Chelsea Rae Thomas (born January 26, 1990) is an American former collegiate

softball Softball is a Variations of baseball, variation of baseball, the difference being that it is played with a larger ball, on a smaller field, and with only underhand pitches (where the ball is released while the hand is primarily below the ball) ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

, originally from

Pleasantville, Iowa Pleasantville is a city in Marion County, Iowa, United States. The population was 1,676 at the time of the 2020 census. Pleasantville is most famous for being the corporate headquarters of Smokey Row Coffee. History Pleasantville was surveyed ...

. Thomas pitched for the

Missouri Tigers The Missouri Tigers intercollegiate athletics programs represent the University of Missouri, located in Columbia. The name comes from a band of armed Union Home Guards called the "Fighting Tigers of Columbia" who, in 1864, protected Columbia ...

in the

Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. It consists of 16 full-member universities (3 private universities and 13 public universities) in the states of Arizona, Colorado, Florida ...

and

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

; Thomas is the career leader in wins and

strikeouts In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safe ...

for the school. She ranks top-10 for no hitters (11) and perfect games (3) in the

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

. Thomas and was drafted #20 in the

National Pro Fastpitch National Pro Fastpitch (NPF), formerly the Women's Pro Softball League (WPSL), was a professional women's softball league in the United States. The teams battled for the Cowles Cup. The WPSL was founded in 1997 and folded in 2001; the NPF revive ...

and won a title in 2014.

Early life and education

Born in

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...

, Thomas attended Pleasantville High School. She completed her Bachelor of Science degree in biology in fall 2012 and a

Master of Education The Master of Education (MEd or M.Ed. or Ed.M.; Latin ''Magister Educationis'' or ''Educationis Magister'') is a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. This degree in education often includes the following majors: curriculum an ...

in counseling in fall 2013.

Career

Thomas debuted on February 14, defeating the

Virginia Tech Hokies The Virginia Tech Hokies are the athletic teams representing Virginia Tech in intercollegiate athletics. The Hokies participate in the NCAA's Division I Atlantic Coast Conference in 22 varsity sports. Virginia Tech's men's sports are football, b ...

in a

shutout In team sports, a shutout (North American English, US) or clean sheet (Commonwealth English, UK) is a game in which the losing team fails to score. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketba ...

, allowing a hit and fanning three batters. She would no hit the Southeast Missouri Redhawks on March 7. During her sophomore year, Thomas set a career best with 14 strikeouts in regulation, winning against the

Illinois State Redbirds The Illinois State Redbirds are the athletic teams that represent Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois. Teams play at the NCAA Division I level ( FCS in football). Most teams compete in the Missouri Valley Conference except football (M ...

on March 14 before having to redshirt the year because of injury. In 2011, Thomas was named Big-12 Pitcher of The Year and led the Nation in

ERA An era is a span of time. Era or ERA may also refer to: * Era (geology), a subdivision of geologic time * Calendar era Education * Academy of European Law (German: '), an international law school * ERA School, in Melbourne, Australia * E ...

. On March 2, she pitched a perfect game against the

Drake Bulldogs The Drake Bulldogs are the intercollegiate athletics teams that represent Drake University, located in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. The Bulldogs' athletic program is a member of the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) and competes at the NCA ...

with 11 strikeouts. Thomas would go on to defeat the

Oklahoma Sooners The Oklahoma Sooners are the college athletics in the United States , athletic teams that represent the University of Oklahoma, located in Norman, Oklahoma, Norman. The 19 men's and women's varsity teams are called the "Sooners", a reference to ...

on April 16 and totaled 17 strikeouts and combined with Keilani Ricketts for 33 total for a top NCAA single game record. She led the Tigers into the 2011 Women's College World Series and help set the combined strikeout record (30) at the World Series by throwing a career best 19 strikeouts in a 13-inning loss to the

Baylor Bears The Baylor Bears are the athletic teams that represent Baylor University. The teams participate in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as one of only three private school members of the Big 12 Conference. Prior t ...

on June 4. Thomas earned a second Pitcher of The Year citation and tossed 46.0 consecutive scoreless innings for a career highlight in 2012. In her final year, Thomas crossed 1,000 strikeouts for her career vs. the Mississippi Rebels on March 15 with four in two innings. She claimed her 100th career victory run-rule defeating the

Missouri State Bears The Missouri State Bears and Lady Bears are the athletic teams representing Missouri State University (formerly Southwest Missouri State University). Missouri State's athletics programs date back to 1908. Missouri State competes in the NCAA Divi ...

on April 3. Thomas made her final appearance losing to the

Washington Huskies The Washington Huskies are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Washington, located in Seattle. The school competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) N ...

on May 24, fanning four in a 1–0 two-hitter. Thomas was named 2013 SEC Pitcher of the Year. As a member of the

United States women's national softball team The United States women's national softball team is the national softball team of the United States. It is governed by USA Softball (formerly known as the Amateur S ...

she won 2011 World Cup of Softball. In 2013, she played professional softball for the

USSSA Pride The USSSA Pride is a professional softball team based in Viera, Florida, and a former member of Women's Professional Fastpitch (WPF). Founded in 2009, they previously played in National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) from 2009 to 2019. They play their home ...

in the

league. She is currently an

assistant coach An athletic coach is a person coaching in sport, involved in the direction, instruction, and training of a sports team or athlete. History The original sense of the word ''Coach'' is that of a Coach (carriage), horse-drawn carriage, deriving ul ...

of the

McKendree University McKendree University (McK), formerly McKendree College, is a private university in Lebanon, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1828 as the "Lebanon Seminary", it is the oldest college or university in Illinois. The school was renamed McKendree ...

softball team.

Statistics

Missouri Tigers The Missouri Tigers intercollegiate athletics programs represent the University of Missouri, located in Columbia. The name comes from a band of armed Union Home Guards called the "Fighting Tigers of Columbia" who, in 1864, protected Columbia ...

References

External links

* *
USA Softball
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Chelsea 1990 births Living people People from Marion County, Iowa American softball players Softball players from Iowa Missouri Tigers softball players Sportspeople from Des Moines, Iowa USSSA Pride players Softball players at the 2011 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2011 Pan American Games Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in softball