Two-time national champion pitcher Jordy Bahl will continue her softball career at Nebraska, she announced on social media Thursday. The most outstanding player at the recent Women’s College World Series, Bahl announced her intent Monday to leave Oklahoma after she finished 44-2 in two All-America seasons.
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Here’s what you need to know:
- Bahl started three of Oklahoma’s five games at the WCWS, pitching 24 2/3 scoreless innings. She struck out 33 batters and saved the championship game victory for OU against Florida State.
- Oklahoma finished 61-1 in 2023 and won its final 53 games. Bahl allowed just five runs in more than 100 innings in the circle from March 14 until the Sooners won the title. She threw 26 complete games and 15 shutouts while at OU and was named the national freshman of the year in 2022.
- Bahl graduated from Papillion-LaVista High School in Papillion, Neb. She won three state championships in Nebraska’s largest classification and was named the Gatorade National Player of the Year in 2021. She originally committed to Nebraska in 2017 but decommitted and pledged to Oklahoma before her junior year.
After 2 years of wonderful memories, I’m excited for 2 more representing the Nebraska Cornhuskers. This state, these people, and this N are all things I’m excited, proud, and thankful to be a part of. @HuskerSoftball pic.twitter.com/TctJwJgik3
— Jordyn Bahl (@jordybahl) June 15, 2023
What Bahl said
Bahl said in the statement about her decision to transfer that she planned to “return home and be Jordy Bahl the softball player, but more importantly the person.”
She said she wants to grow the game in her home state.
“I am excited to finish the softball journey right where it began,” she said in the statement.
Why did Bahl come home?
It’s about getting closer to her family and her foundation in life. Bahl has talked openly about the desire to feel fulfilled personally and in sports. She said after winning her first championship at Oklahoma that she understood why some athletes experience a low after reaching the top.
“You’re constantly chasing that one thing,” she said on the Max Out Mindset podcast. “You’re constantly chasing the national championship. And then once you get it, it’s like you have this high, and then you have this letdown. Because it’s like, ‘Well, that didn’t really fill me up as much as I thought it would.’”
Bahl has remained close with softball contacts in Nebraska. Clearly, she has a desire to make an impact within the communities that shaped her as a person and as an athlete.
What does this mean for Nebraska?
It’s huge. And it impacts much more than the softball team, which has advanced to the NCAA Regionals in each of the past two years and last qualified for the WCWS in 2013. Bahl is a sports icon in Nebraska. She can command a substantial NIL package — and actually earn it. Her endorsement will generate revenue, and she no doubt will infuse energy into coach Rhonda Revelle’s softball program, both in drawing fans and in attracting recruits and potential transfers who want to play with Bahl.
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She will rate among the most recognizable athletes on campus in Lincoln. Bahl, a junior in 2024, represents a new category of athlete at Nebraska in the NIL era. She brings name recognition as a homegrown star and qualifications as a proven champion.
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(Photo: Brian Bahr / Getty Images)
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