LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Nebraska’s Jordy Frahm repeated as the NFCA Division I Player of the Year and Belmont’s Maya Johnson was voted the Portolite/NFCA Division I Pitcher of the Year, the Association revealed on Wednesday at the Women’s College World Series (WCWS) press conference in Oklahoma City.
Frahm joins elite company as the first student-athlete to repeat as NFCA Player of the Year* and just the third to earn multiple of-the-year awards from the Association. Johnson is the first honoree from Belmont and the Missouri Valley Conference.
*UCLA’s Rachel Garcia won the award three consecutive seasons – Player in 2018 and 2021, along with Pitcher in 2019.
As one of the most dominant two-way players in college softball, Frahm has played a pivotal role in helping Nebraska advance to the Women’s College World Series for the first time since 2013. The unanimous Joan Joyce Utility/Pitcher NFCA All-American ranks in the top 10 nationally in ERA (fourth), saves (first), shutouts (fourth), strikeout-to-walk ratio (third), strikeouts (ninth) and WHIP (seventh).
Heading into the WCWS, Frahm leads the Big Red offense with a .416 batting average and 19 home runs, and is one long ball away from being the first Husker to record 20 homers in back-to-back seasons. The senior also adds 11 doubles, 50 RBI and 57 runs scored with an .848 slugging percentage and a .516 on-base percentage for an OPS of 1.364.
In the circle, Frahm is 20-4 with a 1.15 ERA and an NCAA-best 12 saves, which are tied for the Big Ten single-season record. Frahm has fanned 234 batters, walked just 34, recorded eight shutouts and held her opposition to a .185 batting average.
Johnson, a first-team NFCA All-American, enjoyed one of the most prolific seasons in recent history as she currently is tops in six NCAA Division I pitching categories. The redshirt senior southpaw was dominant all season and leads Division I in ERA (0.78), strikeouts (397), shutouts (15), strikeouts per seven innings (12.9), WHIP (0.68), and strikeout-to-walk ratio (11.03). Johnson concluded her season with a 28-3 record, allowing just 110 hits and 24 earned runs, while striking out 397 batters and issuing only 36 walks over 215.2 innings of work. She also twirled three no-hitters in 2026, including a perfect game in her first start of the season, and recorded two signature complete-game SEC road wins at Georgia (8 H, R, 12 K, BB) and Mississippi State (1 H, 0 R, 13 K, 0 BB, HBP).
A top-10 finalist for USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year, Johnson surpassed 1,000 career strikeouts during the season and finished her career with 1,186. She opened the season with nine straight games with 11-plus punchouts and finished with 24 double-digit strikeout performances. Johnson also collected Missouri Valley Conference Pitcher of the Year and MVC Tournament MVP honors, and earned recognition as the 2026 Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame Co-Female Amateur Athlete of the Year.
The Player of the Year award was created to honor the outstanding athletic achievements among softball student-athletes. In 2019, the Association expanded the award to include a Player and Pitcher of the Year.
The awards are voted on by the selected members of the NFCA Division I All-American Committee with one head coach representing each of the NFCA’s 10 regions. To be eligible, a student-athlete’s head coach must be a member and athletes must also be first-team All-Americans.
Player & Pitcher of the Year Winners
2026 - Jordy Frahm, Nebraska (Player) / Maya Johnson, Belmont (Pitcher)
2025 – Jordy Bahl, Nebraska (Player) / NiJaree Canady, Texas Tech (Pitcher)
2024 – Jocelyn Erickson, Florida (Player) / NiJaree Canady, Stanford (Pitcher)
2023 – Skylar Wallace, Florida (Player) / Ashley Rogers, Tennessee (Pitcher)
2022 – Jocelyn Alo, Oklahoma (Player) / Georgina Corrick, USF (Pitcher)
2021 – Rachel Garcia, UCLA (Player) / Montana Fouts, Alabama (Pitcher)
2019 – Abbey Cheek, Kentucky (Player) / Rachel Garcia, UCLA (Pitcher)
2018 – Rachel Garcia, UCLA
2017 – Megan Good, James Madison University
2016 – Sierra Romero, Michigan
The NFCA (National Fastpitch Coaches Association) is the professional organization for fastpitch softball coaches. Known for its highly-regarded NFCA Player & Pitcher of the Year Awards, the NFCA also educates and supports softball coaches on a variety of different levels: from podcasts to a comprehensive drills database, to in-person events and National Convention.
Learn more about the NFCA and consider joining over 7,000 coaches today!
