Jori Heard Named NFCA Third Team All-American
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – South Carolina softball pitcher Jori Heard has been named a Third Team All-American as announced by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Wednesday, May 27.
A two-time second team NFCA All-Region selection, the senior caps off her four years as a Gamecock with her first All-America honor. She was also named to the All-SEC First Team earlier this season.
She is the first Gamecock to garner All-America honors since Alana Vawter was also named to the third team in 2024. Heard is the sixth Carolina pitcher to earn the honor and the second since 1999.
Heard led South Carolina in every pitching category, finishing the season 12-13 with one save in 42 appearances. She tosses 174 innings with five complete games with 134 strikeouts and a 2.21 ERA. She finished the season 14th in the nation in appearances while leading the SEC and 36th in innings pitched. She ranked 40th in the nation in ERA, 61st in strikeouts, and 63rd with a 2.98 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Heard also ranked among the national leaders in games started, hits allowed per seven innings, wins, WHIP, and walks allowed per seven innings. Among active Division I career leaders, Heard ranks 17th in appearances, 39th in ERA, and 44th in strikeouts per seven innings.
Six of her wins and a save came against programs that made the NCAA Tournament while 11 of her losses came against programs that advanced to NCAA Super Regionals or were an NCAA national seed. She struck out at least one batter in 37 of her 42 appearances on the season including a season-high eight batters against Queens in 4 2-3 shutout inning (3/1).
On April 19 at Missouri, she tossed Carolina’s lone complete game shutout of the season with a 4-0 win to secure the series victory. She followed that up with a complete game 3-1 victory over then-No. 11 Texas A&M while striking out six. She helped Carlina clinch the series victory over the Aggies (4/26), allowing one run in 5 1-3 innings and striking out five.
Against defending National Champion and then-No. 3 Texas, Heard held them to two runs and nine hits in 11 1-3 innings pitched over three games. She limited then-No. 7 Tennessee (4/3) to one run on four hits in a complete game victory with three strikeouts. Against then-No. 22 LSU on March 22, she didn’t allow an earned run and struck out seven in 5 2-3 innings. In the season opener (2/5) against then-No. 18 Virginia Tech, she allowed one earned run in five innings.
The NFCA All-America teams are voted on by the Association’s All-America Committees. In Division I, the committee is composed of one elected member head coach from each of the NFCA’s 10 regions. All student-athletes who were nominated by their member head coach and voted to the first, second or third-team All-Region teams were eligible for All-America consideration. View procedures HERE.
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