Jada Cody is UCF Softball's starting third baseman. You'll usually find her right in the middle of the lineup, causing trouble for whoever she is facing off against in the circle. A sophomore from Murrieta, California, Cody was an instrumental player on a UCF offense that set program records for highest team batting average (.301) and most home runs (57) in 2021. After the Knights' historic season came to a close in May, Cody has had some time to reflect on the past year and answer some questions about what she is up to today. Hear what she had to say below:
What have you been up to this summer?
"I went home for two weeks and just got back to UCF [the week of June 14]. For the most part, I will be staying in Florida for the rest of the summer to continue training. I've been working out on campus with some other players from the team. Every day, I've been working out, running, and hitting. I've been sticking to [Sports Performance Coach Katelyn Kight's] plan for us, just trusting that she knows our potential and trusting her workout process. I want to work on getting stronger, faster and just continue to push myself."
What was your favorite memory from this past year?
"My favorite memory has to be from Halloween. It was different than usual because of COVID, but our coaches were able to have us all together for a costume party. We played kickball and held a costume contest. It was so much fun to see people running around in their costumes. We also watched movies after and had a ton of good food. It was really our first bonding opportunity as a team because of COVID."
How was this season different because of the Coronavirus and how did the team navigate the unique obstacles that came with this season?
"It was definitely hard and challenging but knowing that every team and every sport had to go through it made it a little bit easier. At the beginning of the year, during the fall, we were split into practice pods, with one pod practicing in the morning and the other going later in the day, which divided us up and limited our bonding and learning opportunities with each other. So, a big challenge around this season was trying to find that way to bond with our teammates, especially the freshman, without breaking protocol."
What was it like playing in high leverage games like the conference title and regional championship games?
"The difference between the regular season and postseason is, in the regular season, if you lose, you can bounce back because you know there's always the next game, but in the postseason, you never know when your last game is. The postseason can really expose if you were taking things for granted or not. It really gave me a different perspective on the game and made me realize you should live every moment in that moment.
"We had a lot of talent, but at the end of the season, we came together and played together for the seniors. I think playing for them was one of the reasons why we made it so far into the postseason. We were playing for something bigger than ourselves. We also trusted in our coaches and knew that coach [Ball-Malone] was going to get us to where we needed to go. Our expectation for next season is to win the conference title and go even further in the NCAA Tournament. We have every ability to do that."
Team XX (2021 UCF Softball) set the record for highest batting average (.301) and most home runs (57) in a single season. Why do you think this year's team was so dominant with a bat in their hands?
"The hitting philosophy that coach [Ball-Malone] preaches is to drive outside pitches and be ready for the changeup. Once you master those two components, you put yourself in such a good spot, because if someone can't beat you outside or on a changeup, they have to beat you on another pitch that is much more hittable. We did a lot of hitting this year and that really helped us this season."