OU softball's Jordy Bahl, Tiare Jennings, Grace Lyons among top players to watch in 2023
The NCAA softball season is underway and here's a list of players to watch for the 2023 season. They include Jordy Bahl of Oklahoma. In her first college season, she went 22-1 with a 1.09 earned run average. Another is Addison Barnard of Wichita State, who was the first player in NCAA history to have at least 30 home runs and 25 stolen bases in a season. Megar Faraimo is back for UCLA, where she had a 24-5 record with seven saves and 292 strikeouts. Montana Fouts is also back for Alabama. She was a first-team NFCA All-American last season.
Some of the players to watch this softball season:
Jordy Bahl, Oklahoma
Bahl was the winning pitcher in the national title game against Texas. In her first college season, she went 22-1 with a 1.09 earned run average. She was the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Freshman of the Year and a top-10 finalist for USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year.
More:Get to know the 2023 Oklahoma Sooners softball team and schedule
Addison Barnard, Wichita State
Barnard finished second to Oklahoma’s Jocelyn Alo with 33 home runs last season, the third-best total in NCAA Division I history. The Beatrice, Nebraska, native finished second nationally with 84 RBIs. She was the first player in NCAA history to have at least 30 home runs and 25 stolen bases in a season.
More:OU softball rewind: Sooners ace Jordy Bahl getting chances at the plate early
Megan Faraimo, UCLA
Faraimo was Pac-12 pitcher of the year last season and a finalist for USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year. She had a 24-5 record with seven saves and 292 strikeouts in 198 innings. She ranks sixth in school history in strikeouts.
More:Carlson: Football is king in Oklahoma, but the next biggest sport is just as clear cut
Montana Fouts, Alabama
Fouts, a graduate student, is back for her fifth season. She was NFCA Pitcher of the Year in 2021 and a first-team NFCA All-American last season. She has been a USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year finalist three times. She threw a perfect game against UCLA in the 2021 Women’s College World Series.
More:Oklahoma State softball rewind: Lexi Kilfoyl, Tallen Edwards have impactful Cowgirl debuts
Tiare Jennings, Oklahoma
Jennings likely would have been Most Outstanding Player of the Women’s College World Series if not for teammate Jocelyn Alo. Jennings set a WCWS record with 15 RBIs and tied Alo with five home runs. She set the NCAA’s single-season freshman record with 92 RBIs in 2021, then led the nation with 87 RBIs in 2022.
More:Get to know the 2023 Oklahoma State Cowgirls softball team and schedule
Baylee Klingler, Washington
Klingler was a top-three finalist for USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year last season. She was the Pac-12 Player of the Year after leading the conference in batting average, RBIs, hits and home runs. She also made the conference’s all-defense team as an infielder.
More:'He's just jealous': Why Oklahoma State softball coach calls his pitching staff 'the cult'
Grace Lyons, Oklahoma
Lyons, an infielder, was the 2022 Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year. She was a first-team NFCA All-American and a top-10 finalist for USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year. She had hit 27 home runs in three years before last season, but exploded for 23 home runs and 70 RBIs last season.
More:Why Kelly Maxwell wants to be a Cowgirl an extra year and why it's huge for OSU softball
Kelly Maxwell, Oklahoma State
Maxwell went 21-5 with 313 strikeouts in 189 ⅔ innings last season and helped the Cowgirls reach the Women’s College World Series semifinals last season. She was a top-10 finalist for USA Softball’s Collegiate Player of the Year and co-Big 12 Pitcher of the Year with Bahl.
More:How is the OU softball team handling pressure for a three-peat? Sooners 'want to be great'
Danielle Williams, Northwestern
Williams was a first-team NFCA All-American last season after leading the Big Ten in earned run average, strikeouts and wins. She was Big Ten Pitcher of the Year and led the Wildcats to the Women’s College World Series. She ranked third nationally with 251 innings pitched and third nationally with 333 strikeouts.
More:OU softball series opener for Red River Rivalry vs. Texas moved to Oklahoma City
Kathryn Sandercock, Florida State
Sandercock ranked second nationally with 30 wins last season for a Florida State team that was the No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament. She was a force in the Women’s College World Series in 2021, helping the Seminoles reach the best-of-three championship series against Oklahoma.
—Cliff Brunt, Associated Press
More:OU softball is team to beat, but can anyone deny Sooners a third consecutive WCWS title?
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OU softball: Jordy Bahl, Grace Lyons among top NCAA players to watch
