Bahl Tabbed Finalist for Honda Award for Softball

Nebraska softball junior pitcher and utility player Jordyn Bahl was named a finalist for the 2025 Honda Sport Award for Softball on Friday, announced Chris Voelz, Executive Director of the Collegiate Women Sports Awards (CWSA). The other finalists include Texas Tech’s NiJaree Canady, Arkansas’ Bri Ellis and Tennessee’s Karlyn Pickens.

Bahl is the Huskers’ first nominee for the award since Ali Viola in 1998. Associate Head Coach Lori Sippel was a nominee when she played at NU in 1988. Denise Day is the Big Red’s only Honda Award for Softball winner, as she claimed the honor in 1985. 

The Honda Sport Award has been presented annually by the CWSA for the past 49 years, recognizing the top women athletes in 12 NCAA-sanctioned sports and symbolizing “the best of the best in collegiate athletics.” The recipient of the sport award will become a finalist for the prestigious Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year and the 2025 Honda Cup, which will be presented during the live broadcast of the Collegiate Women Sports Awards Presented by Honda on CBS Sports Network in June.

The Honda Sport award winner for softball will be announced after voting by administrators from over 1,000 NCAA member schools. Each NCAA member institution has a vote.  

The award adds to a long list of accolades for Bahl this season – she was the NFCA DI Player of the Year and a first-team All-American. Bahl was named both the Big Ten Player of the Year and the Big Ten Pitcher of the Year, the first player in the conference’s history to earn both awards in the same year. The junior was also named to the All-Big Ten and NFCA All-Mountain Region first teams. She was a five-time Big Ten Pitcher of the Week, a one-time Big Ten Player of the Week and a two-time NFCA National Player of the Week. 

Bahl also set numerous records for the Huskers this season. She owns the top season marks in program history in extra-base hits (41), home runs (23), runs scored (72), total bases (167), batting average (.462) and slugging percentage (.988). She became the first player in NCAA history with more than 20 wins in the circle and more than 20 home runs at the plate in the same season. She was also the second Husker ever to record 60+ hits, runs and RBIs in the same season and the first Husker with 15+ doubles and home runs in a season. Bahl is the first player since 2017 to score more runs (72) than she allowed (68) with a minimum of 130 innings pitched.

The Papillion, Neb., native finished the season with a .462 batting average and 72 runs, 78 hits, 16 doubles, two triples, 23 home runs and 66 RBIs. She logged a slugging percentage of .988 and an on-base percentage of .555. In the circle, Bahl compiled a record of 26-8 with a 1.56 ERA. She threw eight shutouts with 34 starts and 24 complete games and notched 286 strikeouts and only 46 earned runs across 206.1 innings pitched.

Bahl is ranked in the top 15 nationally in numerous categories – opponent batting average (3rd), strikeouts (3rd), hits allowed per seven innings (3rd), runs per game (4th), shutouts (4th), total bases (4th), complete games (5th), runs (5th), victories (5th), batting average (6th), strikeouts per seven innings (6th), WHIP (6th),  slugging percentage (6th), games started (7th), home runs (7th), ERA (8th), home runs per game (9th), innings pitched (10th) and on-base percentage (13th). 

The CWSA, now in its 49th year, celebrates the nation’s top NCAA women athletes for their excellence in athletics, leadership, academics, and community service. Since its partnership began in 1986, Honda has provided more than $3.4 million in institutional grants to the universities of award winners and nominees, supporting the growth and success of women’s athletics programs.