ORLANDO – After a remarkable 2022 season, Jada Cody has been called up to the USA Women's National Team roster ahead of the Red, White and Blue's trip to Japan for the Japan All-Star Series. She is the first student-athlete in program history to represent the Knights on Team USA.
"It's my honor and privilege to be the first Knight to be able to wear a USA jersey," said Cody. "This is a moment I will cherish. All of the hard work and dedication is turning into reality; my little seven-year old dream is starting to unfold."
Cody was invited to try out for the national team in January of this year but ultimately fell short of a roster spot. She didn't let that stand in her way of having a record setting 2022 campaign, as Cody hit for a team-leading .361 batting average with a 1.140 OPS. She mashed 15 home runs along with tallying a single season record setting mark of 75 RBI. Cody started and played in all 63 games for the Black and Gold this past season and climbed plenty of career and single season charts along the way. Cody was named as an All-American for her efforts this past season, earning a spot on D1Softball's First Team and Softball America's Second Team.
Just recently, the Eagles won gold and the title of World Champions at the World Games, held in Birmingham, Ala. Team USA topped Japan 3-2 to secure the gold medal. UCF head coach Cindy Ball-Malone served as an assistant coach at the World Games but will not be on staff for the Japan All-Star Series.
"I'm beyond excited for Jada to be the first Knight to represent the Red, White and Blue," said Ball-Malone. "She has prepared for this opportunity and exudes the abilities that it takes to compete for and with the best athletes in the nation. This is a great opportunity for UCF to impact USA and vice versa. I absolutely love that Jada gets to play this part in growing our game and bring invaluable knowledge back to her teammates. Go Knights and Go Eagles!"
Following a series of practice sessions from August 2-5, the world-ranked No. 1 Team USA and No. 2 Japan will kick off the three-game series on Saturday, August 6 at 7 p.m. Japan Time followed by a 2 p.m. contest on Sunday, August 7 and a 7 p.m. series cap on Monday, August 8. Live stats and streaming will be announced at the later date.
Head Coach Heather Tarr (Head Coach at Washington) will lead the Red, White and Blue in Japan alongside assistant coaches Chris Malveaux (Assistant Coach at Tennessee) and Mike Steuerwald (Head Coach at Gaston College).
Cody will be one of six first timers to wear the Red, White and Blue. She is one of 15 players on the roster. Cody joins one member from the Tokyo 2020 roster, five members from the Canada Cup roster and three members from the World Games roster. Loaded with 14 student athletes from the 2022 season and one former student athlete, members of the Japan All-Star Series roster highlight five athletic conferences: Pac-12 (five athletes), Big 12 (five athletes), AAC (two athletes), SEC (two athletes) and ACC (one athlete) who represent ten NCAA Division I universities with Oklahoma tallying four athletes followed by UCLA with three athletes and Arizona, Florida State, Oklahoma State, Tennessee, Texas, UCF, Washington and Wichita State each represented by one athlete apiece.
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