Christa Lee Williams-Yates (born February 8, 1978) is an
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
, former collegiate three-time All-American, two-time Gold Medal winning
Olympian, retired three-time pro All-Star, right-handed hitting
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
Houston, Texas
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
. She competed at the
1996 Summer Olympics
The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...
in
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
where she received a gold medal with the American team. Four years later at the
2000 Summer Olympics
The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...
in
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
, she won her second gold medal. Williams-Yates began her college career with the
UCLA Bruins
The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Pac-12 Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF). ...
in 1997 before transferring to play softball with the
Texas Longhorns
The Texas Longhorns are the athletic teams representing the University of Texas at Austin. The teams are sometimes referred to as the Horns and take their name from Longhorn cattle that were an important part of the development of Texas, and a ...
(1998–99). Joining in its inaugural year, she played three years 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 ...
with the
Texas Thunder
Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by bo ...
(2004–06) and still ranks top-10 in career
wins,
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 ...
,
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 ...
among other records. In 2018, Williams-Yates was named to the USA National Softball Hall of Fame. Currently, Williams-Yates teaches high school softball in Friendswood, Texas.
College
In her freshman year, Williams-Yates was named a National Fastpitch Coaches Association Third Team All-American. She was also named First Team All-
Pac-12
The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its College football, football teams compete in the NCAA D ...
She led the Bruins to the
Women's College World Series
The Women's College World Series (WCWS) is the final portion of the NCAA Division I softball tournament for college softball in the United States. Eight teams participate in the WCWS, which begins with a double-elimination tournament. In other wo ...
and into the championship final where they lost to the
Arizona Wildcats
The Arizona Wildcats are the sport, athletic teams that represent the University of Arizona, located in Tucson, Arizona, Tucson. The Wildcats compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I (NCAA Divis ...
on May 26. Williams-Yates was named to the All-Tournament Team going 4-2, throwing two shutouts with 46 strikeouts.
Williams-Yates transferred to
University of Texas
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...
for the next two seasons. She was named a NFCA First Team in 1998 and the Second Team in 1999. She also would earn two First-Team All-
Big 12
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 fo ...
selections. This helped earn her a place on
Team USA
The United States national team or Team USA may refer to any of a number of sports team representing the United States in international competitions.
Olympic teams
Additionally, these teams may compete in other international competitions such as ...
for the
2000 Summer Olympics
The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...
and Williams-Yates opted not to return for her senior year.
NPF
Williams-Yates was named an All-Star all three years of her career with the
Texas Thunder
Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by bo ...
. She debuted on June 1, 2004, throwing a two-hit shutout with 6 strikeouts over the
Akron Racers
The Akron Racers were a women's softball team based in Akron, Ohio. They have moved to Cleveland and been renamed the Cleveland Comets in 2018. The team was started by Joey Arietta in 1999 to participate in the Women's Pro Softball League (WPSL). ...
. She
no hit the
Arizona Heat
The Arizona Heat was a women's softball team based in Tucson, Arizona. From the 2004 season, it played as a member of National Pro Fastpitch. The team's home games were played at historic Hi Corbett Field.
Six of the players on the 2006 roster p ...
on June 18 with a 15 strikeout performance. On June 28, 2005, she set a personal best by fanning 17 of the
Stratford Brakettes. Later that year beginning on July 7-August 6 she pitched a 10 consecutive game win streak, throwing 65.0 innings with 25 hits, 6 earned runs, 16 walks and 74 strikeouts for a 0.64 ERA and 0.63 WHIP.
Williams-Yates is the only NPF player to have played at least three seasons and be recognized as an All-Star every year of their career. She currently ranks top-10 in career statistics for wins, strikeouts, ERA, shutouts, strikeout ratio and WHIP.
Statistics
UCLA Bruins
The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Pac-12 Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF). ...
&
Texas Longhorns
The Texas Longhorns are the athletic teams representing the University of Texas at Austin. The teams are sometimes referred to as the Horns and take their name from Longhorn cattle that were an important part of the development of Texas, and a ...
Team USA
The United States national team or Team USA may refer to any of a number of sports team representing the United States in international competitions.
Olympic teams
Additionally, these teams may compete in other international competitions such as ...
Olympic Games
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
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 ...
Texas Thunder
Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by bo ...
References
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Christa
1978 births
Living people
Softball players from Texas
Olympic softball players for the United States
Softball players at the 1996 Summer Olympics
Softball players at the 2000 Summer Olympics
Olympic gold medalists for the United States in softball
Texas Longhorns softball players
Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics
Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics
Sportspeople from Houston
UCLA Bruins softball players