Nebraska softball’s Jordyn Bahl named Big Ten Player, Pitcher of the Year

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — Five Nebraska softball players were honored by the Big Ten Conference on Friday, highlighted by Jordyn Bahl being named Big Ten Player and Pitcher of the Year.

Ava Kuszak and Bahl were recognized as first-team All-Big Ten selections, while Samantha Bland and Hannah Camenzind were named to the All-Big Ten second team.

Bland was also a member of the All-Defensive team at third base and Haidyn Warner was the Huskers’ Sportsmanship honoree.

Bahl is the first player in conference history to be named Player of the Year and Pitcher of the Year in the same season.

Only three players before her have won both awards in their careers: Sara Griffin (Michigan), Nikki Nemitz (Michigan) and Sara Groenewegen (Minnesota).

Bahl is Nebraska’s first conference Player of the Year since Peaches James was honored by the Big 12 in 2004. She is the first Pitcher of the Year since Tatum Edwards was the Big Ten Pitcher of the Year in 2013.

The Papillion native is now a three-time conference Pitcher of the Year, winning Big 12 Pitcher of the Year at Oklahoma in 2022 and 2023.

Bahl is the sixth pitcher ever at a power conference school to be a three-time conference Pitcher of the Year.

Offensively, Bahl is batting .467 with 16 doubles, two triples, 19 home runs, 59 RBIs, 61 runs scored, 71 hits, a .549 on-base percentage and a .974 slugging percentage.

She ranks second in the conference in hits and runs, third in slugging, fourth in on-base percentage, fifth in doubles and sixth in homers and RBIs.

In the circle, the junior is 23-5 on the season with a 1.46 ERA, two saves and 243 strikeouts in 168.1 innings.

Bahl has the lowest ERA in the Big Ten and ranks in the top 10 nationally in shutouts (7), strikeouts (243) and opponent batting average (.149).

In 51 games this season, Bahl has scored more runs (61) as a batter than she has allowed in the circle (57) as a pitcher.

Bahl is on pace to break numerous school records.

Kuszak is the seventh player in Nebraska history to have 50+ hits, runs and RBIs in a single season.

She has been a strong force for the Huskers, both offensively and defensively. She has 19 home runs on the season, which ranks fourth in school history.

Her batting average of .423 would rank second in program history if the season ended today, as would her .899 slugging percentage.

Bland is the only player to have started every game this season for the Big Red.

The sophomore bats .301 on the season and adds 47 runs, 47 hits, 40 RBIs, eight doubles, a triple and 10 homers on a .558 slugging percentage.

Defensively, she has 33 putouts and 91 assists on a .947 fielding percentage.

In her first season playing third base, Bland was perfect on 60 chances during Big Ten play to post a 1.000 fielding percentage.

Camenzind bats .362 on the season and has 36 hits, 50 runs, 36 RBIs, 14 doubles and eight homers with a .638 slugging percentage and .461 on-base percentage.

Camenzind has also appeared in the circle in 11 games for the Big Red, she has an ERA of 3.21 with a record of 5-2 across 61.0 innings pitched.

Warner rounds out Nebraska’s award winners, as she was named the Huskers’ Sportsmanship honoree.

She was a member of the Tom Osborne Citizenship Team and was NU’s Sam Foltz 27 Hero Leadership Award recipient.