Odicci Alexander is going to the pros.
The former JMU pitcher and breakout WCWS star has been drafted to the USSSA Pride.
It makes her the third former Duke to sign with the team, including Jailyn Ford and Megan Good.
Alexander helped lead the Dukes to their first Women’s College World Series appearance in program history, throwing 1,229 total pitches throughout the tournament. She amassed an 18-3 record in the circle with a 1.71 ERA, 204 strikeouts and was named to the all-tournament team.
It’s not like this is the first year Alexander has been great at what she does. She was the 2017 Colonial Athletic Association Rookie of the Year. In 2018 and 2019 she was the CAA Player of the Year, and this year was named Pitcher of the Year.
She was also named Softball America’s 2021 NCAA Pitcher of the Year.
Yet the WCWS was the first time many had ever heard her name.
Alexander and JMU’s performance in the 2021 tournament shouldn’t have been that surprising. They’re one of the nation’s strongest mid-major programs, winning the Ann Arbor Regional in 2019 to make the Super Regional and appearing in the NCAA Tournament eight times in 10 seasons. But a lack of exposure at the national level led to them being unseeded and, to most, unassuming.
Alexander will join a Pride team that was consistently one of the best teams in National Pro Fastpitch before opting not to resign with the league. They’ve won five Cowles Cup Championships, including in 2018 and 2019.