• Star softball player Jordy Frahm’s transfer to Nebraska has been pivotal in the team’s journey to the Women’s College World Series.
• Frahm, a former two-time national champion with Oklahoma, returned to her home state to play for the Cornhuskers.
• Her presence has elevated the program, making it a desirable destination for other talented players.
• An ACL injury in 2024, which led to a redshirt season, ultimately aligned her with the current successful team.

LINCOLN, NE — The question about the importance of star softball player Jordy Frahm’s decision to transfer to Nebraska had barely left the reporter’s mouth when coach Rhonda Revelle joyously blurted out her answer.

“You mean when Jordy called me at 1:02 p.m. on June 14, and I almost drove off the road when I saw her name pop up?” Revelle said with a smile. “Not that I remember.”

No team in the Women’s College World Series, which begins Thursday at Devon Park, can track its presence in Oklahoma City back to a singular moment the way the fourth-seeded Cornhuskers can.

Frahm — then known as Jordy Bahl — left Oklahoma in the summer of 2023 after winning a pair of national championships and returned to her home state to play for a Nebraska team that had barely qualified for the NCAA Tournament.

Three years later, the Huskers are a legitimate national title contender, thanks in large part to what Frahm can do as their ace pitcher and leadoff hitter.

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She’s one of the best players in the country, posting a 20-4 record and 1.14 ERA with 234 strikeouts in 171 ⅔ innings in the circle, plus a .419 batting average, 19 home runs and 50 RBIs at the plate.

But more than her statistical contributions, her presence reinvigorated a program that had made seven WCWS appearances in its history, but only one in the previous two decades (2013).

The timing of Frahm’s phone call to Revelle couldn’t have been better — aside from the car accident it nearly caused.

It tipped over a domino that set in motion all the events that have landed the Huskers at the WCWS nearly three years later, where they’ll face fifth-seeded Arkansas at 8:30 p.m. Thursday. 

Frahm’s presence has made Nebraska a desirable program again.

“People want to play with Jordy,” Revelle said. “When people got in the portal, they would take a call from me because we have Jordy on the roster.”

When Frahm tore her ACL in February 2024, it seemed like a roadblock to the program’s new growth. But it turned out to be an alignment of future events.

Frahm redshirted, which provided the ability to play this season. 

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Without the injury, maybe the timeline would have accelerated, and Nebraska would’ve made its WCWS return last year. But the arrival of key players this season, like transfer center fielder Hannah Coor and freshman pitcher Alexis Jensen, seems to suggest Frahm was needed as the centerpiece of this squad.

“If that didn’t happen, I’m not sitting here today in my fifth year with this special team,” Frahm said. “I’ve thought about that so much this year as it’s gone on. I couldn’t have scripted this. Nobody could’ve scripted this with the way this team came together.”

And without the year of reflection and growth Frahm experienced when softball was taken away from her in 2024, she might not have become the type of leader her team needed.

“I believe that little injury is one of the best things that has ever happened to me in the world of my sports career,” Frahm said. “I just needed that year so bad, to be away from the game, be away from the pressures, be away from everything.

“Just reset and realign with my faith. The joy doesn’t come from the outcomes on the field. That year I was hurt was one of the most joyful years I’ve had and that’s just continued from there.”

Revelle, who has coached her alma mater since 1993 and compiled more than 1,200 wins, witnessed Frahm blossoming in 2024, when she couldn’t be on the field with her teammates.

“The extra year was really important for her for a reset,” Revelle said. “But also for her to get infiltrated in this program with her teammates and her coaches. The relationship she and I have built is second to none, and that extra year was really a time when we didn’t have to focus on softball to do that. So when we got to softball, there was a lot of trust that was built.  

“From the day she stepped on this campus, she raised the intensity and focus, and she brings that with her everywhere she goes.”

Scott Wright covers Oklahoma State athletics for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Scott? He can be reached at swright@oklahoman.com or on X at @ScottWrightOK. Support Scott’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com or by using the link at the top of this page.