Nebraska’s Jordy Frahm Will Not Play Professional Softball in 2026, Sources Confirm

LINCOLN, NEB. — Nebraska two-way star Jordy Frahm will not play professional softball in 2026, multiple sources confirmed to Sports Illustrated, removing the most anticipated unsigned prospect from the AUSL draft pool ahead of the May 4 draw on ESPN2.

Decision Confirmed, No Public Statement

Frahm, a three-time NFCA First Team All-American and the 2025 NFCA Division I Player of the Year, has not publicly addressed the decision. The University of Nebraska has not issued a statement. Sports Illustrated, which first reported her plans in late March, revisited the story this week as the AUSL continued distributing Golden Tickets with the draft weeks away.

According to Sports Illustrated, Frahm is carrying a 1.40 ERA with 157 strikeouts this season, alongside a .440 batting average and nine saves — the last figure a Nebraska single-season record. The Cornhuskers recently claimed the No. 1 spot in Softball America’s rankings and are heading into the final stretch of the regular season before postseason play begins.

Career Path: Oklahoma to Nebraska

Frahm — née Jordyn Bahl, a native of Papillion, Neb. — won back-to-back national championships at Oklahoma in 2022 and 2023 and was named NFCA National Freshman of the Year as a first-year, posting a 44-2 record with a 1.00 ERA and 397 strikeouts before entering the transfer portal on June 12, 2023 and committing to Nebraska to play her remaining eligibility at her home-state school.

Her Husker debut ended in a season-ending left ACL injury on Feb. 8, 2024 against Washington. She returned in 2025 and was named NFCA Division I Player of the Year — the first Big Ten player to win Player of the Year and Pitcher of the Year in the same season. Frahm married former Nebraska baseball player Trey Frahm in the offseason.

What Her Absence Means for the May 4 Draft

Frahm’s opt-out reshapes the May 4 draft in concrete ways. Her combination of pitching and hitting — she takes every turn in the circle and bats in the heart of the lineup — made her one of the most anticipated names for an AUSL Golden Ticket. The league’s expansion to six franchises for 2026 created new roster openings, and the scarcity of true two-way players had elevated her projected value heading into the spring.

Fifteen Golden Tickets have been awarded so far, going to players including NiJaree Canady, Reese Atwood, Leighann Goode, Karlyn Pickens, and most recently Florida’s Jocelyn Erickson and Kenleigh Cahalan, UCLA’s Malia Grant, Kinsley Woolery, and Chloe Tinsley, and Oregon’s Amari Harper. Two more tickets are expected before the draft. Frahm had been widely projected to receive one.

The six AUSL franchises — the Carolina Blaze, Chicago Bandits, Oklahoma City Spark, Portland Cascade, Texas Volts, and Utah Talons — now build their draft boards without the most versatile two-way player in college softball. Any team that projected a Frahm selection into its roster plan will need to recalibrate heading into May 4.

Looking Ahead

The decision does not close off professional softball permanently. Sports Illustrated noted that playing professionally is “not entirely off the table” for Frahm, with the 2028 Olympics among the longer-range possibilities. She remains one of 36 athletes on the USA Softball Women’s National Team Talent Pool, keeping her path to international competition open regardless of this season’s choice.

Nebraska has three home games remaining before the Cornhuskers head into postseason play.