Latest news with #USASoftballNationalPlayeroftheYear
USA Today
16-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Who is Jordy Bahl? What to know of Nebraska pitcher amid NCAA softball tournament
Who is Jordy Bahl? What to know of Nebraska pitcher amid NCAA softball tournament Show Caption Hide Caption SEC teams facing pressure ahead of NCAA softball tournament Missouri must win it all, while Georgia and Alabama need deep SEC runs to stay in the mix. After a one-year hiatus due to injury, Jordy Bahl is back to doing Jordy Bahl things this season for Nebraska. Because of that, the two-time national champion and first-team All-American pitcher is back to pitching in the postseason and NCAA softball tournament. REQUIRED READING: Who will make Women's College World Series? NCAA softball tournament picks, predictions In her first season at Nebraska, the former Oklahoma pitcher has anchored the Cornhuskers' pitching staff while showing off her two-way talents at the plate. Bahl will likely get the ball in Nebraska's opening game of the Baton Rouge Regional on Friday, May 16 at 3 p.m. ET against UConn. While doing all this — which included leading Nebraska to a semifinal appearance in the Big Ten tournament — Bahl was named a top 25 finalist for the USA Softball National Player of the Year award. She ranks in the top 15 of 13 statistical categories, including shutouts pitched (fifth), strikeouts (sixth) and home runs (14th). Here's what you need to know about Bahl as Nebraska starts its run in the 2025 NCAA softball tournament: REQUIRED READING: NCAA softball tournament winners, losers, snubs from 2025 selection show Who is Jordy Bahl? Nebraska's right-handed ace is one of the more decorated pitchers in NCAA softball history. The Nebraska native was a freshman phenom, posting a 22-1 record with a 1.09 ERA, the latter of which ranked sixth in the nation. Bahl followed that up with an even stronger sophomore season, which consisted of a 7-0 record and a 0.18 ERA in seven NCAA Tournament games in 2023. Following her 2023 season in Norman, Oklahoma, Bahl left Patty Gasso's squad to transfer to Nebraska. She ended her time as a Sooner by being named the Most Outstanding Player at the WCWS and an NFCA First Team All-American. She ranks second in ERA in Oklahoma history at 0.99. Bahl missed all but the opening game of the Cornhuskers' 2024 season with a torn ACL. She returned in 2025, notching a 23-6 record in 34 appearances (28 starts) and 174 1/3 innings of work. In her first full regular season at Nebraska, Bahl has put together a National Player of the Year resume, both at the plate and inside the circle. At the plate, Bahl hit .458 in the regular season while becoming the first Husker to record at least 15 doubles and 15 home runs in the same season. In the circle, Bahl posted the lowest ERA in the Big Ten of 1.57 in 174 1/3 innings while also leading the league and ranking in the top 10 nationally in strikeouts (254) and opponent batting average (.156). On May 9, the Big Ten named Bahl the conference's player and pitcher of the year, the first time in Big Ten history that a player took home both awards in the same season. As noted in the Big Ten's news release, Bahl joins Michigan's Sara Griffin and Nikki Nemitz and Minnesota's Sara Groenewegen as one of four players in the conference's history to earn both honors in their careers. "Coming home and playing in Nebraska has been just the dream," Bahl said in a different pre-recorded interview that was featured in the Big Ten's clip announcing her awards. "Way more special than I could have ever imagined." REQUIRED READING: Who will make Women's College World Series? NCAA softball tournament picks, predictions Jordy Bahl transfer from Oklahoma to Nebraska After winning two national championships at Oklahoma, which included being named the Most Outstanding Player of the 2023 WCWS, Bahl announced she was leaving the Sooners program after her sophomore season — a transfer that shocked the sport. Bahl announced her decision to transfer to Nebraska on June 16, 2023, citing homesickness as the catalyst for her decision to return to the Cornhusker State to play at Nebraska and in the Big Ten. "I am excited to return home and be Jordy Bahl the softball player, but more importantly the person," Bahl wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter). Jordy Bahl stats Here's a year-by-year breakdown of Bahl's career stats at both Oklahoma and Nebraska:
