Cat Osterman, a former three-time National Player of the Year, four-time All-American and two-time Olympic medalist, is in her sixth season as an assistant coach, third as associate head coach, for the Bobcats where she serves as the pitching coach.
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In the five seasons since her arrival in San Marcos prior to the 2015 campaign, Osterman has transformed the Bobcats pitching staff into one of the most dominate in the Sun Belt Conference and among the best in the NCAA. In her four seasons, she has coached the staff to a combined 69 shutouts and 186 wins. Moreover, she has aided Randi Rupp to four of First Team All-Sun Belt Conference selections, four NFCA All-Region plaudits, the 2017 and 2018 Sun Belt Pitcher of the Year honor and 2017 Second Team NFCA All-American recognition.
Texas State finished the 2019 season with an overall record of 29-25 and a league record of 16-10. The Bobcats earned the No. 4 seed in the 2019 Sun Belt Conference Championship. Osterman helped manage sophomore pitcher Meagan King to a 2019 Second Team All-Sun Belt Conference selection.
The 2018 season was historic for the Bobcats. Texas State finished the season with an overall record of 43-16, a Sun Belt Conference championship in both the regular-season and the tournament and an automatic bid into the NCAA Los Angeles Regional. The regular season and tournament championships were the first since joining the Sun Belt in 2013. Texas State last won the conference title in 2012. The 43 victories marked the third-highest win total in program history. The Bobcats posted the nation’s 30th RPI and ended the season ranked No. 22 in the NFCA/USA Today Top-25 Coaches Poll.
Osterman guided senior pitcher Randi Rupp to NFCA First Team All-Central Region, Sun Belt Pitcher of the Year and Sun Belt First Team honors.
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In 2017, Osterman’s third in San Marcos, she aided the Bobcats to a 42-17 overall record, a runner-up finish in both the Sun Belt regular season standings and the conference championship and an at-large berth to the NCAA College Station Regional. The Bobcats’ 42 wins marked the third-most in program history and most since the 2003 season, while the 18 league wins were the most since joining the Sun Belt Conference. Osterman directed the TXST pitching staff the NCAA’s 11th-best ERA at 1.72, while Randi Rupp (10th) and Quincy Charleston (81st) ranked among the nation’s top-100 in ERA. Osterman guided Rupp to 2017 NFCA Second Team All-American and Sun Belt Pitcher of the Year honors. In addition, Rupp was named First Team All-Sun Belt and First Team NFCA All-Central Region. Rupp closed the season with a 28-10 record, 1.22 ERA, 325 strikeouts and a .203 opponent batting average.
Osterman’s second season was highlighted with the Bobcats earning an at-large berth to the NCAA Tuscaloosa regional. Individually, Osterman helped Rupp to both all-conference and all-region honors as the sophomore compiled a 1.66 ERA and a 30-14 overall record. Moreover, Rupp ranked third in the nation with 335 strikeouts. Overall, the 2016 season saw the Bobcat pitching staff finish with a 2.13 ERA, while limiting opposing batters to a .228 average.
In her first season with the Bobcats in 2015, Osterman led Rupp, a freshman, to earn First-Team All-Sun Belt Conference honors, as well as a Second Team NFCA All-Region nod. Rupp threw her first no-hitter for the Bobcats on March 23 against UL Monroe before quickly following suit with her first perfect game on April 15 against Houston Baptist. With 293 strikeouts, Rupp led the Sun Belt Conference in her first year.
Osterman joined the Bobcat squad in 2015 after spending three seasons as an assistant coach at St. Edwards University. In 2013, the Hilltoppers made school history with their appearance in the NCAA Division II Super Regionals after sweeping and upsetting No. 2 seeded West Texas and No. 6 seeded Angelo State twice in the NCAA South Central Regional Tournament. In Osterman’s three seasons with St. Edwards, the Hilltoppers were 98-69, including a 36-18 Heartland Conference record. St. Edwards also won the Heartland Conference Tournament in 2012 and were runner-ups in 2013 and 2014. Osterman’s pitching staff earned two Conference Pitcher of the Year awards and was named All-Region twice.
A native of Houston, Texas, Osterman helped to lead the University of Texas to three Women’s College World Series appearances in 2003, 2005 and 2006. She also became the only softball individual to win USA Softball’s National Player of the Year honors three times after earning the honor each of those seasons. During her redshirt season of 2004, Osterman trained with the USA National Team as the only collegian and youngest member of the Olympic team that earned a gold medal in Athens. A three-time selection as Big 12 Conference Female Athlete of the Year (2003, 2005 and 2006), she still holds UT career records in victories (136), ERA (0.51), shutouts (85) and no-hitters (20), and she holds the NCAA record for career strikeout ratio per seven innings (14.35). She finished her UT career with a 136-25 overall record and is second all-time in NCAA Division I career strikeouts with 2,265. Osterman was a recipient of the NCAA Today’s Top VIII Award in 2006, an honor presented to the top eight senior student-athletes in the country.
Prior to joining the St. Edwards coaching staff, Osterman served as a student assistant coach at UT in 2007 while finishing her undergraduate degree. From there, she moved to DePaul University, where she was assistant coach from 2008 to 2010. She helped lead the Lady Blue Demons to three-straight Big East Championships, two NCAA Regional appearances and a 129-50 record.
Osterman pitched for the USA National Team from 2001 to 2010, appearing in the 2004 and 2008 Olympics. Team USA took home the gold in 2004 and finished with the silver medal in 2008. In her 10-year career with Team USA, Osterman held a 59-4 record with 0.38 ERA. She struck out 832 batters in just 425.2 innings of work.
Osterman completed her eighth and final season in the National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) League in 2015. She played for the Rockford Thunder in 2007 and 2009 and the USSSA Pride for six seasons. Osterman led the Thunder to the league championship in 2009, earning MVP of the championship series. The very next season, she led the Pride to the 2010 championship. The team split the championship in 2012 but captured the title once again in 2013 and 2014. Osterman was named to the All-NPF team six times and was named Diamond NPF Co-Pitcher of the Year in 2011 and NPF Pitcher of the Year in 2013 and 2014. In the final season of her professional career, Osterman went 15-4 for the USSSA Pride, the NPF’s regular season champions, with a 1.21 ERA and 183 strikeouts in 121.2 innings of work. In eight seasons in the NPF, Osterman captured four league titles. On June 8, 2017, Osterman's No. 8 was officially retired by the USSSA Pride and is emblazoned on the outfield wall at USSSA Space Coast Stadium.
On February 18, 2013, Osterman was inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame alongside New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees, former Dallas Cowboys RB Walt Garrison, former NBA Champion Shaquille O’Neal, and former Heisman Trophy winner from UT Ricky Williams.
Osterman added a second hall of fame to her resume in 2016 as she was enshrined in the World of Little League® Hall of Excellence, the highest honor Little League can bestow. She is the fourth female to be enshrined in the Little League Hall of Excellence, and the first to be recognized for a career in the sport of softball.
Osterman graduated from the University of Texas with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology in 2007 and the University of Missouri with a master’s degree in educational and counseling psychology with a concentration in positive coaching in 2015. Osterman and her husband, Joey Ashley, along with his daughter, Bracken, reside in New Braunfels.
