Cat Osterman Talks Allison Kime’s Induction Into UCF Athletics Hall of Fame

Allison Kime will be inducted into the UCF Athletics Hall of Fame on April 12. Many people from the softball world have chimed in on Kime’s induction, including arguably the biggest name in the sport who was a teammate of Kime 10 years ago.

Cat Osterman is a two-time gold medal-winning Olympian, three-time College Softball Player of the Year at Texas, and four-time NPF Champion. Osterman won her first NPF Championship with Kime in 2009, with the two serving as a 1-2 punch in the circle for the Rockford Thunder.

Photo by Guang Niu/Getty Images

‘‘Kime was not only an unbelievable player, but one of the most genuine people,” Osterman said exclusively to Black and Gold Banneret. “We connected almost immediately when she joined the Thunder, and it was the best summer of our lives. Winning that summer was a total team effort, and she was a big part of that!”

Ten years ago, the Rockford Thunder won the NPF Championship by first beating the Akron Racers in the semi-finals in three games, and than defeating the USSSA Pride in three games in the final. Kime became the second UCF Knights Softball player to win an NPF Championship, joining Stephanie Best, who won alongside Monica Abbott with the Washington Glory in 2007.

Osterman is currently an assistant coach at Texas State and came out of retirement to compete for Team USA in advance of the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

Osterman told us she was excited to hear news of Kime’s induction into UCF Athletics Hall of Fame.

“Congratulations, Kime Time, on your Hall of Fame Induction! You earned it, and I’m honored to have been your teammate for a short bit!” she said.

Aaron Moore

Kime signed with the Thunder as a free agent after her college career ended at UCF by Rockford’s then-General Manager Aaron Moore.

“Allison is one of the toughest, fiercest competitors I ever worked with in the NPF,” Moore told Black and Gold Banneret. “When she didn’t have good stuff, she made up for it in unbelievable moxie and passion. She was always someone that wanted the ball and did all she could to help our team win - A true professional.”

Kime’s impact would be felt years later when Moore was the General Manager of Chicago Bandits in 2016 and drafted former UCF All-American Shelby Turnier with the 11th pick overall in 2016 NPF Draft - the highest selection of any Knight Softball player.

One of reasons Moore drafted Turnier was because he saw similar qualities in Turnier that he saw in Kime when he signed her 8 years earlier.

Turnier would help the Bandits win the NPF Championship in 2016, joining Kime and Best as UCF alumnae to do that.

Angel Shamblin

During Kime’s UCF career, she battled with Houston’s All-American Angel Shamblin for weekly and national awards forming a great rivalry which was documented last year on Fastpitchnews.com.

“Congratulations to Allison for being inducted in the UCF Hall of Fame,” Shamblin tells Black and Gold Banneret. “She is very deserving of this honor. She had an incredible career at UCF.”

Kime’s impact on UCF goes beyond on the field but off the field which has earned her being inducted on April 12th .