Adrienne Monka (Softball, 2009-12)
One of the most feared sluggers of her era, Adrienne Monka was a two-time first-team All-American, the 2009 Big Ten Freshman of the Year and graduated NU as one of the NCAA’s all-time leaders in walks and on-base percentage. Her 55 career home runs earned her the “Barry Bonds” treatment, resulting in 190 career walks—a total which ranked eighth in NCAA history at the time of her graduation.
She burst onto the scene immediately, ranking second in the nation in home runs per game, third in slugging and fourth in RBIs as a freshman in 2009. She was the lone freshman to make ESPN.com’s All-America squad that year and was a first-team NFCA choice.
After an injury-filled sophomore campaign, Monka roared back as a junior in 2011 with another first-team All-America season. Her power was so feared that at one point in the season she reached base in 25-straight plate appearances thanks to 17 walks, six hits and two hit-by-pitches. She led the entire nation with 1.53 walks per game and a .707 on-base percentage, the second-best OBP in NCAA history.
At the conclusion of her career, Monka held Northwestern’s all-time records for slugging (.747), on-base percentage (.549) and walks while ranking second in RBIs (198). No Wildcat has ever come within 61 points of her school-record .900 slugging percentage achieved as a freshman in 2009.
Monka went on to play professional softball with the Chicago Bandits of the NPF.
She burst onto the scene immediately, ranking second in the nation in home runs per game, third in slugging and fourth in RBIs as a freshman in 2009. She was the lone freshman to make ESPN.com’s All-America squad that year and was a first-team NFCA choice.
After an injury-filled sophomore campaign, Monka roared back as a junior in 2011 with another first-team All-America season. Her power was so feared that at one point in the season she reached base in 25-straight plate appearances thanks to 17 walks, six hits and two hit-by-pitches. She led the entire nation with 1.53 walks per game and a .707 on-base percentage, the second-best OBP in NCAA history.
At the conclusion of her career, Monka held Northwestern’s all-time records for slugging (.747), on-base percentage (.549) and walks while ranking second in RBIs (198). No Wildcat has ever come within 61 points of her school-record .900 slugging percentage achieved as a freshman in 2009.
Monka went on to play professional softball with the Chicago Bandits of the NPF.
