Isabella Vega, a redshirt sophomore right-hander for the UCF softball team, was named Sports Illustrated National Softball Pitcher of the Week on March 11. This recognition follows her performance in leading the now-No. 15 UCF Knights to a series win over then-No. 12 Oklahoma State.
The award marks the first time a UCF pitcher has received this national honor from Sports Illustrated. It is also Vega’s second weekly honor this season and her fourth national weekly award in the past two seasons.
Vega played a key role in helping her team secure its first road win against Oklahoma State and its first overall series victory over the Cowgirls. She pitched a total of 11.2 innings during the weekend, allowing no earned runs, giving up only seven hits, striking out nine batters, and holding opponents to a .167 batting average.
In Friday’s series opener, Vega pitched a complete game, allowing just one unearned run on two hits as UCF won 4-1. She became the first pitcher since Nebraska’s Jordyn Frahm (formerly Jordyn Bahl) on Feb. 28, 2025, to throw a seven-inning complete game with two or fewer hits allowed against Oklahoma State. This outing was also Vega’s third career appearance pitching at least seven innings with one or fewer runs allowed against a ranked opponent.
Vega continued her strong performance by pitching another 4.2 innings in the series-clinching game, giving up three unearned runs on five hits and recording five strikeouts for her second win of the weekend. So far this season, she has thrown 17.1 innings in five appearances against ranked teams with a 1.62 ERA and thirteen strikeouts.
Looking ahead, Vega and her teammates will host Baylor for their Big 12 Conference home-opening series at the UCF Softball Complex starting Friday at 6 p.m., with games streamed live on ESPN+.
