Cody, Willis Earn NFCA Midwest All-Region Honors

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – On the eve of the UCF softball team’s NCAA Tournament Regional opener, a pair of Knights collected a bit more hardware to bring back to Orlando.

As announced by the organization Saturday afternoon, fifth-year utility player Jada Cody was recognized with NFCA Midwest All-Region First Team honors, while senior right-handed pitcher Sarah Willis garnered a selection to the NFCA Midwest All-Region Second Team.

JADA CODY – NFCA MIDWEST ALL-REGION FIRST TEAM

Cody’s appointment represents the third All-Region honor the Murrieta, California, native has received in her career and the first time she has earned First Team accolades. The utility player was previously named to the NFCA’s Mideast All-Region Second Team in 2022 after earning an NFCA Mideast All-Region Third Team selection in 2021.

The fifth year produced a strong final season to conclude her storied Knights career, as she brings into tournament play a .348/.398/.598 line (57-for-164), accompanied by 31 runs scored, 12 doubles, four triples, seven home runs, 14 walks, 28 RBI and 98 total bases.

Her average and slugging percentage both represent the second-highest single-season marks of her five-year UCF tenure, and she enters Friday afternoon’s clash with Auburn having hit safely in five straight games and seven of her last eight, owning a .417 (10-for-24) average accompanied by three multi-hit games, two home runs, two doubles, 18 total bases and five RBI in that span.

Her four triples this season also rank tied for fourth most in the Big 12 Conference, just two behind Emily Hott’s six (Baylor) for the league lead in the category.

In 30 games against teams ranked within the top 75 in the NCAA’s RPI rankings, Cody recorded a .286/.365/.462 (26-for-91) line that included 12 runs scored, six doubles, two triples, two home runs, 12 RBI, 42 total bases and a team-leading nine multi-hit contests.

She most notably broke the UCF all-time career doubles record, swatting the 51st of her career against the Florida Atlantic Owls before scoring the Knights’ lone tally in their 1-0 victory, and enters NCAA Regional play the owner of 54 two-baggers in her collegiate career, as well as 39 career home runs, in need of one more to become the second player in program history to hit 40 long balls with the Knights.

Cody led the offensive charge against the Liberty Flames Feb. 14, tallying a double and a triple in UCF’s 7-5 victory and later notched a single-game season-high four hits in the Knights’ 21-9 rout of Wisconsin in Clearwater Feb. 16.

Her sixth-inning two-run home run against Kansas aided UCF in clinching the first Big 12 Conference win in program history March 8, and she later crushed a key three-run shot to highlight the Black and Gold’s seven-run seventh inning at Texas Tech March 29.

Cody also registered back-to-back two-hit games against BYU April 4-5, doubling in both, to help lead her squad to the first Big 12 Conference series sweep in program history.

SARAH WILLIS – NFCA MIDWEST ALL-REGION SECOND TEAM

Willis is recognized with an All-Region honor for the second time in as many seasons with the Knights after she was tabbed to 2023’s First Team. The distinction joins Willis’ All-Big 12 First Team selection as her second post-season award following the conclusion of the 2024 regular-season campaign.

In 19 appearances (14 starts) against RPI top 75 teams, Willis compiled an aggregate 2.69 ERA (32 ER) in 83.1 innings of work, spinning eight complete games, nailing down two saves and racking up 68 strikeouts while limiting her opposition to a batting average-against of just .230.

Overall, Willis’ resume entering NCAA Tournament play features a 2.44 ERA in 27 appearances (21 starts) spanning 120.1 innings, marking the second straight season that has seen the right-hander throw at least 120 frames.

Her 94 total hits allowed this spring translated to a total of 5.47 per seven innings, a mark that ranks fifth fewest in the Big 12 Conference, and her 2.44 ERA is also a top-ten mark in the league (ninth lowest) in her 120.1 innings of work that rank sixth-most in the Big 12.

The right-hander also ranks among Big 12 leaders in complete games (10, T-4th), strikeouts (103, T-5th) and batting average-against (.216, 7th).

Representing one of the more dominant starts of her four-year career, Willis’ 2024 slate is highlighted by her stingy effort against the then-No. 2 Oklahoma Sooners April 27. She yielded only two runs on two hits in seven innings, becoming the first pitcher of any school in the nation since 2022 to throw a seven-inning, two-hit complete game against the Sooners.

The effort marked one of 11 that saw Willis throw at least six innings in an appearance, as well as one of four seven-inning complete games.

Just six times in her 27 appearances did she surrender three or more runs, and in her last 12 appearances (10 starts) since nailing down a seventh-inning save at Texas Tech March 29, Willis has posted a sparkling 1.73 ERA (15 ER) in 60.2 innings pitched, tossing seven complete games and two solo shutouts in that span while striking out 45 and limiting her opposition to a batting average-against of just .187.

Willis also made history as the first pitcher in program history to earn Big 12 Pitcher of the Week honors for her production in the circle against the Houston Cougars April 12-14.

She spun a six-inning, one-hit complete game shutout in the series-opener before tossing five innings of two-run ball in the series finale to help clinch the series sweep, totaling 11 innings, 10 strikeouts, a 1.27 ERA and a batting average-against of .171 in the three-game set.

Her two wins during the week were tied for the most of any Big 12 pitcher, and her 1.27 ERA marked the lowest of any Big 12 arm to throw at least six innings in Week 10.

UP NEXT

Cody and Willis look to lead their squad to a berth in the NCAA Tallahassee Regional Final with a win over the No. 12 Florida State Seminoles. First pitch is slated for 5 p.m. ET from JoAnne Graf Field Saturday evening and will be broadcast on ESPN+.

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