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

softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

, originally from

Pleasantville, Iowa Pleasantville is a city in Marion County in 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 and the hometown of softball player ...

. 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 fro ...

in the

Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its ...

and

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities o ...

; 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 usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

for the school. She ranks top-10 for no hitters (11) and

perfect games Perfect game may refer to: Sports * Perfect game (baseball), a complete-game win by a pitcher allowing no baserunners * Perfect game (bowling), a 300 game, 12 consecutive strikes in the same game * Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League, New York ...

(3) in the

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level 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 athletic ...

. 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 capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...

, 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 a ...

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 the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) in intercollegiate athletics. The Hokies participate in the NCAA's Division I Atlantic Coast Conference in 22 v ...

in a

shutout In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

, 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). The football team competes in the Missouri Valley Football Conference w ...

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 defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Comp ...

. 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 athletic teams that represent the University of Oklahoma, located in Norman. The 19 men's and women's varsity teams are called the "Sooners", a reference to a nickname given to the early participants in the Land Ru ...

on April 16 and totaled 17 strikeouts and combined with

Keilani Ricketts Keilani Johanna Ricketts Tumanuvao (born September 1, 1991) is an American softball pitcher for the Oklahoma City Spark of the Women's Professional Fastpitch (WPF). She played college softball at Oklahoma from 2010 to 2013, where she was the s ...

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 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 The Ole Miss Rebels are the 18 men's and women's intercollegiate athletic teams that are funded by and represent the University of Mississippi, located in Oxford. The first was the football team, which began play in 1893. Originally known as the ...

on March 15 with four in two innings. She claimed her 100th career victory run-rule defeating the Missouri State Bears on April 3. Thomas made her final appearance losing to the

Washington Huskies The Washington Huskies are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Washington, located in Seattle. The school competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the Pac-1 ...

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 So ...

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

USSSA Pride The USSSA Pride are a professional softball team based in Viera, Florida and a member of the WPF - Women's Professional Fastpitch League, U.S. Founded in 2009. They previously played in National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) from 2009 to 2019. They play ...

in the

league. She is currently an

assistant coach A sports 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 horse-drawn carriage, deriving ultimately from the Hun ...

of the

McKendree University McKendree University (McK) is a private university in Lebanon, Illinois. Founded in 1828 as the Lebanon Seminary, it is the oldest college or university in Illinois. McKendree enrolls approximately 2,300 undergraduates and nearly 700 graduate ...

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 fro ...

References

External links

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