Annie Abdullah Is Ready To Help Texas Stay On Top

The first college softball coach Annie Abdullah Annie Abdullah INF Doral Academy | 2026 #4 Nation FL ever shook hands with was Texas associate head coach Steve Singleton. Abdullah was 13 at the time and attending a camp in Florida.

Abdullah recalls Singleton asking, “You’re pretty good, aren’t you?” To which, she responded, “Yeah, I think I’m good.”

Singleton told Abdullah he was going to put her on his field. It was the beginning of a fruitful connection. Abdullah started attending Texas camps in Austin and eventually received an offer from the Longhorns. The 2026 recruit from Hollywood, Florida committed during her official visit on September 14, 2024.

“I felt at home with the culture, especially the coaches making me feel welcome and like I belong there,” Abdullah said. “That was definitely the place for me.”

Abdullah will be playing in the same conference—the SEC—as her mother did. Rhonda Coffelt was a pitcher on the first softball team in the University of Georgia’s history in 1997. Coffelt recorded the program’s very first win, a 5-1 victory over Mercer.

Abdullah, Prep Softball’s No. 4 recruit in the 2026 class, dabbled in gymnastics before she found her calling in softball like her mom.

“I don’t think my parents were going to keep me in gymnastics for much longer, because they wanted me to be tall,” she said. “But I think I fell in love with softball more when I was playing soccer at the same time. I just figured out that softball is where I’m going to stay, it’s what I’m good at.”

Abdullah started as a catcher and then moved to center field. One day, she decided to ask if she could play shortstop and approached Willie Viruet, who was her first coach at age 6 and continues to coach her in high school at Doral Academy.

“Some other girl was playing there at the time. He told me I just have to work there, so I did,” Abdullah said. “Slowly, as time went on, I became a shortstop. (Willie’s) worked with me every single day since, even though I’m not on his travel team anymore. Every single day out there, he’s working with me at shortstop. I owe him basically everything that I know in that position.”

Abdullah has always played with older girls. She joined Bombers Fastpitch in 2023 and currently plays for Texas Bombers 18U Gold.

“At first, it was hard, because I hadn’t been on a field with such amazing players before. Being around them and playing against the best competition at all times was an adjustment,” Abdullah said. “But I know I belong, so I just needed to bear with the process. Everyone on the team is amazing and very welcoming, so it was easy to adjust.”

As a member of the Bombers, Abdullah has been able to interact with former Olympian and Texas pitching legend Cat Osterman.

“The first season I had her as a coach I was just scared. I wouldn’t talk to her. I was a little intimidated,” Abdullah said. “But she’s done everything that I want to do. I want to be on the Olympic team, and I’m going to Texas. So I started to almost pick her brain. She’s been almost like a mom, a softball mom for me. She’s awesome.”

Abdullah and her younger sister, Zoey, a 2028 recruit, are high school teammates and helped Doral Academy win the 6A state title this year. Any time they get away from the field, they are usually spending it with each other.

“She is my favorite person in the world,” Abdullah said. “My family is the absolute best supporters. They aren’t the type of people to be hard on you about anything with softball. They’re just the kindest human beings ever.”

During her freshman year of high school in 2023, Abdullah played for the USA Softball U15 team and traveled to Peru and Japan. She helped Team USA win three gold medals.

“That was probably the best experience. I wish I could relive it, because I think I was almost too young to really know what was going on,” she said. “But I do get to experience another World Cup with the 18U team this coming September, which will be held in Oklahoma City. I’m excited for that as well, because I want to play on the World Series field. It’s going to be awesome.”

Abdullah was thrilled to watch Texas win its first national championship in program history this season on that very field. She hopes to return many more times once she officially becomes a Longhorn.

“Their program is going to continue to grow, and it’s great to see that,” she said. “It was only a stepping stone. They’re going to continue to take more steps, and I can’t wait to be a part of it.”