OKLAHOMA CITY — Nebraska ace Jordy Frahm pitched the Women’s College World Series — and the majority of her senior season — while pregnant with her first child.
Frahm (née Bahl) announced the news Monday on Instagram, the day after the Cornhuskers were eliminated from the WCWS quarterfinals. She married former Nebraska baseball pitcher Trey Frahm in the offseason. The baby is due in December.
The two-time USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year held a perfect game going into the fifth against Texas and was five outs from a no-hitter when the Longhorns scored three to win and advance. Her first-inning home run made her the first player in NCAA history with back-to-back seasons of at least 20 wins in the circle and 20 home runs in the box. It was Nebraska’s only run.
Days earlier, the first back-to-back NFCA Player of the Year pitched a herculean 10-inning gem to keep the Huskers in the competition.
She indicated after the loss that there would be news in the coming days, following a season in which her future was kept mum.
“God’s fingerprints were all over this team, all over my story, all over my career,” she said. “I do truly believe that the way today ended is a part of that story, as well. The fruits that will come from it later on are things that will be revealed down the road.”
It was a shocker when one of the most prominent names in the sport did not receive an AUSL Golden Ticket, a surprise presentation by the pro league that notifies players they have been drafted. She won two national championships at Oklahoma before transferring home to Nebraska to be closer to family and the things “that have made me who I am and that have always been more important to me than this game.”
She tore her ACL in the first game back and redshirted, then came back better than ever.
The righty cares deeply about growing the game. Her return rejuvenated the program, with packs of children asking for autographs at the WCWS and selling out Nebraska merchandise. The way she’s lifted the sport and the school’s place in it is similar to what Caitlin Clark did at Iowa.
“The cool thing about that is just because I’m done playing now, that doesn’t have to be over, that doesn’t have to end,” Frahm said on Sunday night. “Growing the game will now just look different. It will still be the same love for wanting to grow the sport, especially in the state of Nebraska, but all over the country. Just the way I go about that will look a little different now.”
Frahm is one of the 36 players named to the 2026 Women’s National Team Athlete Pool. Three group stages will be held throughout the year to determine which countries will play in the WBSC Women’s Softball World Cup final in April 2027.
USA Softball CEO Craig Cress told Yahoo Sports last week that Frahm might have “different priorities” than a player like Clark.
“She’s on our list right now,” Cress told Yahoo Sports on the first day of the tournament. “From her standpoint, it’s completely her decision. I’m hoping she does. I really am. I think she’d be great in the red, white and blue from that standpoint, but I also respect people who make different decisions in life and stuff like that.”
The 2028 Los Angeles Olympics will hold its softball competition in Oklahoma City at USA Softball’s Devon Park. The tournament is in July 2028, giving Frahm time to return from the birth of her first child should she choose to pursue a career on Team USA.
Two-time Olympic medalist Jennie Finch gave birth to her oldest son, Ace, in 2006 in between winning gold at the 2024 Games and a silver in 2008. Jessica Mendoza played on both of those teams, as well as the three world championship teams in 2002, 2006 and 2010. She had her first child in 2009.
Frahm completed her collegiate career with a 1.29 ERA and 937 strikeouts. She was as dangerous at the plate, hitting .422 with a 1.356 OPS, 126 RBI and 43 home runs.
