🚨 BREAKING:Canady Named FINALIST for Prestigious Honda Award – Will She Take Home the Crown?

Jordyn Bahl from the University of Nebraska, NiJaree Canady of Texas Tech University, Bri Ellis from the University of Arkansas, and Karlyn Pickens from the University of Tennessee have been named the four finalists for the 2025 Honda Sport Award for Softball. The announcement was made today by Chris Voelz, Executive Director of the Collegiate Women Sports Awards (CWSA).

Now in its 49th year, the Honda Sport Award honors the top female athletes in 12 NCAA-sanctioned sports and represents the pinnacle of collegiate athletic achievement. The winner of the softball award will advance as a finalist for the prestigious Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year and the 2025 Honda Cup, to be awarded during a live CBS Sports Network broadcast of the Collegiate Women Sports Awards Presented by Honda on June 30 at 7 p.m. ET.

Finalists were selected by a panel of National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) experts and coaches. The winner will be determined through a nationwide vote by administrators at over 1,000 NCAA institutions.

Jordyn Bahl, a junior pitcher/utility player from Papillion, Nebraska, earned both the 2025 NFCA Division I Player of the Year and Big Ten Player of the Year titles. A three-time NFCA First Team All-American, Bahl made NCAA history as the first player to record 20+ wins and 20+ home runs in a single season. She set school records in batting average (.462), slugging percentage (.988), and home runs (23), while also ranking among national leaders with 286 strikeouts and a 1.56 ERA.

NiJaree Canady, a pitcher/utility from Topeka, Kansas, was named the 2025 NFCA Pitcher of the Year and played a key role in her team’s first-ever Women’s College World Series (WCWS) appearance. A junior and two-time NFCA First Team All-American, she currently leads the nation in ERA (0.89), wins (30), and hits allowed per seven innings (3.65). Canady is also a two-time Honda Award finalist, having won the award last year.

Senior infielder Bri Ellis from Houston, Texas, claimed the 2025 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year and SEC Player of the Year honors. She batted .440 with 26 home runs and 72 RBIs, breaking multiple school records. Her OPS of 1.729 is among the highest in recent years, and she has maintained a perfect defensive record in SEC play over the last two seasons.

Tennessee’s Karlyn Pickens, a junior pitcher from Weaverville, North Carolina, is a two-time SEC Pitcher of the Year and NFCA First Team All-American. She led her team to the WCWS with back-to-back complete game victories in the Super Regionals. Heading into the WCWS, she ranks second nationally in ERA (1.00), fifth in strikeouts (280), seventh in shutouts (7), and eighth in hits allowed per seven innings (4.22).

The CWSA celebrates the nation’s top women athletes for their achievements in sports, leadership, academics, and community involvement. Since its partnership began in 1986, Honda has contributed over $3.4 million in institutional grants to support the athletic programs of award winners and nominees.

About Honda’s Social Responsibility Initiatives
For over six decades, Honda has focused on improving the communities where its employees live and work in the U.S. Through its commitment to sustainability, diversity, and innovation, Honda—alongside the Honda USA Foundation—invests in areas such as education, environmental initiatives, mobility, traffic safety, and local community support.