Jada Cody to begin professional career with WPF's Texas SmokeJada Cody to begin professional career with WPF's Texas Smoke

Jada Cody to begin professional career with WPF's Texas Smoke

by Ryan Ladika

ORLANDO – One of the most decorated athletes in UCF softball’s program history, utility player Jada Cody is not done yet.

As announced by the team Friday afternoon, Cody will continue her playing career in the professional ranks following the completion of her collegiate eligibility, signing with the Texas Smoke of the WPF (Women’s Professional Fastpitch) league.

With the announcement, Cody becomes the second Knights alum to take her talents to the next level this summer, after right-handed pitcher/outfielder Sarah Willis officially signed on to compete in Athletes Unlimited’s AUX competition in June.

Cody also becomes the first Knight since right-hander Gianna Mancha to sign with WPF, after Mancha was drafted by the Smash it Sports Vipers with the fifth overall pick of the WPF 2022 College Draft in May 2022.

In the Smoke, Cody will join a squad that most recently won the 2023 WPF regular-season championship over the USSSA Pride, becoming the first team in the league’s history to claim a regular-season title.

The veteran utility player will join the Smoke on the heels of a storied five-year collegiate career in Orlando, one that featured a 2022 First Team All-American selection (D1Softball.com), a 2022 Second Team All-American selection (Softball America), three NFCA All-Region selections and three All-Conference First Team selections.

Cody concludes her UCF tenure ranking among the program’s all-time career leaders in a myriad of statistical categories, including doubles (1st), home runs (2nd), RBI (2nd), slugging percentage (2nd), runs scored (2nd), batting average (3rd), total hits (3rd), on-base percentage (4th) and triples (4th).

She broke a pair of program records throughout her Knights career as well, collecting a single-season program-record 75 RBI in 2022 before setting the new career doubles record with 54 this spring.

The Murrieta, California, native recorded a batting average north of .300 in each of her five collegiate seasons, highlighted by her .361/.439/.701 line in 2022 that garnered the All-American honors from D1Softball.com and Softball America.

Following the COVID-19-shortened 2020 campaign, Cody notched at least 52 hits, 11 doubles and 90 total bases in each of her final four collegiate seasons, and joined first baseman Shannon Doherty in factoring in to 182 total wins over her five years with the Black and Gold, an average of over 36 per year.

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