2024 • SOPHOMORE SEASON
Awards: Landed Academic All-Big Ten honors in the postseason.
Season: Continued her development with the Nittany Lion coaching staff and had an improved sophomore outing, registering career bests in games played (35), at-bats (15), runs scored (nine), hits (five), total bases (five), RBI (one), walks drawn (one) and stolen bases (two)… Hit and slugged at a .333 clip with a .412 on-base percentage overall… Booked a .933 fielding percentage with 14 putouts.
vs. Ohio (2/10): Tallied the first hit of her collegiate career in a pinch-hitting opportunity, notching her first collegiate RBI in the process. Bucknell (3/26): Had the first multi-hit performance since arriving in Happy Valley, going 2-for-4 with a pair of singles. at Wisconsin (4/21): Booked a Big Ten run scored on the road against the Badgers. Michigan (4/27): Had a single as well as a season-high three putouts.
2023 • FRESHMAN SEASON
Season: Made 12 appearances in her collegiate debut season, predominately as a pinch runner and reserve outfielder…Tallied six runs for the Blue & White and added a pair of stolen bases.
vs. Memphis (2/19):Scored her first collegiate run, opening a streak of three-straight games with a run scored. vs. Delaware (3/4): Was 1-for-1 in stolen base attempts, the first swipe of her career…Added a run scored in the game…Notched her first collegiate putout in the field. vs. Illinois (4/29): Logged her second stolen base in the first game of the doubleheader…Scored one run apiece in each game of the twin-bill.
HIGH SCHOOL
Played high school softball at Tesoro High School in Orange County, California... Helped lead her team to league championships in 2019, 2021 and 2022... Nelson and the 2022 squad finished as CIF State Division 3 Finalists and Division 2 Semifinalists... Earned Scholar-Athlete distinction in her senior year... Landed Second Team All-League honors, as well as an Orange County Senior All-Star Game selection in her 2022 senior season... Named Offensive Player of the Year in 2021... Garnered First Team All-League and Scholar Athlete accolades at the conclusion of the 2021 season... Picked up the Who’s Next Scholarship Award… Played five years of travel softball with American Athletics (2017-18), SoCal Athletics Briggs (2019-21) and BSC Briggs Bengals (2021-22)... Learned under the tutelage of Ken and Roseann Brigs for her final four years of travel ball.
PERSONAL
Born in the fall of 2003 in Las Flores, California, Jenna Nelson is the eldest child and only daughter of Diane and Todd Nelson... She has one younger brother, named Todd... Her mother, Diane, played collegiate softball at Rutgers from 1989 to 1993... Expects to graduate from the Penn State Smeal College of Business in the spring of 2026 with a degree in marketing... Hopes to become a real estate agent at the conclusion of her colleigate softball career... In her spare time, she enjoys going to the beach, traveling and hanging out with friends and family.