20 Nebraskaland • October 2025
The
Circle
The Jordy Bahl story
is never about her
Story and photos by Jeff Kurrus
n softball, pitchers throw from "the circle." It's where the
game is won or lost. And on the softball field, Nebraska
native Jordy Bahl, the 2025 National Fastpitch Coaches
Association Player of the Year, commands the circle like
no other. But it's not her most important circle.
Jordy, originally from Papillion, is a three-time All-
American and a two-time national champion with the
University of Oklahoma. After winning the second of those
titles during her sophomore year with the Sooners in 2023,
she decided to come home, and transferred to the University
of Nebraska-Lincoln. In the months that followed, she
convinced a host of childhood teammates to play alongside
her with the Huskers. In 2024, when expectations for the
softball program were perhaps as high as they have ever
been, she tore the ACL in her left knee in the Huskers' first
game. Her season was over before it began.
But because of the words that are so often used to describe
her — tenacious, fierce, competitive, driven — fans knew
her comeback would be epic. And it was. Not only did her
stellar pitching return after the injury, Nebraska head coach
Rhonda Revelle and her staff allowed Jordy to hit as well,
a rare double-dip in college softball where pitchers usually
just pitch. She solidified Revelle's decision by becoming one
of the nation's best hitters, leading the Cornhuskers within
one game of their first College World Series appearance since
2013.
It is in the softball circle where Jordy appears the most
comfortable. That is until you see her don a hunting vest
and, with a shotgun in hand, walk next to family in hopes of
seeing a rooster pheasant flush.
Off the softball field, Jordy's family is her circle. They are
her comfort, peace and the ground beneath her feet.
I
Jordy Bahl and her Labrador retriever, Remi, pause during
an Otoe County pheasant hunt, after Remi's fi rst retrieve.
