UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State softball junior right-handed pitcher Bridget Nemeth garnered the No. 24 pitcher ranking in college softball according to Softball America following that organization’s release on Monday afternoon.
Nemeth is off to a strong start in her second full season of action, ranking third on the Penn State roster and 11th in the Big Ten Conference with a 2.28 earned run average. The Glendora, California, native has been an anchor for the league’s best pitching corps, sitting tied for the team lead in starts with six in addition to total pitching appearances with 11. She also leads the ultra-balanced five-member pitching staff with 30.2 innings of work in the circle through the first 20 opportunities of the 2026 campaign. Nemeth’s 5.48 hits allowed per seven innings rank 10th in the Big Ten while her three individual victories are tied for second on the team
The third-year pitching sensation highlighted Penn State’s Saturday afternoon matchup against the top-ranked Tennessee Lady Volunteers last weekend, notching a powerful start against the nation’s top ranked team. She threw all but one out in the contest, amassing 5.2 innings pitched, scattering five hits, walking a pair of batters and striking out three while yielding just two earned runs in an electric pitching matchup against top-ranked Karlyn Pickens from UT. Nemeth threw her most innings pitched in a single game since her rookie campaign in 2024, being saddled with the loss despite the impressive individual outing.
Nemeth garnered recognition as the third-highest ranked pure pitcher in the Big Ten Conference, trailing Oregon’s Lyndsey Grein and UCLA’s Taylor Tinsley. She joined four additional student-athletes in the rankings that either garnered pure pitcher or two-way pitcher status, with Nemeth, Grein and Tinsley joining Nebraska pitchers Jordy Frahm, Hannah Camenzind and Alexis Jensen, as well as Washington’s Morgan Reimer from the ranks of the B1G. Nemeth collected her first individual position ranking from Softball America this season and her first ranking of any kind by that organization since her breakout 2024 season.
With Nemeth leading the way, Penn State continues its season-opening travels this Friday and Saturday, March 6 and 7, as the Nittany Lions face off against a competitive field of challengers at the Hokie Invite from the James I. Moyer Sports Complex in Salem, Virginia. The Blue & White will battle the Radford Highlanders and Boston College Eagles on Friday before facing off in a twin bill against the James Madison Dukes and No. 11 Virginia Tech Hokies on Saturday.
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The 2026 Penn State softball season is presented by Highmark.