Softball Legend Monica Abbott Announces Retirement

Legendary pitcher Monica Abbott is retiring as a softball player, she announced on social media on Tuesday.

In 2022, Abbott announced her retirement from professional softball in Japan and played her final game overseas last winter. Tuesday’s announcement marks the end of her playing career domestically, as well.

“The Day has come for me to step away from the circle, and throwing 70+mph, rise balls,” Abbott wrote on social media, alongside an accompanying video announcement. “For 20 years, I have lived the dream, playing Softball at the highest levels and representing my country. But the day has come where I know that I can do more for the game I love off the field than on. It’s been the most incredible journey.”

“I’m not sure what’s next for me, but I do know that it will be softball related, but it’s just going to look a whole lot different,” Abbott added later in her written announcement. (Read the full statement here.)

Abbott played sixteen years professionally, including both domestically and internationally in Japan. She pitched for several years in the National Pro Fastpitch league, including for the Chicago Bandits for several seasons.

In addition to her professional career, Abbott also spent a number of years representing Team USA, including in both the 2008 and 2020 Olympic Games. She returned to Team USA in 2018 and was a figurehead that helped guide the organization through the lead-up to the sport’s return to the Olympic program.

During her collegiate playing career, Abbott starred for the Tennessee Lady Vols from 2004-07. She set Division 1 records for wins, strikeouts, shutouts, and innings pitched, adding a quartet of All-American awards as well as being crowned National Player of the Year in 2007.

Abbott was inducted into the Tennessee Athletics Hall of Fame in 2017. Among her many records and accolades, she was the first college softball pitcher to record 500 strikeouts in each of her four seasons of eligibility.