Jala Wright

Photo by: Duke Athletics

Jala Wright -- 2024 ACC Softball Championship tournament MVP

Photo by: Duke Athletics

Jala Wright pitches in the 2024 ACC Softball Championship

Photo by: Duke Athletics

Jala Wright pitches in the 2024 ACC Tournament

Photo by: Duke Athletics

Jala Wright earns the win for Duke in the circle

Photo by: Duke Athletics

Jala Wright pitches during the 2022 Durham Regional final

Photo by: Duke Athletics

Position:
Pitcher
Height:
5-10
Class:
Senior
Hometown:
Charlotte, N.C.
Prev School:
Michigan State

Honors:
NCAA Woman of the Year - Top 30 Finalist (2024)
NFCA All-America - Second Team (2024)
D1Softball All-America - Second Team (2024)
SoftballAmerica All-America - First Team (2024)
USA Softball Player of the Year - Top 25 Finalist (2024)
NFCA All-Region - First Team (2024)
ACC All-Tournament MVP (2024)
ACC Pitcher of the Year (2024)
All-ACC – Second Team (2023), First Team (2024)
CSC Academic All-America (2024)
CSC Academic All-District (2023, 2024)
NFCA All-America Scholar-Athlete (2021, 2022, 2023, 2024)
All-ACC Academic (2022, 2023, 2024)
ACC Honor Roll (2022, 2023, 2024)

2024 – Senior: Posted a standout senior season … finished with a team-best 19-3 record after 34 appearances in the circle … posted a 1.50 ERA, which ranked 16th nationally … registered a career-high 189 strikeouts in 154.1 innings … tossed eight complete games, including five solo shutouts … set the single-game program record with 17 strikeouts against Boston College (5/9) in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament … made her Women’s College World Series debut versus No. 2 Oklahoma (5/30) … closed her collegiate career with 449 strikeouts which ranks second all-time in Duke’s record books … scored the go-ahead run against Florida State (3/17) in extra-innings to secure the program's first conference series victory over the Seminoles … named ACC Pitcher of the Week twice during the season – February 13 and March 5 … unanimously voted ACC Pitcher of the Year … became just the second Blue Devil to be named ACC Tournament MVP.

2023 – Junior: Threw 133.2 innings in 37 appearances in the circle, making 22 starts … owns a 12-4 record with a 2.51 ERA … collected a season-high 10 strikeouts in Duke’s 8-0 win over UNCW in five innings … earned the win over No. 4 Arkansas after a stellar outing, working 3.2 innings and allowing one earned run off two hits with seven strikeouts … threw complete games against Viginia Tech (April 2), UNC Wilmington (April 5) and Georgia Tech (April 21) … reached 250 career strikeouts after fanning seven during the nightcap of the doubleheader against Georgia Tech … tossed a career-high 8.0 innings in the series-opener against Boston College (April 16) … part of combined no-hitter against Charleston Southern with classmate Lillie Walker, the pair allowed just four runners to reach base on three walks and an error … ranked eighth in the ACC in strikeouts with 127 on the year.

2022 - Sophomore: Pitched in 27 games and making 19 starts, going 13-5 with a 2.09 ERA (107.0 IP) ... Tallied five complete games and struck out 115 batters on the season ... Went 13.1 consecutive scoreless innings from Feb. 18-25 ...Threw a solo no hitter over five innings in a win over Army, striking out seven on Feb. 24 ... Struck out a career-high 11 batters over seven complete innings in a win over NC State on March 11 ... Earned her first postseason start in the ACC quarterfinal, earning the win over Georgia Tech by allowing just three hits and two runs on May 12 ... Struck out eight her next two postseason games against Florida State and then Georgia in the NCAA Regional ... Was the key pitcher in the NCAA Regional clinching win over Georgia, throwing three hitless relief innings in game two on May 22 ... Went six innings, allowing no earned runs in the program's first NCAA Super Regional game at UCLA on May 27 ... Also tallied two hits as a pinch hitter against Florida A&M and James Madison ... Named to D1Softball's Top-150 Rankings at the end of the year (#125).

2021 - Freshman (Michigan State): Appeared in 15 games as a freshman, starting four and throwing 25 combined innings ... Posted a 7.00 ERA and 1-5 record, striking out 18 compared to issuing just nine walks ... Made two starts during the B1G opening weekend in Leesburg, Fla, where she tossed 6.1 innings in one appearance each against Northwestern, and Nebraska ... Went 3.2 innings in relief vs. Illinois, and then 1.2 vs. Minnesota, in which she surrendered just a pair of hits ... Threw three innings in the Rutgers series (3/26-28), allowing a pair of base hits and striking out three ... Threw in two of the games of the Maryland series (4/9-10), striking out five in 5.0 innings ... Threw one inning in relief at Michigan (4/12), striking out two and surrendering two base hits ... Started one of the four games against Purdue, striking out one and going 2.2 innings ... Threw one relief outing in the Indiana series (4/30-5/2) without surrendering a hit ... Had one relief appearance against Wisconsin (5/8), striking out two.

High School: CISAA First Team All-State and the Conference Player of the Year after hitting .558 with an on-base percentage of .655 last spring for Providence Day School ... All-Charlotte Observer in 2019 … All-conference player the last two seasons … Earned Most Defensive Player (2016-17) ... Honor roll all four years of high school ... Participated in cheerleading in 2019.

Club: Ranked No. 53 by Flo Softball 2020 Extra Elite 100 Rankings … Played for Firecrackers in Woodstock, GA under Brian Cochran… Previously played for the Carolina Cardinals ... Carolina Cardinals finished third at the in Colorado Firework tournament in 2019 and also finished 25th at PGF Nationals ... Led team in batting average fall of 2018 and summer of 2019 ... Ranked 73rd in Flo Softball Class of 2020 in September 2016 ... Ranked 53rd in Extra Inning Softball Class 2020 in September 2017 ... Ranking moved to 23rd in Extra Inning Softball Class of 2020 in September 2018 ... Lost just two games in the circle in the spring/summer of 2019 … Ranked 73rd by Flo Softball in 2016, 53rd by Extra Inning softball in the fall of 17, and 23rd by the same publication in Fall 2018.

Personal: Daughter of Jocqua Wright and Felicia Morings ... Father played baseball at University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Rutgers University and then in the Seattle Mariners organization.