ORLANDO – A program-record 75 RBI season, 123 combined hits, 22 combined home runs and career-bests in a myriad of statistical categories, all of which mark only a start in qualifying the successful 2022 seasons enjoyed by UCF softball veterans Jada Cody and Shannon Doherty.
The production from the duo has since aided in garnering attention and heightened respect for the program on a national level, though the pair is also receiving their much-deserved individual recognition as well.
Extra Inning Softball has released its 2023 Extra Elite 100 College Player Rankings, a poll in which Cody has been tagged the No. 33 player in the nation overall and fifth among catchers and utility players. Doherty also earned a spot on the list, pulling in at No. 20 at first base.
Cody, a junior entering her fourth year with the Knights, relished in her breakout season throughout the 2022 campaign. Her 75 RBI represented a program record, topping Stephanie Best's previous mark of 66 in 2003, and the Murrieta, California native hit an impressive .361/.439/.701 in 63 games.
She collected 33 extra-base hits, including 15 doubles, three triples and 15 home runs, and her slugging percentage of .701 represented the fifth-best mark in the American Athletic Conference. Cody set career-bests in virtually every statistical category as well, including batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, RBI, hits, runs scored, doubles, triples, home runs and walks.
For her efforts, Cody was also recognized with All-Conference First Team honors in The American, NFCA All-Region Second Team honors, Softball America Second Team All-America honors, and D1Softball.com First Team All-America honors. She twice garnered Conference Player of the Week honors in The American as well.
Doherty, also a junior entering her fourth season with UCF, joined Cody as the lone two Knights to start each of UCF's 63 games last season. Her season was highlighted by a team-leading three walk-off hits, including a pair of home runs and a double.
The Coral Springs, Florida native clubbed an emotional walk-off homer in the eighth inning of UCF's season-opener against Georgia Feb. 10, lifting her team to a 7-6 win over the Bulldogs before doing the same later that month, hitting a decisive three-run home run in the seventh inning of the Knights' 6-3 win against Ole Miss Feb. 25. Her third walk-off hit punctuated a marathon 11-inning, 5-4 win against Virginia Tech April 4.
Overall, Doherty also enjoyed an impressive year with the Knights in 2022, hitting .308/.459/.500 with 18 extra-base hits (10 doubles, one triple and seven triples) in her 63 games.
In her second season as a daily fixture in head coach Cindy Ball-Malone's lineup, Doherty posted career-best marks as a starter in average, on-base percentage, runs scored, hits, doubles, triples, walks and stolen bases. She reached double figures in stolen bases for the first time with 10 as well and remains a perfect 13-for-13 in her career in stolen base attempts.
The Knights will open their season with four games in three days during the Black & Gold Classic hosted at the UCF Softball Complex in early February. Their season-opener against Georgia is slated for Feb. 9 at 6 p.m.