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Texas Tech's NiJaree Canady leads AP's college softball players to watch
Texas Tech's NiJaree Canady leads The Associated Press' list of college softball players to watch this season. Last year's USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year sent shockwaves through the sport when she transferred from Stanford to Texas Tech for an NIL deal reportedly worth more than $1 million. She led the nation with 337 strikeouts and a 0.73 ERA last season and led the Cardinal to the Women's College World Series semifinals. The Big 12's coaches have picked Texas Tech to finish second in the conference behind Oklahoma State. Here are other players to watch, in alphabetical order: Reese Atwood, Texas Atwood was a Top 3 finalist for USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year last season. The junior catcher set school records last season for home runs (23), runs batted in (90), total bases (163) and slugging percentage (.862) and led the team with a .423 batting average. Last season, she helped the Longhorns earn the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament and finish as national runners-up. Jordyn Bahl, Nebraska Bahl transferred from Oklahoma to Nebraska before last season and suffered a season-ending ACL injury in her first game for the Huskers. She won two national titles at Oklahoma. As a sophomore, she had a 22-1 record and an 0.90 ERA. She threw 24 2/3 scoreless innings at the 2023 Women's College World Series and was named its Most Outstanding Player. She will hit and possibly play some first base after almost exclusively being a pitcher at Oklahoma. Jaysoni Beachum, Florida State Beachum was the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Freshman of the Year and a top 10 finalist for USA Softball National Player of the Year. She also was an NFCA second-team All-American at third base. She hit .417 last season — the third-highest average in school history. She set Florida State's freshman record with 66 RBIs and led the team in hits (78), home runs (16) and on-base percentage (.509). Jocelyn Erickson, Florida Erickson was the NFCA National Player of the Year last season after leading Florida to the World Series semifinals. The catcher ranked second nationally with a school-record 86 RBIs. She hit .382 and had a .994 fielding percentage. She finished in the top 10 in the Southeastern Conference in 15 categories in a dominant first year for the Gators after transferring from Oklahoma. Jenna Golembiewski, Miami (Ohio) Golembiewski was the Mid-American Conference Player of the Year in 2023, then she got better. She finished second in the nation with 28 home runs last season behind teammate Karli Spaid. She was a third-team NFCA All-American after hitting .394 with 78 RBIs in 57 games. She had a .474 on-base percentage and a .944 slugging percentage. Ella Parker, Oklahoma Parker is one of the few big-name holdovers from last year's championship run. The utility player was a third-team NFCA All-American and a top-three finalist for NFCA Freshman of the Year. She hit .415 with 13 home runs, 15 doubles and 17 stolen bases. She was the Most Outstanding Player of the Big 12 Tournament and was on the World Series all-tournament team. Karlyn Pickens, Tennessee Pickens was a top 10 finalist for USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year last season. She posted a 22-7 record with a 1.12 ERA. The 2024 SEC Pitcher of the Year had 225 strikeouts in 188 1/3 innings, had 12 shutouts and threw 15 complete games. She held opponents to a .156 batting average. Keagan Rothrock, Florida Rothrock led the nation with 33 wins, 262 innings pitched and 28 complete games as a freshman. She got a win against Oklahoma in the World Series semifinals. Though Oklahoma bounced back and beat the Gators in the double-elimination tournament on the way to its fourth consecutive title, Rothrock made the all-tournament team. Aminah Vega, Duke Vega was a first-team NFCA All-American at second base and helped Duke make its first-ever World Series appearance. She hit .369 with 12 home runs and 52 RBIs as a sophomore last season. She had a .433 on-base percentage and a .668 slugging percentage, spurring a program that just started playing softball in 2018 to its highest heights yet. In 2023, she hit 12 home runs to set the school's freshman record. ___ AP sports:
