 - America's Best Sports Colleges issue) and then became the first softball to appear on the cover twice (August 30, 2004 - as a member of the gold-medal winning 2004 U.S. Olympic softball team) ... made her TV broadcast debut on August 28, 2005 when she was the color commentator for ESPN2's broadcast of the National Pro Fastpitch (professional softball league) championship and all-star games.
