Nebraska’s Jordy Frahm has Player of the Year case voters will almost certainly overlook

Jordy Frahm came to Nebraska hoping to help the Huskers do exactly what they're doing. In the process, not only has she shown herself to be one of the best pitchers in the game, but she's also been one of the best hitters. She's been called the Shohei Ohtani of her sport, but she takes what Ohtani has accomplished and does him one better. Frahm is also one of the best closers in softball. Despite all of that, it's unlikely she'll be named the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year, even though she's one of the final three.

The finalists for that award were announced on Monday, and alongside Frahm are UCLA slugger Megan Grant and Florida State's Isa Torres. Unfortunately for the Husker pitcher and hitter, Grant seems like the odds-on favorite to take home Player of the Year after she broke the college softball record for home runs in a season with 40.

Of course, regionals and super regionals will factor into who gets chosen, even if they're not the deciding factor. Grant hit another two home runs in those regionals to get to 40 round trippers. Meanwhile, Frahm is coming off a Lincoln Regional in which she appeared in all three games for Nebraska, starting one. She came away with a 1-0 record and two saves with 24 strikeouts while allowing one hit, one walk, and two hit-by-pitches.

While no one on the Huskers had a great regional offensively, Frahm hit .333 over the three games, keeping her status as a team leader. This season, Frahm leads the Big Red offense with a .421 batting average and 19 home runs. She has collected 50 RBIs, 11 doubles, and 57 runs scored, a slugging percentage of .848, and an on-base percentage of .516.

Jordy Frahm has Nebraska softball staring at a possible Player of the Year snub

If Frahm were to hit one more home run this season, she would become the first Nebraska softball star with multiple 20-plus home run seasons. She could also be the first to have another 20-homer, 20-win season with one more victory in the circle.

When she's pitched, she's posted a 1.15 ERA, which ranks fourth in the NCAA. She also tallied a 19-4 record (so far) with 15 complete games. Oh, and when she's taking the ball for the final two innings of the game, she leads the entire sport in saves with 12.

While the award is all about the best overall player, and it would be hard to argue that it's anyone other than Frahm, these kinds of honors tend to go to the people who make the most headlines. Grant blasting home run after home run certainly got a barrel full of ink. But her 40 homers were also just three more than the Player who finished second.

Jordy Frahm put together the kind of season that is one for the ages. She was dominant at the plate, as a starting pitcher, and as a reliever in the games she didn't start. She needs to be the Player of the Year, but it feels like being a member of Nebraska might be a strike against her as well, as the Huskers are far from a traditional power. Still, when the winner is announced ahead of the WCWS, any name getting called besides Frahm would count as a mistake and a heck of a snub.

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