Associated Press
06-02-2025
- Sport
- Associated Press
Texas Tech's NiJaree Canady leads AP's college softball players to watch
Texas Tech's NiJaree Canady leads The Associated Press' list of college softball players to watch this season. Last year's USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year sent shockwaves through the sport when she transferred from Stanford to Texas Tech for an NIL deal reportedly worth more than $1 million. She led the nation with 337 strikeouts and a 0.73 ERA last season and led the Cardinal to the Women's College World Series semifinals. The Big 12's coaches have picked Texas Tech to finish second in the conference behind Oklahoma State. Here are other players to watch, in alphabetical order: Reese Atwood, Texas Atwood was a Top 3 finalist for USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year last season. The junior catcher set school records last season for home runs (23), runs batted in (90), total bases (163) and slugging percentage (.862) and led the team with a .423 batting average. Last season, she helped the Longhorns earn the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament and finish as national runners-up. Jordyn Bahl, Nebraska Bahl transferred from Oklahoma to Nebraska before last season and suffered a season-ending ACL injury in her first game for the Huskers. She won two national titles at Oklahoma. As a sophomore, she had a 22-1 record and an 0.90 ERA. She threw 24 2/3 scoreless innings at the 2023 Women's College World Series and was named its Most Outstanding Player. She will hit and possibly play some first base after almost exclusively being a pitcher at Oklahoma. Jaysoni Beachum, Florida State Beachum was the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Freshman of the Year and a top 10 finalist for USA Softball National Player of the Year. She also was an NFCA second-team All-American at third base. She hit .417 last season — the third-highest average in school history. She set Florida State's freshman record with 66 RBIs and led the team in hits (78), home runs (16) and on-base percentage (.509). Jocelyn Erickson, Florida Erickson was the NFCA National Player of the Year last season after leading Florida to the World Series semifinals. The catcher ranked second nationally with a school-record 86 RBIs. She hit .382 and had a .994 fielding percentage. She finished in the top 10 in the Southeastern Conference in 15 categories in a dominant first year for the Gators after transferring from Oklahoma. Jenna Golembiewski, Miami (Ohio) Golembiewski was the Mid-American Conference Player of the Year in 2023, then she got better. She finished second in the nation with 28 home runs last season behind teammate Karli Spaid. She was a third-team NFCA All-American after hitting .394 with 78 RBIs in 57 games. She had a .474 on-base percentage and a .944 slugging percentage. Ella Parker, Oklahoma Parker is one of the few big-name holdovers from last year's championship run. The utility player was a third-team NFCA All-American and a top-three finalist for NFCA Freshman of the Year. She hit .415 with 13 home runs, 15 doubles and 17 stolen bases. She was the Most Outstanding Player of the Big 12 Tournament and was on the World Series all-tournament team. Karlyn Pickens, Tennessee Pickens was a top 10 finalist for USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year last season. She posted a 22-7 record with a 1.12 ERA. The 2024 SEC Pitcher of the Year had 225 strikeouts in 188 1/3 innings, had 12 shutouts and threw 15 complete games. She held opponents to a .156 batting average. Keagan Rothrock, Florida Rothrock led the nation with 33 wins, 262 innings pitched and 28 complete games as a freshman. She got a win against Oklahoma in the World Series semifinals. Though Oklahoma bounced back and beat the Gators in the double-elimination tournament on the way to its fourth consecutive title, Rothrock made the all-tournament team. Aminah Vega, Duke Vega was a first-team NFCA All-American at second base and helped Duke make its first-ever World Series appearance. She hit .369 with 12 home runs and 52 RBIs as a sophomore last season. She had a .433 on-base percentage and a .668 slugging percentage, spurring a program that just started playing softball in 2018 to its highest heights yet. In 2023, she hit 12 home runs to set the school's freshman record. ___
