ORLANDO – D1Softball.com continued its 2023 preseason positional power rankings series with designated player and utility Thursday afternoon, and the publication slotted Knights junior Jada Cody into the top spot in the nation among utility players.
Cody, who earlier in the offseason was ranked the No. 14 player in the country overall by D1Softball, bested Utah's Ellessa Bonstrom, Oklahoma's Alynah Torres, UCLA's Megan Grant, and Louisiana's Jourdyn Campbell for the top honors at utility.
The Murrieta, Calif., native started Opening Knight at third base last season, where she made 24 of her 63 starts throughout the season, though she saw the majority of her time behind the plate, making 31 starts at catcher. Cody also made seven starts in left field and one at second base.
She was one of two Knights to start each of UCF's 63 games last season, joining junior first base regular Shannon Doherty. In addition to a stellar season in the field that saw her set a season-high in fielding percentage with a .978 mark, committing only seven errors against 237 putouts and 68 assists, she enjoyed a prolific season at the plate as well.
Cody enters the 2023 campaign looking to build upon a breakout offensive 2022 slate, during which she set the Knights' single-season RBI record with 75, topping UCF Hall of Famer Stephanie Best's previous mark of 66 that she set in 2003 and representing the fourth-most in the nation. Her final RBI of the season came by way of a solo homer in Game 2 of the Super Regionals against the eventual-national champion and top-ranked Oklahoma, marking the first run scored in Super Regional play in UCF program history.
She also set season-highs in a myriad of offensive statistical categories throughout the year, including RBI, batting average (.361), on-base percentage (.439), slugging percentage (.701), runs scored (48), hits (70), doubles (15), triples (3), home runs (15), walks (27) and total bases (136).
The honor from D1Softball is the latest award on an ever-growing resume for Cody, as she was also ranked No. 5 in the nation by Extra Inning Softball's preseason positional utility/catcher rankings and No. 31 in the country overall by Softball America, in addition to D1Softball's No. 14 overall ranking.
OPENING WEEKEND
The Knights open their season against the Georgia Bulldogs at 6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 9, marking the second straight season that UCF has drawn an Opening Knight matchup against Georgia. The season-opener is the first of four games the Knights will play during the Black & Gold Classic at the UCF Softball Complex, followed by a pair of Friday matchups against UMass and Boise State Feb. 10 and a Saturday evening tilt against Ohio State Feb. 11.
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