Catherine Leigh (”Cat”) Osterman was born in Houston, Texas on April 16, 1983.She started playing softball in first grade, switched to soccer, then returned to softball in the fifth grade.She attended Cypress Spring High School in Cypress, Texas, from 1997 to 2001.On April 4, 2000, she struck out 21 batters in a row to record a perfect game at the age of 17.
She was a star pitcher at the University of Texas at Austin from 2002 to 2006, shattering the NCAA Division I career strikeout record with 2,134 strikeouts over her four-year career and pitching 20 NCAA career no-hitters and 10 NCAA career perfect games. She was a three-time USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year.Cat averaged more than two strikeouts an inning while in college, with a ridiculously low ERA of 0.39 her last three seasons. Her career ERA of 0.5065 remains an NCAA record.
Cat was redshirted from the University of Texas in 2004 to participate in the Olympic Games in Athens. She went undefeated in 24 appearances during the USA Softball National Team's 53-game lead-up to the Games, and picked up two wins and a save for the gold medal-winning United States team at the Olympiad. She produced 14.2 shutout innings, and her 23 strikeouts were tops for Team USA.In 2005 she received two ESPY Awards for Top Collegiate Female Athlete and Top Female Olympic Performance (USA Softball).
Cat was chosen by the Connecticut Brakettes as the first overall pick in the National Pro Fastpitch softball league draft on February 15, 2006. She elected not to sign with them, and concentrated instead on international competition.On July 17, 2006, she won the championship game of the 2006 World Cup, beating Team Japan 5-2.
The Brakettes withdrew from the NPF after the 2006 season, and Cat became a free agent on September 30, 2006. On December 19, 2006, the Rockford Thunder—a team newly relocated from Texas to Rockford, Illinois—announced that Cat had signed a contract to play with them for the 2007 season. In her professional debut she defeated Jennie Finch and the Chicago Bandits 1-0 in twelve innings.After a stellar summer pitching for the US National Team, she led the Thunder to a second place overall finish in the NPF Championship Series.
Cat’s favorite athletes include fellow Texans Roger Clemens and Nolan Ryan, NBA player Hakeem Olajuwon and actor/director Kevin Costner.Billy Bob Thornton admits to having a crush on her in the bonus features of the "Bad News Bears" DVD. She was the first softball player to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated and the only softball player to appear on the cover twice.She is currently a spokesperson for Under Armour and has designed a signature glove for Wilson.